Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

This chapter presents much of Cuddy’s own research as well as the work of other psychologists and scientists in determining the ways in which the body talks to the mind. She writes: “The way you carry yourself is a source of personal power—the kind of power that is the key to presence. It’s the key that allows you to unlock yourself—your abilities, your creativity, your courage, and even your generosity […]. It doesn’t change who you are; it allows you to be who you are” (197). Cuddy describes several experiments with what she calls “power posing,” in which the subjects of the study are prompted to mimic powerful or powerless physical positions in an effort to determine if the poses influence their behavior.

In her study with psychologist Dana Carney and social and organizational psychologist Andy Yap, Cuddy and her team defined five high-power poses that showed subjects taking up space and showing dominance with their physical presence, such as standing with feet hip-width apart and with hands on the waist, standing tall. They also created five powerless poses, which included standing with arms and legs crossed and head down.