Amy-Cuddy-Your-body-language-shapes-who-you-are

AmyCuddy:YourbodylanguageshapeswhoyouareSoIwanttostartbyofferingyouafreeno-techlifehack,andallitrequiresofyouisthis:thatyouchangeyourposturefortwominutes.ButbeforeIgiveitaway,Iwanttoaskyoutorightnowdoalittleauditofyourbodyandwhatyou'redoingwithyourbody.Sohowmanyofyouaresortofmakingyourselvessmaller?Maybeyou'rehunching,crossingyourlegs,maybewrappingyourankles.Sometimesweholdontoourarmslikethis.Sometimeswespreadout.(Laughter)Iseeyou.(Laughter)SoIwantyoutopayattentiontowhatyou'redoingrightnow.We'regoingtocomebacktothatinafewminutes,andI'mhopingthatifyoulearntotweakthisalittlebit,itcouldsignificantlychangethewayyourlifeunfolds.So,we'rereallyfascinatedwithbodylanguage,andwe'reparticularlyinterestedinotherpeople'sbodylanguage.Youknow,we'reinterestedin,like,youknow—(Laughter)—anawkwardinteraction,orasmile,oracontemptuousglance,ormaybeaveryawkwardwink,ormaybeevensomethinglikeahandshake.Narrator:HeretheyarearrivingatNumber10.ThisluckypolicemangetstoshakehandswiththePresidentoftheUnitedStates.HerecomesthePrimeMinister--No.(Laughter)(Applause)(Laughter)(Applause)AmyCuddy:Soahandshake,orthelackofahandshake,canhaveustalkingforweeksandweeksandweeks.EventheBBCandTheNewYorkTimes.Soobviouslywhenwethinkaboutnonverbalbehavior,orbodylanguage--butwecallitnonverbalsassocialscientists--it'slanguage,sowethinkaboutcommunication.Whenwethinkaboutcommunication,wethinkaboutinteractions.Sowhatisyourbodylanguagecommunicatingtome?What'sminecommunicatingtoyou?Andthere'salotofreasontobelievethatthisisavalidwaytolookatthis.Sosocialscientistshavespentalotoftimelookingattheeffectsofourbodylanguage,orotherpeople'sbodylanguage,onjudgments.Andwemakesweepingjudgmentsandinferencesfrombodylanguage.Andthosejudgmentscanpredictreallymeaningfullifeoutcomeslikewhowehireorpromote,whoweaskoutonadate.Forexample,NaliniAmbady,aresearcheratTuftsUniversity,showsthatwhenpeoplewatch30-secondsoundlessclipsofrealphysician-patientinteractions,theirjudgmentsofthephysician'snicenesspredictwhetherornotthatphysicianwillbesued.Soitdoesn'thavetodosomuchwithwhetherornotthatphysicianwasincompetent,butdowelikethatpersonandhowtheyinteracted?Evenmoredramatic,AlexTodorovatPrincetonhasshownusthatjudgmentsofpoliticalcandidates'facesinjustonesecondpredict70percentofU.S.Senateandgubernatorialraceoutcomes,andeven,let'sgodigital,emoticonsusedwellinonlinenegotiationscanleadtoyouclaimmorevaluefromthatnegotiation.Ifyouusethempoorly,badidea.Right?Sowhenwethinkofnonverbals,wethinkofhowwejudgeothers,howtheyjudgeusandwhattheoutcomesare.Wetendtoforget,though,theotheraudiencethat'sinfluencedbyournonverbals,andthat'sourselves.Wearealsoinfluencedbyournonverbals,ourthoughtsandourfeelingsandourphysiology.SowhatnonverbalsamItalkingabout?I'masocialpsychologist.Istudyprejudice,andIteachatacompetitivebusinessschool,soitwasinevitablethatIwouldbecomeinterestedinpowerdynamics.Ibecameespeciallyinterestedinnonverbalexpressionsofpoweranddominance.Andwhatarenonverbalexpressionsofpoweranddominance?Well,thisiswhattheyare.Sointheanimalkingdom,theyareaboutexpanding.Soyoumakeyourselfbig,youstretchout,youtakeupspace,you'rebasicallyopeningup.It'saboutopeningup.Andthisistrueacrosstheanimalkingdom.It'snotjustlimitedtoprimates.Andhumansdothesamething.(Laughter)Sotheydothisbothwhentheyhavepowersortofchronically,andalsowhenthey'refeelingpowerfulinthemoment.Andthisoneisespeciallyinterestingbecauseitreallyshowsushowuniversalandoldtheseexpressionsofpowerare.Thisexpression,whichisknownaspride,JessicaTracyhasstudied.Sheshowsthatpeoplewhoarebornwithsightandpeoplewhoarecongenitallyblinddothiswhentheywinataphysicalcompetition.Sowhentheycrossthefinishlineandthey'vewon,itdoesn'tmatterifthey'veneverseenanyonedoit.Theydothis.SothearmsupintheV,thechinisslightlylifted.Whatdowedowhenwefeelpowerless?Wedoexactlytheopposite.Wecloseup.Wewrapourselvesup.Wemakeourselvessmall.Wedon'twanttobumpintothepersonnexttous.Soagain,bothanimalsandhumansdothesamething.Andthisiswhathappenswhenyouputtogetherhighandlowpower.Sowhatwetendtodowhenitcomestopoweristhatwecomplementtheother'snonverbals.Soifsomeoneisbeingreallypowerfulwithus,wetendtomakeourselvessmaller.Wedon'tmirrorthem.Wedotheoppositeofthem.SoI'mwatchingthisbehaviorintheclassroom,andwhatdoInotice?InoticethatMBAstudentsreallyexhibitthefullrangeofpowernonverbals.Soyouhavepeoplewhoarelikecaricaturesofalphas,reallycomingintotheroom,theygetrightintothemiddleoftheroombeforeclassevenstarts,liketheyreallywanttooccupyspace.Whentheysitdown,they'resortofspreadout.Theyraisetheirhandslikethis.Youhaveotherpeoplewhoarevirtuallycollapsingwhentheycomein.Assoontheycomein,youseeit.Youseeitontheirfacesandtheirbodies,andtheysitintheirchairandtheymakethemselvestiny,andtheygolikethiswhentheyraisetheirhand.Inoticeacoupleofthingsaboutthis.One,you'renotgoingtobesurprised.Itseemstoberelatedtogender.Sowomenaremuchmorelikelytodothiskindofthingthanmen.Womenfeelchronicallylesspowerfulthanmen,sothisisnotsurprising.ButtheotherthingInoticedisthatitalsoseemedtoberelatedtotheextenttowhichthestudentswereparticipating,andhowwellthe