The art of nonverbal
power dynamics
Fake it until you make it….No!...Fake it
until you become it
Communication
is about interactions and the way we use our nonverbals guide others to make
judgements about ourselves.
One
thing we know for sure is that our nonverbals influence how other people think
and feel about us. But… do our nonverbals impact
how we think and feel about ourselves? Is there such thing as a mind-body connection?
Well,
these were some questions that intrigued Amy Cuddy, an associate professor at
Harvard Business School and a famous TED speaker, who developed an
investigation upon this topic. I will be sharing with you today her findings.
Firstly,
take a few seconds to observe these pictures:
All
through animal kingdom, nonverbal expressions of power and dominance are
associated with opening-up, making yourself big. They do it when they have
power sort of chronically, and also when they're feeling powerful in the
moment.
Instead,
when we are feeling powerless we tend to wrap ourselves up, make us tiny and
try to avoid contact with others. Notice the difference:
From
her studies, Amy Cuddy tells us that gender influences our nonverbals power
dynamics once women feel chronically less powerful than men. However, she wanted
to know if it was possible to fake it until we make it. Our minds change our bodies but do our bodies change our minds?
Minds
in the case of powerful symbolize thoughts and feelings and the physiological
things that make up our thoughts and feelings, which are hormones.
How
does the mind of powerful people look like?
Powerful
people tend to be more assertive, confident, optimistic and risky. They have
high self esteem and believe that they are going to achieve what they want even
with low chances of that happening.
Which
are the two key hormones that influence this behaviour?
- Testosterone (the dominance hormone)
- Cortisol (the stress hormone)
So,
when we talk about effective leadership and powerful people the standard
corresponds to high levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisol. Power is
not only about dominance, it is also about how we react to stress. So, before
your next stressful situation, try to get your testosterone up, your cortisol
down and leave the situation feeling like you got to say who you are. Because
that´s what happens when you feel powerful: you are not afraid to be yourself
and share your knowledge with others.
Amy
Cuddy, from personal experience and from other studies, reached the conclusion
that it is possible to fake our behavior until we internalize it and it becomes
part of ourselves. The body shapes the mind at least in a facial level and role
changes can also influence it.
Conclusion
Every
time you feel overwhelmed a change in your posture, either straightening your
spine, lifting your arms or rearranging your legs can radically change the result
of the situation and get you closer to success.
If
you apply these concepts, at first it might seem like faking it but then it
will be a part of you, helping you to reach your full potential in any situation.
References:
Rita Soares:
anaritam.s@hotmail.com | nº 8193
I´m 17 years old and a global marketing student at IPAM Porto, The Marketing School
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