Several years ago one of the universities (University of Maryland College Park) had an almost official motto: "Act like you know". It does work, surprisingly, to a substantial degree.
Perhaps you are unconsciously responding to the "power move"? I had a boss who would routinely show up late to sales calls _we_ were making. We were the salesmen; we'd show up 10 minutes late. He said it was classic power strategy. Make them think they're waiting on you. I was pissed, back then. Today, I'm less incredulous and wonder if he was on to something.
As a great practical guide to reading and applying body language, I'd recommend "What everybody is saying" by Dave Navarro. Guy used to do body language analysis for the FBI afaik, and then wrote a book about it.
Concerning the body language tips the article recomends, I think everyone except arms crossed behind head is covered for in the book. Arm akimbo, crossed legs, etc.
As a personal tip, I'd give the thumbs up. No, like actually stretch your thumbs out when you walk around or talk to people, and leave them out of your pockets. It's ok to put the rest of the hand in, but the thumbs stay out.
Ahh, and if you're arguing, even if you want to, don't start undressing yourself, no matter how angry you are. 2 people arguing and taking jackets and shirts off usually means business you don't want to be part of neccesairily.
I know that body language and customs are different, but I wanted to point out that in some Asian cultures, arm-crossing is done as a sign of respect, especially towards elders. It's a source of confusion and amusement for older people when the Western-integrated young people get angry.
That said, one should keep an eye out for more than just nonverbal cues, as telling as they may be.
The fun part is watching people actually try to control their body language in reality. You can try, but if you aren't feeling what that "power pose" is broadcasting, you'll just look like an idiot to anyone even remotely paying attention.
You aren't going to gain leadership by leaning back and spread eagling in a business meeting. You're going to gain it by being an actual leader and doing stuff that adds value to an organization.
I sort of agree. I find that avoiding bad sorts of physical signals is definitely useful, but consciously instantiating new signals in a convincing way is (surprisingly) very difficult.
That said, there are a few people who are really good at this stuff. One technique is based more on directly altering your mood rather than consciously positioning your body, and some people just seem better able to manipulate their mood than others.
There's some overlap between leadership and not caring too much what others think.
The stereotypical brash alpha-male behaviours aren't necessarily affected. They can stem from just not even considering for a moment that you're not entitled to succeed, or to do as you please. While this can be annoying, it's also magnetic.
What I've noticed after years of trying to hack my emotional give-away, is that it's really hard to fake being confident when you're nervous, especially around people who know you for a while.
However, when dealing with people who don't know you, you can easily fake being important or nobody, for a short period of time. This is not always useful, and could backfire (especially if you are "elevating" your power), but I've found some limited scenarios where altered first impression gives you an edge.
> The fun part is watching people actually try to control their body language in reality. You can try, but if you aren't feeling what that "power pose" is broadcasting, you'll just look like an idiot to anyone even remotely paying attention.
The article describes a scientific (?) experiment that goes counter that intuition.
I noticed eye contact in a video. Seduction is an art.
Not relevant to me.
God says...
2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at
the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and
followed him.
2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house,
many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his
disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and
sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and
drinketh with publicans and sinners? 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he
saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician,
but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance.
-----
LOL Jesus was charismatic! Damn! Got people to drop everything! Life was crappy back then a running around preaching was fun.
Body language. What does your conscience tell you? To me is seems slightly like cheating. If you don't think that, do it.
I don't agree with this, but it's a thought "How does a real man know when a woman is having an orgasm? He doesn't care."
------
God says...
fourteen days.
8:66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the
king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the
goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel
his people.
9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the
house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire
which he was pleased to do, 9:2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the
second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy
supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this
house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine
eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
----
The entertainment value of the bombing is right up there with gladiators. I think God shrugged at gladiators as sports. I think He pays more attention to Afganstan than pro football. It's not ghoulish when you are God -- life and death is more important and you have sure seen a lot of it.
----
God says...
1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of
evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD,
they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone
away backward.
1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more:
the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness
in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not
been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your
land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as
overthrown by strangers.
