Do you ever feel a lack of confidence when you are in an important presentation like an interview or a new situation? Most of us think that confidence only comes from experience or a person’s personality but it is not so. According to the research of Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy, you can boost your confidence instantly by doing just 2 minutes of power poses.

Power poses mean taking such a posture of your body that makes you feel powerful and confident. This is a simple and scientific technique that helps in reducing your stress hormones and increasing positive hormones.

Simple body postures

The science of power poses

Psychologist Amy Cuddy and her team showed in a famous research that when people take open and expensive poses, that is, they stand with their entire body exposed, the testosterone hormone in their body which is a happy hormone increases your confidence and reduces cortisol which is a stress hormone.
According to them, just 2 minutes of power pose can have a very positive effect on your mood and performance.

Popular power poses

Superhero pose 

For this, stand straight, keep your hands on your waist at shoulder width and keep your chest slightly forward. This posture makes you look confident and powerful like a superman or wonder woman.

Victory pose

What happens in this is that people raise both their hands in a V shape like winners of a race. When you try to do this, it helps you to feel positive energy and excitement.

Sitting power pose 

Whenever sitting on a chair, sit with a straight back, keep your hands on the table and sit relaxed, occupying space, like a confident leader.

How do power poses work?

Mind body connection 

This creates a strong connection between our brain and body. When you give a powerful posture, the brain interprets this signal as confidence.

Hormonal changes 

In Amy Cuddy’s experiments it was seen that power poses can increase testosterone by up to 20% and reduce cortisol by up to 25%. When you follow this you feel both energetic and calm.

Positive feedback loop

When you are in a confident posture, the person in front of you always considers you to be confident and then behaves accordingly with you. This helps you to feel more confident.

When and where should it be done?

Before an interview

• Right before a presentation or meeting
• Before giving an exam
• In your daily morning routine so that you start your day with confidence

Try to practice any or all power poses for just two minutes, be it a washroom, an empty room or any place in your house.

Common mistakes of this technique

• Just take a pose and think that with this everything will be maintained, keep in mind that you will have to keep a positive mindset also, only then you will be able to do it well.
• Negative self-talk after power poses can also impact your confidence; avoid it and use positive affirmations.
• Also avoid overconfidence and arrogance because power poses are not about being over smart but about feeling self assured.

So power poses are a simple, easy and free technique which is enough to make any person feel confident and powerful. Whenever you feel nervous the next time, do follow this technique for just 2 minutes. You will see for yourself how you can build extra confidence.
Whatever question you have in your mind related to this, you can ask in the comments. For more productive content, do explore dt covers.