“Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become” ― Amy Cuddy
Hormones play an important role
Recent research from Harvard University unveiled that powerful and compelling leaders share not only similar mindsets but also similar hormone levels, as they tend to have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol.
Both men or women who show high levels of testosterone, display high confidence levels. Meantime, low levels of cortisol lead to reduce anxiety and the ability to deal better with stress.
In other words, this means that if you are one of those people who naturally enjoys this hormone cocktail, you are biologically designed to be more assertive, confident, and relaxed. You have the proper tools to handle pressure situations well and the correct hormone levels to make you feel more confident and less stressed.
The interesting thing about testosterone and cortisol is that your levels of each hormone can change quickly depending on the social, physical, and environmental signals around you.
You may be wondering why this has to do with feeling more confident? Well, it turns out that one of the physical hints that impact these hormones is body language. So, if you learn how to enhance your body language, you can increase your testosterone, decrease your cortisol, feeling more confident as a result.
The magic trick of “Power Poses.”
Amy Cuddy is a researcher at Harvard University who focuses on how we embody and express competence and warmth, linking our body language to our feelings, physiology, and behavior.
Cuddy and her team have classified different body postures as “high power” or “low power” poses. Where the high power poses are open and relaxed while the low power poses are closed and guarded.
They did an experiment, and the results left them stunned by the impact that body language had on the hormones within the body. High power poses elevated testosterone by 20 percent and reduced cortisol levels by 25 percent.
She has even been invited to share her finding through the TED Network, and her talk is know one of the top 20 recommended by the site. Watch her talk to understand more about this topic, and make sure to invest wisely a couple of minutes on this tecnique when you are about to enter an interview or simply need a boost of confidence for the task laying ahead of you.