Become More Powerful in Two Minutes

Sorry, but your mom was right. A study shows that your posture not only speaks volumes about you, it can change your mood and how others perceive you. That’s according to Amy Cuddy, professor and researcher at Harvard Business School. Cuddy studies nonverbal behavior, snap judgments and how they can influences others – even ourselves.

“Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it,” said Cuddy in her recent TED Talk.

In a 2010 paper for Psychological Science, Cuddy and other researchers examined “power posing,” or how the projection of power through posture can have a positive influence on how one is perceived and behaves.

In their study, 42 participants were randomly assigned to strike” high-power-poses” or “low-power-poses.” High-power poses are marked by expansiveness (i.e., taking up more space or less space) and openness (i.e., keeping limbs open.) Naturally, low power poses involve the opposite. Participants held two poses for one minute each. The researchers measured their likelihood of taking risks with a gambling task and feelings of power through self report. Finally, saliva samples were taken to measure their levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and testosterone. What the scientists found was…well, powerful.

“High-power posers experienced elevations in testosterone, decreases in cortisol, and increased feelings of power and tolerance for risk; low-power posers exhibited the opposite pattern,” the research found. “In short, posing in displays of power caused advantaged and adaptive psychological, physiological, and behavioral changes, and these findings suggest that embodiment extends beyond mere thinking and feeling, to physiology and subsequent behavioral choices. That a person can, by assuming two simple one minute poses, embody power and instantly become more powerful has real-world, actionable implications.”

So before an interview or presentation, try finding a space to practice being powerful. Just a few minutes of doing this will have a measurable effect. Cuddy suggest finding a private place to strike a power pose. Take up as much room as possible and hold it. If you need a little reference, think of some of your favorite superheores: Super Man, Wonder Woman – even a powerful little guy like Peter Pan. According to Cuddy, you’ll experience a decrease in cortisol of about 25% and an increase in testosterone of about 19%.

Photo Courtesy, thatdjspider.