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TED Talk: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are by Amy Cuddy

August 19th, 2014 by Catie McMenamin

“Fake it until you become it,” was the advice given by Amy Cuddy in her TED Talk, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.

 

Cuddy and Dana Carney set out to discover if our nonverbal behaviors govern how we think and feel. The results are shocking!

Sitting or standing in a dominant or non-dominant position for as little as two minutes changed the hormone levels in a subject’s bodies. Those adopting a body language associated with dominance – power posing – averaged a 20% increase in testosterone and a 25% decrease in cortisol. As a result, these people’s minds tricked them into feeling more powerful. The reverse was also true. Those taking up non-dominant poses had a 10% decrease in testosterone and a 15% increase in cortisol. These are significant changes in a very short amount of time.

Just two minutes changed a person’s hormone levels enough to make them feel comfortable and give them confidence or make them feel stressed.

Next time you’re going into a situation where you need confidence, try power posing for a couple of minutes first. Do this often enough, says Cuddy, and you will naturally start to feel more confident. You will “become it”.

Final parting words from Cuddy: “Our bodies change our minds. Our minds change our behavior. Our behavior changes our outcomes.”