Most people have heard the expression ‘fake it ‘til
you make it.’ In her Ted talk entitled “How Body Language Shapes Who You Are,”
Amy Cuddy offers a unique and insightful perspective to ‘fake it ‘til you
become it.’
When I
listened to Amy's presentation, I didn’t immediately buy in to her opening suggestion
that changing postures for two minutes can have a significant change on the way
our life unfolds. I admit that I was very sceptical. As her talk continued and
she spoke about power dynamics and how the alphas have higher levels of
testosterone and lower levels of cortisol, my skepticism diminished. Her
experiments have shown that our bodies can actually change our minds. I plan to
test her power pose the next time I am in a stressful evaluative situation,
which will likely be the next class presentation. I also plan to share this
information with my daughter, who struggles with anxiety.
Amy’s
personal story of her car accident resulting in a head injury, and her ensuing
struggle to cope with and eventually overcome a significant decrease in IQ, was
very moving; as was the fact that she then used her new insight to help another
person.
I feel that Amy’s
message was communicated effectively using both evidence and personal
experience, and that she was very energetic and passionate about her subject. I also feel that a good presentation leaves people with something
memorable. Amy certainly achieved that with her use of visuals, particularly
the picture of the Wonder Woman pose.
Amy's Ted
talk can be found at
http//www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html.
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