Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy is perhaps best known as the creator of the "power pose."
As she described in her 2012 TED Talk, power-posing
is about taking advantage of the body-mind connection: You adopt the
body language of powerful people so that you feel and act more
confident.
But power posing is just one path to a
state of calm self-confidence that will help you succeed in challenging
situations. That state, which Cuddy calls "presence," is the subject of
her new book by the same name.
Cuddy
defines presence as being attuned to and able to express your full
potential. When you're present, you approach challenges without a sense
of threat.
Whether you're interviewing for a job or
pitching your startup, people can tell right away if you're present, and
they judge you more positively when you are.
In an interview with Business Insider, Cuddy said there are three things people see when you're present:
1. You believe your story
When you're present, you demonstrate conviction and passion so that other people come to believe your story, too.
In
the book, Cuddy describes a yet-unpublished study she conducted, in
which participants went through mock interviews. For five minutes, they
had to persuade the interviewer that they were the best person for the
job, while being completely honest. All the while, the interviewer held a
completely neutral expression.
Three independent
pairs of judges watched videos of the interviews, looking for presence,
believability, and hireability. Sure enough, the interviewees who were
rated more present were also rated more believable and more hireable.
Cuddy
writes: "Presence mattered to the judges because it signaled
authenticity, believability, and genuineness; it told the judges that
they could trust the person, that what they were observing was real."
(Jon Gosier/Flickr) 2. You're confident without being arrogant
In
the book, Cuddy quotes a venture capitalist describing what turns him
off during an entrepreneur's pitch: "They're too high energy and
aggressive, maybe a little pushy. It seems defensive, I don't expect
them to have all the answers. Actually, I don't want them to have all
the answers."
Being open to feedback is key, Cuddy
told Business Insider. The more you shut down other people and their
perspectives, the less appealing you become. That's because it can seem
like you're trying to cover up a sense of uncertainty.
"A
truly confident person does not require arrogance, which is nothing
more than a smoke screen for insecurity," Cuddy writes. "A confident
person can be present to others, hear their perspectives, and integrate
those views in ways that create value for everyone."
3. Your verbal and nonverbal communication is in sync
When
we're being inauthentic — or when we're intentionally deceiving someone
— Cuddy said our verbal and nonverbal communication is incongruent.
In
the book, she explains that's because you're constantly trying to
adjust what you're saying and doing to create the impression you think
others want to see.
On the other hand, when we're
present, our verbal and nonverbal behavior matches. People aren't
distracted trying to figure out why something feels "off," and they're
more likely to put their trust in you.
Ultimately, if you're confident in yourself, other people will be more likely to be confident in you, too. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the job
or the investor's money, but you'll walk away knowing that you did the
best you could — and the right opportunity for you is out there.
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