Stand Tall

I just finished Amy Cuddy’s book, Presence. It is an excellent follow up to her TED talk, given in 2012, which has now had almost 33 million views. If you haven’t seen the video, you should stop what you’re doing and watch it right now. For many people, the video has been life-changing. It is listed on the TED website as one of the 11 must-see talks.

We all know that confidence is the secret weapon in many situations: a job interview, giving a speech, playing a sport, asking for a raise, performing a solo. But, as well-prepared or well-trained as we may be, our confidence often leaves us. Wouldn’t it be great if we could fake it? I mean, create confidence out of nothing? Cuddy’s research suggests – no, proves – that certain body postures, like the Wonder Woman pose, actually affect the testosterone and cortisol levels in our brains. And these changes can give us confidence even when we don’t feel it.

Try it. Find a place to get away from people just before your next speech or interview. Stand tall and wide for two minutes. Yeah, you’ll feel kind of stupid. But that doesn’t matter. You’ll be surprised how it can help your confidence and, even, your success. We’re not talking about being someone or something you actually are not. We are talking about getting stuff out of the way of the real you. It is being present.

Presence goes into much more detail about the rigorous and wide-ranging research performed by Cuddy and many other social psychologists around the world. Cuddy also reveals a great deal about her difficult­­ life and the unlikely story of how she got to be an authority on confidence. There are more postures to try, ones to avoid, inspiring success stories, and encouragement to “nudge” ourselves to improvement. As Cuddy says, “Don’t fake it until you make it. Fake it until you BECOME it.”