Creating Confidence
How to give yourself a more confident mindset… in just two
minutes!
For years the common belief has been that the only genuine
way to more confident appearance was a more confident mindset. Your mind governed your body. The technique
known as ‘fake it ‘till you make it’ was just that – faking it.
But the latest research has shown that how we act can
influence how we think – and in a very short time. This has led to the discovery of some
brilliant confidence-building techniques for anyone about to deliver a
presentation, attend a recruitment interview, a difficult meeting or even one
of those networking functions that so many people dread.
The research is all based on non-verbal power poses. These are the positions we assume in our
attempt to look larger and more powerful.
It’s a primitive instinct. In
animals you see it in the flattened neck of the Cobra or the cat’s fur standing
up. In humans, you see it in the way
some people stand and sit ‘tall’ - and it has nothing to do with their
height. Other, physically taller people
will stand and sit hunched over – almost as it they’re trying to squeeze into a
smaller space. Look at any waiting room
for recruitment interviews and you will see the two extremes. Some will be using all their space. Elbows are on armrests (if they have any) or
even stretched across the backs of the seats either side. Head will be up making eye contact around the
room. Others will be sitting as ‘small’
as possible, arms inside armrests with most of their eye contact being with the
folder in their lap.
Professor Amy Cuddy of Harvard and Assistant Professor Dana
Carney of University of California, Berkley conducted some very interesting
research on the effect of non-verbal power poses. They looked at the impact that body language
has on your feeling of confidence – not psychologically, but physiologically as
determined by the levels of two key hormones: testosterone and cortisol. Confident people have high levels of
testosterone (the dominance hormone) and low levels of cortisol (the stress
hormone).
Amy and Dana devised an experiment where some people were
asked to stand or sit in high power (larger) poses and others in low power
(smaller) poses for just two minutes. After this sort time, those in the high power
poses showed a 20% increase in testosterone and a 25% decrease in cortisol. Those in the low power poses experienced a 10%
decrease in testosterone and a 15% increase in cortisol. Such a dramatic change from just two minutes
– proving that you can ‘fake it ‘till you make it’.
So, here’s three ways that you can make it work for you:
1. Own your space. In
the bus, train or taxi on the way to the meeting or interview, in the lift and
in the waiting room, sit and stand tall, open out your shoulders, head up and
initiate eye contact with others. Even
if you don’t feel confident, act it, and you’ll soon start to feel it.
2. Take your time. Confident people move more deliberately
and slightly more slowly. As you move
into the room take steps that are just 2cm longer than your normal step. This will slow your walk down and make you
look more confident. If you are about to
give a presentation, use this technique as you walk to your speaking position
taking slow, deep breaths as you do so.
3. Be pro-active. If
appropriate, take the initiative in the interaction. Hold out your hand first for the hand
shake. As you grab their hand, rather
than stopping, keep moving forward another half step. This will make you appear
more friendly and assertive.
The more you can force yourself to take the lead, the more
you are stimulating your dominance hormone and suppressing your stress
hormone.
This works brilliantly in networking functions (where many
people feel awkward) because all you have to do is act like the host. Approach people and introduce yourself, thank
them for coming, offer to accompany them to the bar, introduce them to others
(that you’ve just met). You’ll feel more
purposeful, the other guests –even the real host – will love you for it and all
the while you’re driving the hormones in the right direction.
Previous to this research, if you’d said that you can make
someone feel more confident in just two minutes, I’d have scoffed. Now, the proof is there. Put yourself in the right position and your sense
of power will build while your stress level goes down – instant confidence!