Essay on “Power posing” by Amy Cuddy and “How to speak so that people want to listen” by Julian Treasure
By Adriana Ilieva – F84363
What is power posing? Does it help us and how? Is it a type of body language or a mindset? Do people know that they are doing it? Should they? What about speaking to people? Why don’t they listen? How do we capture their attention? Are power poses related to the way we speak? How? All of these are questions that are going to be answered in this brief essay.
Power posing is the name of certain poses that people stand in without noticing, in order to express themselves on a subconscious level. Amy Cuddy defines power posing as the way both animals and humans position their bodies – arms, legs, hands etc., when expressing the feeling of confidence and happiness. These are the stances taken by people who are self-confident. The body language hidden behind such poses shows that the person assuming them isn’t shy or uncertain. He doesn’t hesitate or close in on himself. In most cases he is an extrovert – an outgoing, communicative person who loves to interact with others and to capture their attention.
Often enough, the current events circulate around such people, because they are not afraid to be in the public’s eye. They rarely have doubts about themselves and do not hesitate to express their feelings and emotions. They are not afraid to be judged, because they feel secure and happy with who they are. To these types of people power posing comes natural.
These “power posers”, if I may call them such, are the ones who attract attention. They, with their behavior and the certainty in all of their moves and words, are the people that are liked by others. They have many friends and acquaintances. They are the leaders and public speakers that leave you no other choice but to listen to them.
At job interviews they are the ones that receive the wanted position. Usually that is not the result of thorough preparation and deep knowledge. They could be quite incompetent in certain areas, but the way they behave and present themselves convince the employer that they are capable and proficient, even if they are not.
However, the opposite of such people are the ones that require power posing the most. The introverts, the closed-up people, those that are afraid to state their opinion, those that remain in the shadows. The shy and uncertain ones. Those that stay in the corner of the room and you may even overlook them. They are quiet and often sit or stand with their arms and legs crossed.
They are trying to protect their inner selves. Maybe because they have been abused or made fun of. Maybe because they have been criticized too much. Or maybe because they have made bad decisions in the past that they regret. Decisions that have forced them to be careful in what they say and do from then on, because of all the negative consequences they have suffered. Either way, they are afraid to say or do the wrong thing. They are afraid to make mistakes and thus do not perform to the best of their abilities when the attention is put on them.
To those types of people, power posing is a threat. When faced with a person standing in a power pose and radiating confidence, they shrink in on themselves. They subconsciously receive the message that they are inferior to the power posers and succumb to their doubts and uncertainties.
However, if such people knew about power posing they could react in a different way. Just the knowledge is enough to change their response to the assumption of a power pose. By knowing what is happening in front of them, they could control their counter reaction. They could mild their shock or stop themselves from shrinking away. They could even decide to ignore the subconscious signals that their bodies are receiving and move past the freezing up they usually experience.
But here comes the actual benefit. What if those same shy and uncertain people are trained in power posing? What if they learn how to fake it? This is where Amy Cuddy’s sample research comes into play.
She has discovered via an experiment, that if they train people into power posing, they will achieve much more then by just shying away from the real world. A few minutes of standing in a power pose before every important occasion is like a confidence boost for those people. The fainthearted person can be reassured of his competence and his abilities just by standing in a power pose for two minutes before being faced with a nerve-wrecking situation like a job interview or a public speaking.
When put under pressure those types of people close-in on themselves, but if they could learn power posing, they could fake the confidence and belief in themselves that they are missing and still perform well.
As Amy Cuddy put it, “fake it until you become it”. The things they are missing could be replaced by fake confidence. The uncertainties that they face with every decision they make can be put in the back seat and can even be forgotten with time. Because when they have faked it for long enough, those hesitant people can see for themselves that they can and have overcome their fears and weaknesses. That they no longer need to walk on eggshells. That they can express themselves freely without the fear for the consequence of their actions.