Imagine a fight between two gorillas: they stand up, drum on their chest and try to take as much space a possible to impress their opponent. In some ways we are not much different to them. Those who appear confident take up space with their bodies and gestures. There’s been lots of interesting research on how our posture is impacting our feelings of power, confidence and assertiveness. Maybe you have heard about power posing?
Social Psychologist and lecturer at Harvard Business School, Amy Cuddy has conducted interesting research on the impact of power posing. And even though, there have been critical voices regarding the significance of her research with regard to impact on hormonal levels – there is something there, that might help you to boost your confidence.
There is different power poses that do what we also see in nature: you take up space, and appear confident and relaxed. Plus, they can help you to calm down and feel ready to go when you get overly excited or stressed before a presentation, a meeting or a job interview.
The Wonder Woman pose. I specifically like this pose, because it’s simple to reproduce and it can easily make you feel confident. So, whenever you want to feel like Wonder Woman you can stand like her for a few minutes and then go about your task. Stand tall, chest slightly out, shoulders slightly back, hands on your hips – et voila!
The Obama pose. This is great if you want to present an idea and then leave it for the other side to digest. Lean back in a chair, put your arms behind your head and feet up. This can show how confident and relaxed you are while and after presenting your idea.
The Winner pose. Did you know that a natural reaction to winning a race is to lift up your arms into a V? And what’s even more interesting: people who have been born blind do this as well! So, feel like a winner by raising your arms up, smile and imagine success.
What’s your favourite power pose? If you want to learn more about how to raise your confidence game, try Daily Confidence Rituals free booklet or Be Your Best course!