Key Moments
Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are | Amy Cuddy | TED
TEDx TalksKey Moments
Adopting a "power pose" for just two minutes can boost your testosterone and lower cortisol, making you feel and act more confident, which can positively impact your life outcomes.
Key Insights
Nonverbal communication, specifically body language, significantly influences how others judge us, with split-second judgments of political candidates' faces predicting 70% of election outcomes.
Studies show that physicians perceived as 'nicer' through their body language in short clips are less likely to be sued, irrespective of their medical competence.
In animal kingdom and human studies, feelings of power correlate with expansive, open body postures, while powerless individuals adopt closed-off, smaller stances.
Amy Cuddy's research indicates that adopting high-power poses for two minutes can increase testosterone by about 20% and decrease cortisol by about 25%, while low-power poses have the opposite effect.
In a simulated job interview, participants who power-posed for two minutes beforehand were more likely to be hired, not due to the content of their speech, but due to their dominant presence.
The 'fake it till you make it' concept can extend to 'fake it till you become it,' suggesting that embodying powerful nonverbals can lead to genuine internalization and lasting change.
Our bodies communicate first, influencing our minds
Social psychologist Amy Cuddy introduces the concept that body language not only signals our internal state to others but also profoundly influences our own thoughts and feelings. We are constantly engaged in a feedback loop where our nonverbals affect how others perceive us, leading to significant life outcomes like hiring decisions or romantic interests. For instance, Dr. Nalin Ohanian's research showed that judgments of a physician's niceness, based on brief interactions, predicted whether they would be sued. More dramatically, Alex Todorov found that split-second judgments of political candidates' faces predicted a staggering 70% of US Senate and gubernatorial race outcomes. Online, even the judicious use of emoticons can lead to claiming more value in negotiations. However, Cuddy emphasizes that we often overlook a crucial audience: ourselves. Our own body language shapes our thoughts, feelings, and physiology. This fundamental principle sets the stage for exploring how consciously altering our posture might alter our internal experience.
Power and powerlessness expressed through posture
Cuddy delves into the universal nonverbal expressions of power and dominance, observing patterns across the animal kingdom, primates, and humans. Powerful individuals, whether chronically in power or feeling powerful in a moment, tend to adopt expansive postures, taking up more space, opening their chests, and stretching out. This phenomenon is so intrinsic that even congenitally blind individuals display the 'pride' expression—arms raised in a V, chin slightly lifted—when they win a competition, demonstrating it's an inborn response, not purely learned behavior. Conversely, feelings of powerlessness lead to constricting, closing-off behaviors: shrinking oneself, wrapping arms around the body, and minimizing one's physical presence. This contrast is starkly visible in situations where individuals of differing power levels interact; rather than mirroring, people tend to adopt opposite nonverbals, with the less powerful person becoming smaller in response to the more powerful one.
Gender, participation, and the MBA classroom
Observing MBA students, Cuddy noticed a wide spectrum of power nonverbals. Some students entered the room assertively, occupying significant space, while others appeared to collapse inward, making themselves as small as possible. This disparity, Cuddy noted, seemed linked to gender, with women more likely to adopt low-power postures and men more likely to adopt high-power ones. This observation became particularly relevant in the context of MBA programs, where classroom participation significantly impacts grades (often accounting for half the grade). Businesses have grappled with a gender grade gap, where equally qualified women and men receive different outcomes, partly attributed to participation differences. Cuddy began to question if consciously encouraging students to adopt more powerful poses could increase their participation and confidence, potentially closing this gap.
Can we fake confidence to actually feel it?
This led Cuddy and her collaborator Dana Carney to investigate whether 'faking it' nonverbally could lead to genuine behavioral and psychological changes. While ample evidence shows our minds change our bodies (e.g., smiling genuinely makes us feel happier), they posed the reverse question: do our bodies change our minds? They explored what constitutes the 'mind' of a powerful person: increased assertiveness, confidence, optimism, risk-taking, and abstract thinking. Physiologically, powerful individuals tend to have higher testosterone (the dominance hormone) and lower cortisol (the stress hormone). This hormonal profile signifies assertiveness without excessive stress reactivity. Previous research showed that role changes—like becoming an alpha primate—could significantly shift these hormones. Their experiment aimed to see if a minimal, two-minute intervention of adopting power poses could trigger similar hormonal shifts and influence feelings of power.
