How Your Body Language Can Help Sell Your Idea!

In the attached video, Amy Cuddy brings body language into the scientific sphere. What takeaways can you glean from her talk? Find out below!

The effect your body language produces on the people you are interacting with can be huge. Posturing in an assertive, authoritative manner may lend credence to your argument. Conversely, hands in pockets or crossed arms can come off as defensive or unsure. The study of body language has been long and thorough. But new studies, as exemplified by Cuddy’s TED talk, have shown that the poses you take can have inward effects on yourself.

A few simple exercises before giving a talk can change the chemical makeup in your brain. Not only does posing larger than normal (hands clasped behind your head, or stretched akimbo on a table) give your audience the impression that you’re the boss, it can convince you that you are in fact the alpha in the room. Studies have shown that the few simple body movements Cuddy remarks upon can help pump more adrenaline and similar hormones which are effective in getting your point across, if not merely seeming in charge.

Video taping yourself when giving presentations before an audience, or even alone in practice, can be a great help in mastering public speaking. Picking up on your weaker moments in a speech can be fairly easy. Try to pick up on when you fidget, when you scratch or can’t find what to do with your hands. Addressing these and fighting against similar instincts will help you sell your idea with your body.

Try it out! Record yourself giving a rehearsed speech from a cold start. Then, do some of the exercises Cuddy mentions and redo the speech. Watch the recording. Notice a difference? You probably will, and keeping it in mind will help in future speeches.