1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a
lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
----
This crime scene investigator is new, foreign and I don't like it. It's Stazi and pathetic. Come-on! Too much CSI. The news people think they can get ratings. Maybe, Obama and CIA are doing something. I never understood Bush logic. You get shit that is just not sensible.
This is great stuff as long as you like people who breath their own exhaust.
As soon as you encounter someone who is not speaking the same language, there will be great confusion. Usually, this means anyone from outside of MBA/Marketing/ or other art-of-BS type disciplines.
I feel like this is one of those instances where, once everyone knows about it, everyone does it, and everyone knows why you're doing it. Therefore, it eventually becomes ineffective (perhaps there is a name for this phenomenon). If I keep seeing books/blog posts/news segments on "power poses" then every interviewee starts putting their feet on my table, surely I'll notice. It's the body language version of a buzzword.
Body language experts are trained to look for groups of behaviors. Often, certain behaviors such as crossed arms could just mean the subject is cold. It is also hard to judge someone's body language after you have just met them; it is much better to compare their behavior to the "baseline" of their normal behavior. That is because certain behaviors are not innate but learned unconsciously from parents, relatives, close friends, and is also dependent upon regional culture. If you want to learn about body language, you should spend a lot of time practicing watching several different people and finding groups of behaviors that signal their respective moods before you start to start to make inferences with confidence. It is helpful to watch people from different cultures or different classes so that you may see how much variation there is. Otherwise, decisions made with little knowledge and practice is actually harmful because your inferences will likely be wrong. "You should never cross your arms again" may be good advice, but only because you can then guard yourself from people that overestimate their powers of observation.
Good point. For example, I tend to lean forward (with forearms on the table) out of respect. It shows I'm interested but I can see how it could be misconstrued as a nervousness, or 'low-power'.
But isn't giving respect low-power? If you're the alpha, others give you respect, and you do as you please. I'm exaggerating, obviously, but respect is a form of deference. Deference is low-power.
I disagree. If you're the alpha, others give you respect, but this doesn't imply that you can't show respect to others. Respect is not only a form of deference. It is also a form of understanding.
Power is the ability to coerce through action or threat of action on those issues that you care about or in certain spheres of influence.
So, no, this doesn't mean constant domination. But that's largely due to the fact that the powerful won't generally expend their resources on issues they don't care about. As soon as you disagree or oppose them on an issue that they do care about, though, they will try to dominate you.
EDIT> Also, a person may have power within one sphere, but not another. A classic mistake is not realizing who you're dealing with / what the realities of the situation are.
> But that's largely due to the fact that the powerful won't generally expend their resources on issues they don't care about.
Explaining why something isn't true doesn't suddenly make it true. Yes. Powerful people know better than to constantly dominate. That's why the popular psychological pseudoscience of "alpha behavior" is smoke and bullshit.
High-power behavior? Having the self-assurance to exhibit low-power behavior when they feel like it. Low-power behavior? Attempting to exhibit high-power behavior when they don't have what it takes to back it up.
See how this gets circular and pointless very, very fast?
I know what you mean, but given the context of a job interview, by definition[1] you are in a lower power position.
I agree with sibling comments, though, that respectfulness is not mutually exclusive with alpha-ness. And if in general you are a respectful person, a high-power posture will probably not impact their opinion of your respectfulness too much.
[1] Assuming you really want the job and unless you are a hot shot who is gracing them with your willingness to work for them.
I don't think a job interview puts you in a lower-power position by definition, though I admit that there does seem to be a lot of social conditioning to make people believe this is always true.
The power dynamics depends a lot on the specific market conditions at a given point in time. If demand is low and supply is high, you do have a power disadvantage, but its just as possible to see the reverse where the employer is at a disadvantage.
The typical HN reader is more likely to be familiar with the latter than the former. Not because we are all hot shots, but because our industry is presently in high demand and has a low supply of labour.
Although you're partially right, I wouldn't say you are necessarily in a lower power position. They want to hire you (assuming you are up to snuff) just as much as you want to be hired. Assuming an "equal-power" position shows you believe you are capable of filling the role, and deserve it. It also suggests you would be perfectly okay with NOT getting the job if it doesn't work out.