The physiological impact of two minutes of power posing
In their lab experiment, participants adopted either high-power poses (like 'Wonder Woman') or low-power poses for two minutes. Before and after this brief period, saliva samples were collected to measure hormone levels, and participants reported their feelings of power. The results were striking: those in high-power poses showed an average 20% increase in testosterone and a 25% decrease in cortisol compared to their baseline. Conversely, low-power posers experienced a 10% decrease in testosterone and a 15% increase in cortisol. This means that within just two minutes, adopting expansive, open postures primes the body and brain for assertiveness and confidence, while constrictive, closed postures prime it for stress reactivity and withdrawal. Furthermore, when given an opportunity to gamble after posing, 86% of high-power posers gambled, versus only 60% of low-power posers, indicating increased risk tolerance.
Power posing in high-stakes evaluative situations
The implications of these findings extend beyond the lab. Cuddy suggests that power posing is most beneficial in 'evaluative situations' or 'social threat situations'—moments where we feel judged. These can range from teenage social interactions to public speaking, school board meetings, or job interviews. To test this in a real-world scenario, they designed a study simulating the stress of a job interview. Participants either power-posed or adopted low-power poses for two minutes before undergoing a highly stressful, unsupportive five-minute job interview designed to spike cortisol. Blind coders later reviewed the interview tapes and overwhelmingly preferred to hire the candidates who had power-posed. Crucially, this preference wasn't based on the content or structure of their speech but on their overall 'presence'—their perceived confidence and command, which stems from the internal shift induced by posing.
From 'faking it' to 'becoming it'
Cuddy addresses the common skepticism that power posing feels inauthentic, the fear of feeling like an impostor even after achieving success. She shares her personal story of overcoming a traumatic brain injury that significantly lowered her IQ, leading to profound feelings of powerlessness and impostor syndrome, particularly as she pursued academia. Advised by a mentor to 'fake it,' she committed to taking every speaking opportunity, pushing through paralysis and constant fear. Eventually, this consistent practice led to a profound shift: she realized she wasn't just faking it anymore; she had become it. This personal journey informs her refined advice: 'Don't fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it.' The message is that consistent embodiment of confident nonverbals can lead to genuine internalization and a transformation of identity and capability. The goal is not just to appear powerful, but to truly feel and be powerful.
Tiny tweaks for significant life changes
In conclusion, Cuddy reiterates that 'tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.' The power pose intervention, requiring only two minutes, offers a tangible, accessible tool for anyone facing a stressful, evaluative situation. Whether in an elevator, a bathroom stall, or at one's desk, practicing these poses can reconfigure one's brain chemistry, boosting testosterone and lowering cortisol, thereby improving our ability to cope and perform. The ultimate aim is to leave such situations not feeling like we failed to express our true selves, but feeling confident that we successfully represented who we are. Cuddy urges the audience to try power posing and, importantly, to share this science widely, especially with those who lack resources or power, as this simple, private practice can significantly alter life outcomes.
Mentioned in This Episode
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Power Posing: Dos and Don'ts
Practical takeaways from this episode
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Impact of Power Posing on Physiology and Behavior (2-Minute Poses)
Data extracted from this episode
| Condition | Risk Tolerance (Gamble) | Testosterone Change | Cortisol Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Power Pose | 86% increased | +20% increase | -25% decrease |
| Low Power Pose | 60% increased | -10% decrease | +15% increase |
Common Questions
Power posing involves adopting expansive, confident body postures for a brief period (around two minutes). This practice is believed to influence our feelings and physiological state, increasing feelings of power and reducing stress by altering hormone levels like testosterone and cortisol.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
The speaker and social psychologist who studies prejudice and power dynamics, known for her work on body language and its impact on self-perception and confidence.
Amy Cuddy's main collaborator in her research on power dynamics and non-verbal communication.
A researcher who studied the 'pride' expression of power, showing its universality across sighted and congenitally blind individuals.
A researcher at Princeton who showed that judgments of political candidates' faces in one second can predict election outcomes.
A researcher at TS University who showed that judgments of physicians' niceness predict whether they will be sued.
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