The Power of Body Language and Posing

Aug 22, 2024

Lecture Notes: Power Posing and Body Language by Shalini Sharma

Introduction

  • Life hack: Change your posture for two minutes to impact your life.
  • Importance of body awareness: Audit your body posture during the lecture.
  • Connection between body language and life outcomes.

The Fascination with Body Language

  • Body language is a powerful form of communication.
  • Examples of body language:
    • Awkward interactions, smiles, handshakes.
    • Media coverage on body language in political contexts.
  • Non-verbal behavior influences judgments and interactions.

Impact of Body Language on Judgments

  • Research shows that body language affects significant life outcomes:
    • Hiring decisions, dating preferences, and medical malpractice judgments.
    • Study by Nalini Ambadi: 30-second clips of physician interactions predict lawsuits based on perceived niceness.
    • Alex Todorov's research: Judgments of political candidates' faces predict 70% of race outcomes.

Non-verbal Influence on Self

  • Non-verbal cues influence not just how others perceive us but also how we perceive ourselves.
  • Interest in power dynamics and non-verbal expressions of power.

Non-verbal Expressions of Power

  • Power expressions in the animal kingdom:
    • High power: Expanding, taking up space.
    • Low power: Shrinking, making oneself small.
  • Universal expression of pride observed in both sighted and blind individuals.

Observations in the Classroom

  • Noticed differing non-verbal expressions among MBA students:
    • Some exhibit alpha behaviors; others make themselves small.
  • Gender differences in power expressions:
    • Women tend to feel less powerful compared to men.

Research on Power Posing

  • Can non-verbal behaviors influence feelings of power?
  • "Fake it till you make it" hypothesis:
    • Study on how body posture and poses affect self-perception and behavior.
  • Evidence of how smiling influences feelings of happiness.

Hormonal Influence

  • Powerful individuals have:
    • High testosterone and low cortisol.
    • Risk-taking and optimistic behaviors.
  • Experiment showed high-power poses resulted in:
    • 20% increase in testosterone and 25% decrease in cortisol.
    • Low-power poses resulted in a decrease in testosterone and an increase in cortisol.

Practical Applications of Power Posing

  • Application of power posing in evaluative situations (e.g., job interviews).
  • Experiment conducted to observe effects of power posing before a stressful job interview.
    • High power posers rated more positively, regardless of content.
    • Presence over content in evaluations.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

  • Personal story of overcoming feelings of being an imposter after a car accident.
  • Encouragement to embrace power posing and self-affirmation.

Conclusion

  • "Fake it till you become it": Embrace power posing to internalize confidence.
  • Tiny tweaks can lead to significant changes in perception and outcomes.
    • Practical advice: Use power posing in private before stressful situations.
  • Importance of sharing this science to empower others.

Key Takeaway: Body language significantly affects both how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. Simple changes in body posture can lead to powerful shifts in confidence and outcomes.