Amy Cuddy’s TED talk “Your body language shapes who you are” has almost 32 million views as I write this. The research she shares is fascinating: That how you hold yourself physically–your posture, your presence–can affect not just how others see us but also how we see ourselves.
Late last year, her book was published. Entitled “Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges”, it’s prompted me to think about how I hold myself and how her work applies to clients. Cuddy says that we can use our bodies as a tool, essentially, to help us get ourselves on track in terms of presence and personal power. To quote her: “The body is continuously and convincingly sending messages to your brain and you get to control the content of those messages.” In that case, it pays to be aware of how you’re holding your body–tall or slumped, shoulders back or hunched up, body opened up or closed in–if it can influence your brain to make empowered decisions.
In my work with clients, I get the privilege being a part of decision-making around some very emotionally complicated issues: money, marriage, and legacy. Cuddy’s work is interesting to me as a technique–a “hack”, if you will–to help clients situate themselves in a way that supports making wise choices for those things. Give it a try and see if it helps.
Post-script: Amy Cuddy will be speaking in Seattle on March 16. See her in person and–I imagine–watch her model what she describes. Event information is here.