The title “Director”
suggests “one who directs” or leads, drives the show, the project, the team,
etc. What if our bodies had the ability
to direct our minds, rather than the
mind directing the body?
Social
Psychologist Amy Cuddy, a researcher and professor at Harvard Business School,
has conducted experiments in this very arena and discovered that “high power
poses” actually lead to hormonal levels in the brain. A substantial rise in
testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain led people to perform differently
in a variety of situations, including job interviews… but even more interesting was the effect on how people felt
about themselves, subsequently affecting their behavior! Rather than subscribe to the belief that you “fake
it till you make it,” Dr. Cuddy believes you can fake it till you BECOME it. You are no longer faking the feeling of being confident or powerful, but
you have BECOME this person you thought you were imitating.
I often
encourage my clients to assume a more powerful physical stance and use
commanding gestures, even when they weren't "feeling it." It’s nice to know there is
science behind this practice and that more than doing it for the sake of the audience, it is a good practice for the speaker as well.
I leave you
now to watch Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk- her personal story is worth staying tuned
for. Let me know what you think!
-Greta Muller
greta@c3nyc.com
