Power postures: increase your confidence in two minutes

If you are an insecure person, it is likely that on more than one occasion you have wished you had a magic wand that could give you extra confidence. Maybe to present a project in class, to talk to the person you like or to face a job interview. In this sense, Confidence makes a difference, not only in how we feel, but also in the results we get. Therefore, it is interesting to know the power positions.

These constitute a useful and easy-to-implement tool that is based on psychocorporality. According to these principles, the body and mind are closely related and the states of one are reflected in the other bidirectionally. Thus, just as your body expresses what you feel, a change in posture can also modify your emotions. We tell you why!

Postures of power and postures of weakness

We transmit information, and a lot of it, through non-verbal language. A smile, a lowered gaze or a crossing of the arms tell us whether our interlocutor is happy, fearful or defensive, and we pick up this instantly, and without conscious effort. In fact, in the animal world these types of exhibitions also occur that serve as interaction with others.

Generally, Expansive and open postures demonstrate power, and can be intimidating.; On the contrary, a hunched, hunched or contracted pose would indicate fear. Others capture, through body language, how we are feeling, which also has effects on ourselves.

Depending on the postures we adopt, our physiology and psychology vary.. Perhaps you have ever heard the recommendation to “smile, even if you don’t feel like it, and you will feel happier.” Well, in fact, this is a reality and can also be applied if what we are looking for is to increase our confidence.

Gestures and movements are powerful communication tools.

Two minutes are enough

These interesting findings are the result of research carried out in 2010 by Amy Cuddy, Dana Carley and Andy Yap. These scientists asked a group of people to adopt positions of power and poses of weakness for two minutes and analyzed the changes in their bodies.

What they found was surprising, since not only was trust modified on a psychological level, but endocrine alterations were also produced. Specifically, power postures reflected increases in testosterone and decreases in cortisol; and the opposite pattern occurred with the poses of weakness.

Let’s keep in mind that testosterone is a hormone present in both men and women, related to courage, self-confidence and risk-taking. For its part, cortisol is associated with stress, nervousness and caution.

Thus, placing ourselves in a pose of power generates hormonal alterations that promote the feeling of security. The researchers also asked several volunteers to apply this technique before speaking in public. And the result was once again satisfactory: they expressed having reduced their anxiety and feeling more confident. Maintaining that change in posture for just two minutes was enough to experience the effects.

Power poses increase self-confidence and provide an image of success and security in others.

Use power postures in your daily life

Using this type of poses is very useful, since they provide us with an almost instantaneous increase in security and confidence. Now, what are these power positions? In reality, they are those in which our arms are separated from the body and the trunk is advanced forward. They are open and expansive postures among which are the following:

Raise your arms above your head in victory. Put your hands behind your neck. Lean on the table with your arms firm. Place your arms on your hips and lean your shoulders back.

As research shows, Adopting these postures for two minutes is enough to generate that extra dose of confidence. However, it can also be positive to make a longer postural change.

If you are one of those who usually walk hunched over, with your head bowed or your arms crossed, you should know that you maintain a postural typology of weakness. This not only reflects fear or insecurity, but also contributes to perpetrating these types of emotions. So, Modify your habits towards more expansive postures and you will notice lasting changes in your attitude.