Amy Cuddy Short TED Video - Empowering with Body Language - & supercharge with Havening Techniques®

Summary

This talk explores the non-verbal expressions of power and dominance, drawing parallels between animal behavior and human actions. High power poses, such as expanding oneself and taking up space, are contrasted with low power poses that involve closing up and making oneself small. The speaker, a social psychologist, discusses the impact of 'power posing' on hormone levels, leading to increased confidence or stress. She advocates for adopting these poses before stressful situations to alter one's mindset and potentially improve outcomes, emphasizing the transformative power of these small behavioral changes.

Takeaways

• 🦅 Non-verbal expressions of power and dominance are universal across the animal kingdom, including humans, and involve expanding oneself to take up space.
• 🏆 The expression of pride, characterized by arms up in a V-shape and a slightly lifted chin, is innate and not dependent on visual learning.
• 🔄 Feeling powerful leads to 'opening up' physically, while feeling powerless results in 'closing up' and making oneself smaller.
• 🤝 When interacting with powerful individuals, people tend to mirror their nonverbal cues by making themselves smaller, not larger.
• 🧠 Our nonverbal expressions can influence our thoughts and feelings, suggesting a mind-body connection.
• 🧍‍♀️ Power posing, or adopting high-power poses, can lead to hormonal changes that increase testosterone and decrease cortisol, even after just two minutes.
• 🔝 High-power poses can make individuals feel more assertive and confident, while low-power poses can lead to increased stress reactivity.
• 💼 Even brief power posing can have a significant impact on performance in stressful situations, like job interviews.
• 🌟 The concept of 'faking it till you make it' is discussed, suggesting that adopting powerful poses can lead to genuine internal change over time.
• 💡 Small changes in behavior, like power posing, can lead to significant improvements in personal outcomes, especially for those with limited resources.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the speaker's research?

The speaker's research focuses on studying prejudice and non-verbal expressions of power and dominance.

How do animals in the animal kingdom express dominance?

Animals express dominance by expanding, stretching out, and taking up space, which is a way of opening up their bodies.

What is the term for the expression of power and dominance that humans and animals share?

The expression of power and dominance is known as 'Pride'.

Who has studied the expression of pride in both sighted and congenitally blind individuals?

Jessica Tracy has studied the expression of pride and found that both sighted and congenitally blind individuals exhibit this behavior when they win at a physical competition.

What is the opposite non-verbal expression to power and dominance?

The opposite non-verbal expression to power and dominance is closing up, wrapping oneself up, and making oneself small.

How do people tend to respond non-verbally when they are in the presence of someone with high power?

When in the presence of someone with high power, people tend to make themselves smaller by adopting low power poses, rather than mirroring the powerful person.

What does the speaker suggest about the influence of non-verbal expressions on our thoughts and feelings?

The speaker suggests that our non-verbal expressions can influence our thoughts and feelings, and that our physiology can shape our mind.

What is the purpose of the experiment mentioned in the script?

The purpose of the experiment is to test whether adopting high power poses or low power poses for two minutes can lead to hormonal changes that make individuals feel more or less powerful.

What are the hormonal changes observed in the experiment after adopting high power poses?

After adopting high power poses for two minutes, participants experienced a 20% increase in testosterone and a 25% decrease in cortisol.

How does the speaker suggest using power poses to improve one's life?

The speaker suggests adopting power poses for two minutes before a stressful situation to configure the brain to cope better, increase testosterone, decrease cortisol, and leave the situation feeling more assertive and confident.

What is the speaker's final message about the impact of small changes?

The speaker's final message is that tiny tweaks, such as adopting power poses for two minutes, can lead to significant changes in one's life outcomes.