TED talk about body language

Amy Cuddy's "Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are" TED talk is fascinating because it is so simple. The speaker begins by showing how body language is widely recognized and proven as being important factors in social situations. We judge people, consciously or not, on their body language. What Cuddy wanted to know is whether our own body language affects the way we think and feel about ourselves, to the point where our body language could eventually determine our behaviors and our outcomes in life.

The researcher performed a study in which she asked participants to adopt either a high power or a low power pose for just two minutes. After the poses, she had the participants choose whether or not to play a gambling game, and then she measured the cortisol and testosterone levels of the participants. Cortisol is a hormone that is linked to stress. High levels of cortisol indicate high levels of stress. Testosterone is linked to being powerful, with high levels of testosterone measured in people and animals after a success or feelings of power. The researcher found that indeed cortisol was lower and testosterone was higher for people in the "high power" pose group versus the low power pose. Similarly, the researcher found that those in the high power scenario were significantly more willing to take a gamble versus those in the low power pose. The theory was that high power people in the real world tend to be more willing to take risks, and this was borne out in the research. The people who assumed the high power pose were indeed more likely to gamble.

The implications of the research were tremendous. The researcher wanted to show that there are real world applications for the research in helping people who typically feel powerless, especially women, to change the way they carry themselves. By making a simple change to our body language, we not only affect the way others perceive us, but also the way we perceive ourselves. We change the way we act, and by changing the way we act, we change the outcomes we receive.

The phrase "fake it till you make it" is the cornerstone of this TED talk. However, Cuddy expands on that maxim to show that you can "fake it till you become it." A person who is typically risk averse and low power with high stress can use body language in two-minute intervals before a stressful personal interaction like a job interview. Viewers of this TED talk will be pleased to see that their own self-efficacy and self-image is not immutable. It can be changed.