She conducted an experiment to discover whether changing body language could alter the levels of these hormones and change not just our behavior, but the way we feel. Her research found that powerful people were more confident and calm in stressful situations because they had higher levels of a “dominance” hormone (testosterone) and lower levels of a “stress” hormone (cortisol) in their brains than others people. The science bitĪmy Cuddy’s Ted Talk highlights the scientific reasoning behind it. So if the other person is being really powerful and big, you will tend to make yourself smaller. When interacting with another person, we naturally complement the other person’s nonverbal communication. When we feel powerless we do exactly the opposite our shoulders slump and we look towards the floor. Those in power tend to stand taller, their posture is straight with shoulders back. And humans do the same thing (well, almost the same thing).

In the animal kingdom, power is conveyed through expanding, becoming bigger…think of a gorilla standing tall, beating its chest. One of the key things body language communicates is dominance. Body language shapes who we are in other people’s eyes. She believes nonverbal communication impacts the way we see and judge each other and impacts things like who we hire or promote. Body language comes firstĪmy Cuddy is a celebrated social psychologist, Harvard professor and body language expert. In this Ted Talk interview on body language, Amy Cuddy talks about the power of body language and how to harness it. Take it from Amy Cuddy: your body language shapes who you are. So you don’t miss out, here’s our snackable summary. We know you love TED talks, but don’t always have the time.

Amy cuddy presence ted talk