I first watched this several years ago. I was on a train on my way to a customer meeting that was filling me with dread. I was there to deliver bad news and it wasn’t going to be pretty. I was new in my role and I knew I wouldn’t have good answers to the inevitable questions.
So I googled ‘confidence’ (yes, I felt that bad) and came across Amy Cuddy’s video telling me that my body language would not only determine how I was perceived but also how I acted. That it would impact my level of hormones that would drive how powerful I felt in the situation I was about to face.
So that’s why I found myself 10 minutes before my meeting locked in a cubicle, taking her advice, and striking the Wonder Woman pose for two minutes (and wondering what on earth I was doing!)
It’s why I sat in this difficult meeting with my back straight, shoulders back and forcing myself to hold eye contact.
Was the meeting still tough? Yes. But I did feel more in control (in a Wonder Woman kind of way!). And it did change the dynamic in the room which led to a more beneficial working relationship for us all moving forward.
So this video is worth 20 minutes of your time if you feel like you have to ‘fake it to make it’ sometimes. Or as Amy Cuddy says, this is how you can ‘fake it until you become it’
Let me know what you think