I've gone into every job interview I've had with the attitude that I'm a hot shot who is gracing my employer with my willingness to work for them[1]. I've gotten offers at about 50% of them, which means that I've turned down more companies than have turned down me.
Confidence really does work. If you sincerely believe in your abilities, it's much easier to convince others to believe in them.
[1] This is not mutually exclusive with respect or humility. It's quite possible to believe you have a lot to offer your employer while also believing they have a lot to offer you, and then the job interview process is just a matter of negotiating the right fit.
Interesting. Whenever I see aggressive confidence in an interviewee, I immediately think Dunning-Kruger because statistically it's by far the most likely cause. Either way it's down to empirical evidence though.
Anyway, as far as anecdotal evidence goes, I tend to intentionally give off a pretty neutral vibe and rarely worry about flunking an interview. (I chalk it up to mad skillz rather than body language though.)
One could also argue that your willingness to quickly diagnose an individual coping with a traditionally high-anxiety situation (interviewing) with trendy cognitive bias issues calls your ability to recognize your own weaknesses into question.
First, what does it mean that these poses, these concepts ("power" as the desirable mode of relating to your coworkers for example) and even the key hormone we are meant to incite are so gendered? The poses are more essentially masculine than they are powerful. Have you ever seen a woman naturally with in the arm-around-the-chair pose, hips slunk forward and chest back? It would look quite unusual I think. As an employer, I'm not sure I want to select for testosterone (and I don't think I have so far). But maybe there is more to it.
Second, does it matter that attention is zero-sum? I would suggest that to ve convincing the author doesn't need to merely argue that body language manipulation is helpful, but that it is more helpful than, say, listening carefully, or preparing that much more for an interview, or even studying and thinking about human psychology more directly. You can only keep track of so many dimensions at once, and I'm not sold on the idea that I would benefit from privileging this dimension. Maybe I would, but that case hasn't been made for me yet.
I took burlesque dance lessons for a while. There was some time spent discussing posture and its use; I learnt some ways of standing that would make me look confident and sexy. There were some strong similarities to these "power poses" - but trust me, they were very, very feminine.
Hmmm.. With poses you can broadcast your 'negotiation position', but I don't think it's appropriate to try to look like you're on the winner's side if you're not. Makes some sense in some situations like interviews though.
I can't locate the reference, but I've read, and observed, that if you want to verify that the person w/ whom you're conversing is paying attention to you, cross your arms: if the other person crosses their arms also, then they're paying attention to you.
Oh God, I can see it now, startup pickup artistry:
"Yeah, I negged that investor twice and then escalated kino, and then popped the termsheet. You're a beginner--try a cold-open with a Paul Graham story and look for indicators of interest."
1) As far as interviews are concerned (or any dialogue) mirroring might get you further than power -- eg: when your interviewer crosses his/her arms, you might gain an advantage doing the same - whatever the "power poses" theory says. I suppose it is like language: Short, conscience sentences might be "powerful" or "commanding" -- but that alone doesn't make for effective prose in all cases. No communication without context.
2) Sitting in a room for two minutes, relaxing, convinced that you're doing a "power poise" -- might elevate your hormone levels. I'm sure screaming a battle cry, or doing a haka would work to. Not sure if it is just the poise in itself that helps with the levels. Would be interesting to do a reverse test: tell people that a "low power" position is actually a "power position" and vice versa -- and redo the experiment. I highly doubt we've got strong evolutionary ties to sitting with our feet up on a swivel chair.
3) The point about blind athletes -- so you imply blind people don't have socialized behaviour? Thankfully you don't have to live in an isolation chamber just because you're blind.
Re: #2, My understanding of the experiment is that they simply had people assume poses, and then measured their hormone levels. If they really did tell them up front whether the pose was intended to make them feel powerful, that would certainly be an egregious mistake in the methodology, but that wasn't the impression I had from hearing the TED talk.
