Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are

Let me begin by offering you a valuable no-tech life hack. It only requires a simple change in your posture for two minutes. Before I share this technique, take a moment to assess your current posture. Are you making yourself smaller? Perhaps you're hunching, crossing your legs, or wrapping your ankles. Pay attention to your body language.

I believe that by tweaking your posture, you can profoundly impact the trajectory of your life. Our fascination with body language, particularly in observing others, stems from its role in communication. What message does your body language convey to me, and vice versa? Social scientists emphasize the significance of body language in making judgments that can influence crucial life outcomes, such as hiring decisions, promotions, and even medical malpractice lawsuits.

Beyond the impact on how we perceive others, we often overlook how our nonverbals influence our own thoughts, feelings, and physiology. As a social psychologist with a focus on power dynamics, I've explored nonverbal expressions of power and dominance. These expressions involve expanding and taking up space, a universal behavior observed across the animal kingdom.

In both humans and animals, expressions of power involve opening up, making oneself big, and stretching out. Conversely, feelings of powerlessness lead to closed, small gestures—self-protective behaviors. The interesting observation is that in power dynamics, individuals tend to complement each other's nonverbals, either mirroring or doing the opposite.

My interest in this area deepened as I noticed a gender-related aspect in the MBA classroom. Women often exhibited low-power poses, linked to a chronic sense of feeling less powerful than men. Additionally, these nonverbals seemed connected to class participation, which significantly influenced grades. This prompted me to wonder if individuals could consciously alter their nonverbals to enhance their participation and, subsequently, their outcomes.

Collaborating with Dana Carney, we conducted experiments where participants adopted high- or low-power poses for two minutes before engaging in a stressful task—a simulated job interview. The results were compelling. High-power posers displayed increased risk tolerance, elevated testosterone levels, and decreased cortisol levels, indicating a more assertive and stress-resistant state.

Inspired by these findings, we explored the practical applications of power posing in evaluative situations, such as job interviews. The participants who engaged in power posing before a job interview were perceived more positively by evaluators, not due to the content of their speech but the presence they conveyed.

Reflecting on my own experiences, I shared a personal story of overcoming impostor syndrome after a traumatic accident and a perceived loss of intellectual capacity. Encouraged by my advisor, I learned to "fake it till I become it," pushing through self-doubt and eventually internalizing a sense of belonging.

The key takeaway is that small adjustments in body language can lead to significant life changes. The power of two minutes of intentional power posing can reshape your mindset, boost confidence, and impact the outcomes of evaluative situations. I urge you not only to try power posing but also to share this science generously, especially with those who lack resources or status, as it can be a transformative tool in their private moments.