Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

We know that in primate hierarchies, if an individual needs to take over an alpha role sort of suddenly, within a few days, that individual’s testosterone has gone up significantly and his cortisol has dropped significantly.

We have this evidence, both that the body can shape the mind, at least at the facial level, and also that role changes can shape the mind.

Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” – standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

Amy Cuddy says that when someone is being really powerful non verbally that we don’t actually mirror them, we do the opposite of them.

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AntiTheist666
A short but sweet talk about body language and how we interpret poses, gestures etc. Little things count for a lot and the scene with Gordon Brown (Mr. Fake Smile) was a Prime example of how he failed terribly in this department. He could have done with quite a few lessons from Amy in the expression of power dynamics, no wonder he got trounced in the last election.
This very good talk gets elevated into the great category because of Amy Cuddy’s inspiring back story, her struggle to continue her education after suffering a serious head injury in a car crash when she was 19.
Dan
Body languages never lies, but according to our reality, the signs are not the same for everyone else, for everyone at same time.
BetsMcGee
This book touches a bit on the types of poses you come across and how we instinctively assess people by them. I am sure there is more definitive and in depth books on the subject, this book kinda of reads like a “for dummies” book with illustrations and fun facts. It does however address the questions you have and at the very least will be a place to begin. Anyways the book is “The Definitive Book of Body Language, How to Read Others’ Attitudes by Their Gestures” By Allan Pease, Barbara Pease
Amber Prazak
So what are the poses for equality? Besides job interviews and occasions that would call for “power posing”, when interacting with colleagues, family, and friends I don’t want to exude an assertiveness nor subordinate non-verbals. I prefer my nonverbals to give the message of welcoming, affirmative, warmth, equality. What are those poses?