Actually, I wonder if you could even pull of that version of the experiment without the participants seeing through it ("No really, shrinking into your chair and looking at the floor is a great display of power!").
I didn't really mean to imply that that's how the experiment was initially performed -- or that there's no correlation between poses and hormone levels.
I was more wondering if the results could be replicated with different poses (and a different context).
Then again, if people already "know" that the poses are (relatively) high or low power (hence are able to "see through" false explanations in an alternative study) -- perhaps the mental state is more important than the actual pose.
It describes a number of exercises where one actor takes the role of a superior and the other an inferior. The techniques are quite effective for the intended audience.
I would quote from it but I had a paper copy and it's really only worth running through once a decade for a non-actor interesting in the physical aspect of acting.
I'm learning taijiquan: one of the key concepts is the alignment of the body posture to allow energy to enter the meridians. Health and emotion are both influenced by posture.
I believe that we humans can also detect fake and unnatural body language.
What I don't like about is when people try to be impressive and poses a fake and unnatural body language to convey a certain scenario or meaning.
Body language is all about the meaning of the messages they convey and the GENUINE emotion they are experiencing.
It should not be faked, for the purpose of conveying a meaning or a make believe scenario.
It should begin with the message itself, it should begin with the actual emotion itself.
- Focus first on having a meaningful means of being confident, before you actually become, convey and exudes great confidence.
- Focus first on having a meaningful message, before actually forcing people that you have a meaningful and convincing message.
Winners have a genuine emotion for winning, so they actually have a real winning body language. It is not fake, and it is very convincing, and people will be drawn by the same emotions the winner is experiencing via the winner's genuine body language.
I have encountered several people doing unnatural body language, they want people to believe that they are confident speakers but their message is so unconvincing, it does not gel and it is really annoying and is painful to watch.
This is the actual definition of "cargo cult" behavior.
It's getting cause and effect backwards because you don't understand their relationship, and trying to imitate the effect in the futile hope that it will cause the cause.
People who sit all relaxed like that do so because they have power. They don't have power because they sit like that, and sitting like that will not magically confer power to you.
I took burlesque dance classes for a while. One of the things taught in this class was how to look confident, because projecting confidence is also pretty damn sexy.
Curiously enough, as I started learning these postures and using them, I found myself becoming a lot more confident. This was not something anyone told me to expect; it just sort of happened. It's spread out over a lot of how I move and behave, even when I'm not explicitly turning it on.
You are not a mind riding on top of a body. You are your body. And your body has a lot of weird feedback mechanisms that can be exploited.
If you read the article, they actually do an experiment and show via random assignment that assigning the posture actually causes the outcome (in this case, job interview success).
They didn't show the mechanism, but they did in fact show the direction of causality.
113 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 208 ms ] threadthere's little typo in 'Our nonverbals gove(r)n' though...
http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-BODY-Saying-Speed-Reading/d...
Concerning the body language tips the article recomends, I think everyone except arms crossed behind head is covered for in the book. Arm akimbo, crossed legs, etc.
As a personal tip, I'd give the thumbs up. No, like actually stretch your thumbs out when you walk around or talk to people, and leave them out of your pockets. It's ok to put the rest of the hand in, but the thumbs stay out.
Ahh, and if you're arguing, even if you want to, don't start undressing yourself, no matter how angry you are. 2 people arguing and taking jackets and shirts off usually means business you don't want to be part of neccesairily.
I think you mean Joe Navarro, unless the guitarist from Jane's Addiction and RHCP has led a far richer life than I previously imagined.
The books emphasises the importance of identifying behavioral patterns and recognizing deviations due to stress/confidence.
That said, one should keep an eye out for more than just nonverbal cues, as telling as they may be.
You aren't going to gain leadership by leaning back and spread eagling in a business meeting. You're going to gain it by being an actual leader and doing stuff that adds value to an organization.
That said, there are a few people who are really good at this stuff. One technique is based more on directly altering your mood rather than consciously positioning your body, and some people just seem better able to manipulate their mood than others.
