Have you ever thought about your presence and body language when you walk into a meeting with a homeowner? We already know that our non-verbals affect how other people think and feel about us. But could our non-verbals or body language govern how we think and feel about ourselves?
Social psychologist research done by Amy Cuddy shows we are influenced by our “own” non-verbals. Have you noticed how animals show their dominance? They stand up tall, firm, opening up their bodies.
Similarly, powerful individuals do the same thing. A boss, for an instance, tends to put their hand on their waist when they are speaking to an employee or a subordinate to show their dominance and power, whether they know they are doing it or not. What do pro athletes do when they win a race? Put their hands up. It’s a natural reaction, it’s a power pose.
Now, there are also low power poses as well. Have you noticed someone’s body language when they are not confident? They close in, curl up their bodies, touch their neck with shoulders close together. Most of the time, women feel less powerful compared to men and they show it with their body language.
Research shows that standing in a posture of confidence, even when you don’t feel confident can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain and might even have an impact on our chances of success. Powerful people are more assertive, confident and more optimistic. They feel like they are going to win even on a game of chance. They take more risks.
Those individuals are also physiologically different on two hormones. Testosterone, the dominant hormone, and cortisol, the stress hormone. Study shows that both high powered alpha males and powerful leaders have high testosterone and low cortisol. What does that mean?
Power is not only about dominance, but also about how you react to stress. Do you want the high-powered leader that’s dominant, but really stress reactive? Probably not. You want a powerful person that is dominant, but laid back and not stress reactive.
So, can power posing for a few minutes really change your life in meaningful ways? I believe it can and research proves that as well.
Amy Cuddy also conducted experiments on power-posing. They had several men and women “power-pose” for two minutes before they were interviewed and compared them to people that were asked to “low-power pose” for two minutes before their interviews. The results were dramatic.
Saliva samples were taken after the interviews with the individuals that were in high powered poses before their interviews and it shows an average of 20% testosterone (dominance hormone) increase, and a 20% cortisol (stress hormone) decrease when they had practiced “power poses.”
On the other hand, the individuals that were asked to practice the “low-powered poses” for two minutes showed an average of 10% decrease in testosterone and a 16% increase in cortisol.
In addition, when the interviewers (people doing the interviews, not the interviewees) were asked who they would want to hire, they picked the individuals that had practiced the “high power-poses” for two minutes.
The driving results that they were attracted to were NOT the content or who knew more. It was more of who appears to be passionate, confident, enthusiastic, authentic, comfortable and captivating.
Remember, it’s not about the way you are going to talk or act in front of other people. It’s how YOU are going to look at yourself. We have all heard of the saying, “Fake it till you make it.” But you should strive to fake it until you become it! You can do it! Believe and see yourself doing what it is you want to do.
So, practice some power posing for just 2 minutes before your next appointment or before your next phone call to a FSBO. Go into your office and try that “wonder woman” pose or put your hands straight up like the Olympic athlete winning a race before your next company meeting. Also, tell your kids, friends, family members or anyone you think could learn from this. I encourage you to give it a try!
To your success,
