Stand Up Straight!

A few weeks ago, the Pastor of my church wrote the following in the church bulletin:

"According to research done by Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy, your mothers message to "Stand up straight!" and "Put your shoulders back!" provides benefit that reaches far beyond the issue of correct posture. Her study has revealed that a person's bearing has the ability to radically change their job performance and career. At one level, researchers have known for a long time that our nonverbal communication affect the way that others perceive us. When we observe a person standing tall we sense that they are filled with confidence. But Cuddy's study deals with the issue from a different perspective. It is her belief that when an individual assumes a 'power position' or 'pose' it makes changes to their biochemistry. As we stand or sit in a way where we 'open up' and 'take up space' we supposedly experience an increase in testosterone (the 'dominance' hormone) and a decrease in cortisol )a hormone identified with 'stress'). This combination results in a significant gain in our personal feeling of 'presence' as our bodies tell our minds that we have reason to be 'self-assured'. So while Cuddy believes that a 'power suit' may be of some help, the 'power pose' is what will really make a difference."

This lead me to do some research on Cuddy's study(Amy Cuddy Wiki Bio). One thing that I perceived was that I have seen this in action and in personal experience. During my working career, I noticed that some managers exuded confidence by how there body language was presented and others did not seem to have the body language to earn respect.

In my personal life, I discovered this "power pose" a number of years ago. During a time in my life where I lost a lot of weight and became more physically fit, I started standing straighter, taller and larger. The first thing I would notice was the looks of strangers that I would pass on the street and in stores. I would often get eye contact and a smile from strangers that I did not get before. I also started walking in public like I "owned the place". This worked very well when I would travel overseas in unfamiliar territory where a lack of confidence could is result in catastrophe.

Several years ago, before I heard about this study I remember reading an article about one of the actors in the last Superman movie. Most of us can relate to the character Superman as someone that shows great confidence and strength. The actor who played Superman(Brandon Routh) reportedly spent many hours working on his posture and perfecting his "Laser Straight" back. At the time, I could compare this to my personal experience.

So there may be a lot of truth to what your mother said: Stand Up Straight!".

 Brandon Routh from "Superman Returns".

Brandon Routh from "Superman Returns".

Amy Cuddy. She talks about more than just standing tall. Her examples of "power pose" has to do with the concept of "taking up space" and being large.

Amy Cuddy. "Wonder Woman".