The stereotypical brash alpha-male behaviours aren't necessarily affected. They can stem from just not even considering for a moment that you're not entitled to succeed, or to do as you please. While this can be annoying, it's also magnetic.
However, when dealing with people who don't know you, you can easily fake being important or nobody, for a short period of time. This is not always useful, and could backfire (especially if you are "elevating" your power), but I've found some limited scenarios where altered first impression gives you an edge.
The article describes a scientific (?) experiment that goes counter that intuition.
Not relevant to me.
God says...
2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
-----
LOL Jesus was charismatic! Damn! Got people to drop everything! Life was crappy back then a running around preaching was fun.
Body language. What does your conscience tell you? To me is seems slightly like cheating. If you don't think that, do it.
I don't agree with this, but it's a thought "How does a real man know when a woman is having an orgasm? He doesn't care."
------
God says...
fourteen days.
8:66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, 9:2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
----
The entertainment value of the bombing is right up there with gladiators. I think God shrugged at gladiators as sports. I think He pays more attention to Afganstan than pro football. It's not ghoulish when you are God -- life and death is more important and you have sure seen a lot of it.
----
God says...
1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
----
This crime scene investigator is new, foreign and I don't like it. It's Stazi and pathetic. Come-on! Too much CSI. The news people think they can get ratings. Maybe, Obama and CIA are doing something. I never understood Bush logic. You get shit that is just not sensible.
As soon as you encounter someone who is not speaking the same language, there will be great confusion. Usually, this means anyone from outside of MBA/Marketing/ or other art-of-BS type disciplines.
Also Zed Shaw had an interesting take on putting your feet on the table, but the link appears to be dead now. See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1235791
This is in conflict with the continued usefulness of timeless classics like "How to win friends and influence people".
I.e. I can confer honour upon you because I am the source of honour. Maybe I'm watching too much Game of Thrones.
So, no, this doesn't mean constant domination. But that's largely due to the fact that the powerful won't generally expend their resources on issues they don't care about. As soon as you disagree or oppose them on an issue that they do care about, though, they will try to dominate you.
EDIT> Also, a person may have power within one sphere, but not another. A classic mistake is not realizing who you're dealing with / what the realities of the situation are.
Explaining why something isn't true doesn't suddenly make it true. Yes. Powerful people know better than to constantly dominate. That's why the popular psychological pseudoscience of "alpha behavior" is smoke and bullshit.
High-power behavior? Having the self-assurance to exhibit low-power behavior when they feel like it. Low-power behavior? Attempting to exhibit high-power behavior when they don't have what it takes to back it up.
See how this gets circular and pointless very, very fast?
I agree with sibling comments, though, that respectfulness is not mutually exclusive with alpha-ness. And if in general you are a respectful person, a high-power posture will probably not impact their opinion of your respectfulness too much.
[1] Assuming you really want the job and unless you are a hot shot who is gracing them with your willingness to work for them.
The power dynamics depends a lot on the specific market conditions at a given point in time. If demand is low and supply is high, you do have a power disadvantage, but its just as possible to see the reverse where the employer is at a disadvantage.
The typical HN reader is more likely to be familiar with the latter than the former. Not because we are all hot shots, but because our industry is presently in high demand and has a low supply of labour.
Confidence really does work. If you sincerely believe in your abilities, it's much easier to convince others to believe in them.
[1] This is not mutually exclusive with respect or humility. It's quite possible to believe you have a lot to offer your employer while also believing they have a lot to offer you, and then the job interview process is just a matter of negotiating the right fit.
Anyway, as far as anecdotal evidence goes, I tend to intentionally give off a pretty neutral vibe and rarely worry about flunking an interview. (I chalk it up to mad skillz rather than body language though.)
In any case I think this alpha-male theory is pop evolutionary psychology that plays on the minds of insecure men.
First, what does it mean that these poses, these concepts ("power" as the desirable mode of relating to your coworkers for example) and even the key hormone we are meant to incite are so gendered? The poses are more essentially masculine than they are powerful. Have you ever seen a woman naturally with in the arm-around-the-chair pose, hips slunk forward and chest back? It would look quite unusual I think. As an employer, I'm not sure I want to select for testosterone (and I don't think I have so far). But maybe there is more to it.
Second, does it matter that attention is zero-sum? I would suggest that to ve convincing the author doesn't need to merely argue that body language manipulation is helpful, but that it is more helpful than, say, listening carefully, or preparing that much more for an interview, or even studying and thinking about human psychology more directly. You can only keep track of so many dimensions at once, and I'm not sold on the idea that I would benefit from privileging this dimension. Maybe I would, but that case hasn't been made for me yet.
"Yeah, I negged that investor twice and then escalated kino, and then popped the termsheet. You're a beginner--try a cold-open with a Paul Graham story and look for indicators of interest."
Yuck.
1) As far as interviews are concerned (or any dialogue) mirroring might get you further than power -- eg: when your interviewer crosses his/her arms, you might gain an advantage doing the same - whatever the "power poses" theory says. I suppose it is like language: Short, conscience sentences might be "powerful" or "commanding" -- but that alone doesn't make for effective prose in all cases. No communication without context.
2) Sitting in a room for two minutes, relaxing, convinced that you're doing a "power poise" -- might elevate your hormone levels. I'm sure screaming a battle cry, or doing a haka would work to. Not sure if it is just the poise in itself that helps with the levels. Would be interesting to do a reverse test: tell people that a "low power" position is actually a "power position" and vice versa -- and redo the experiment. I highly doubt we've got strong evolutionary ties to sitting with our feet up on a swivel chair.
3) The point about blind athletes -- so you imply blind people don't have socialized behaviour? Thankfully you don't have to live in an isolation chamber just because you're blind.
[edit: formatting x2]
Actually, I wonder if you could even pull of that version of the experiment without the participants seeing through it ("No really, shrinking into your chair and looking at the floor is a great display of power!").
I was more wondering if the results could be replicated with different poses (and a different context).
Then again, if people already "know" that the poses are (relatively) high or low power (hence are able to "see through" false explanations in an alternative study) -- perhaps the mental state is more important than the actual pose.
It describes a number of exercises where one actor takes the role of a superior and the other an inferior. The techniques are quite effective for the intended audience.
I would quote from it but I had a paper copy and it's really only worth running through once a decade for a non-actor interesting in the physical aspect of acting.
What I don't like about is when people try to be impressive and poses a fake and unnatural body language to convey a certain scenario or meaning.
Body language is all about the meaning of the messages they convey and the GENUINE emotion they are experiencing.
It should not be faked, for the purpose of conveying a meaning or a make believe scenario.
It should begin with the message itself, it should begin with the actual emotion itself.
- Focus first on having a meaningful means of being confident, before you actually become, convey and exudes great confidence.
- Focus first on having a meaningful message, before actually forcing people that you have a meaningful and convincing message.
Winners have a genuine emotion for winning, so they actually have a real winning body language. It is not fake, and it is very convincing, and people will be drawn by the same emotions the winner is experiencing via the winner's genuine body language.
I have encountered several people doing unnatural body language, they want people to believe that they are confident speakers but their message is so unconvincing, it does not gel and it is really annoying and is painful to watch.
It's getting cause and effect backwards because you don't understand their relationship, and trying to imitate the effect in the futile hope that it will cause the cause.
People who sit all relaxed like that do so because they have power. They don't have power because they sit like that, and sitting like that will not magically confer power to you.
Act more confident -> Appear more confident -> Be treated differently -> Actually be more confident.
I took burlesque dance classes for a while. One of the things taught in this class was how to look confident, because projecting confidence is also pretty damn sexy.
Curiously enough, as I started learning these postures and using them, I found myself becoming a lot more confident. This was not something anyone told me to expect; it just sort of happened. It's spread out over a lot of how I move and behave, even when I'm not explicitly turning it on.
You are not a mind riding on top of a body. You are your body. And your body has a lot of weird feedback mechanisms that can be exploited.
1) smiling can lead to feeling happy 2) deep slow breathing can lead to feeling calm
They didn't show the mechanism, but they did in fact show the direction of causality.