Look at how you’re sitting now.  Are your arms folded?  Or your legs _________?  Or are your hands by your side?  When we talk about forms of communication we ____ to think primarily about oral communication like face-to-face conversations, or ________ communication like emails. People don’t immediately think about non-_________ communication like our facial expression or how we’re sitting. But it’s actually one of __ most significant forms of communication, and it has a huge impact on how we feel ____ how we act.  Let’s take the feeling of power as an example.  Our body language ______ other people if we’re feeling powerful or powerless.  I’m sure everyone here in _______ audience knows that in many social situations they’ve been in, one person is in a _____ powerful position than others. A job interview is a good example of this. The _________ can choose to hire the interviewee or not. So they’re likely to feel more powerful ______ the interviewee.  This means they stand tall, look up and generally have what ________ describe as open body language.  I’m sure everyone here has watched an _________ documentary where apes displayed this kind of open body language.  When an ______ wants to show a higher position of power, it stands tall, pushes its chest forward ______ holds its head up high. The other apes immediately recognise that this ape has ______ power than them. Well, humans do this too, all the _________.

        From my own personal experience of job interviews, I can tell you that ________ interviewees--the person who wants the job--feel powerless and this makes them _____ to sit low in their chair and drop their heads. They look down at the floor. Basically ____ want to avoid looking big and make themselves as tiny as possible. But research _____ us that if that person sits tall in the chair and opens up their body, they can actually ___ to feel more powerful. This is because open body language produces power as well ___ reflects it, and this can help the interviewee to give a good impression and get the ____.  Open body language can result in a feeling of power, a feeling of dominance and _____ risk-taking due to a higher level of the chemical testosterone in our _________.  

        Cortisol is another important chemical that the body naturally produces. In fact __ produced in times of stress, to help us deal with a challenging situation. This could be _ dangerous situation, an unhappy situation or a situation where we need to succeed, ___ a job interview. When we use open body language, the feelings of power that result ___ physically lower our cortisol levels.  And less cortisol means less _________.

        So, what does all this mean? Well, we know that if we change our body _______ we can also change the way we feel. And if we feel confident then we can _________ better. So I’d like to make a suggestion. I’d like you to all spend a few minutes at _____ beginning of every day standing tall with your chests forward and your heads high ____ that you can feel confident for the day ahead and become better able to work ________ your goals. It will work and I’ve got some evidence to support _________.

        There was an interesting study carried out with the University of Columbia students that supports this idea. Sixty-six students were invited to take part in a study _ test the effects of power posing--that means showing open body _________.

        Look at how you’re sitting now.  Are your arms folded?  Or your legs crossed?  Or are your hands by your side?  When we talk about forms of communication we tend to think primarily about oral communication like face-to-face conversations, or written communication like emails. People don’t immediately think about non-verbal communication like our facial expression or how we’re sitting. But it’s actually one of the most significant forms of communication, and it has a huge impact on how we feel and how we act.  Let’s take the feeling of power as an example.  Our body language tells other people if we’re feeling powerful or powerless.  I’m sure everyone here in the audience knows that in many social situations they’ve been in, one person is in a more powerful position than others. A job interview is a good example of this. The interviewer can choose to hire the interviewee or not. So they’re likely to feel more powerful than the interviewee.  This means they stand tall, look up and generally have what we’d describe as open body language.  I’m sure everyone here has watched an animal documentary where apes displayed this kind of open body language.  When an ape wants to show a higher position of power, it stands tall, pushes its chest forward and holds its head up high. The other apes immediately recognise that this ape has more power than them. Well, humans do this too, all the time.

        From my own personal experience of job interviews, I can tell you that most interviewees--the person who wants the job--feel powerless and this makes them want to sit low in their chair and drop their heads. They look down at the floor. Basically they want to avoid looking big and make themselves as tiny as possible. But research tells us that if that person sits tall in the chair and opens up their body, they can actually start to feel more powerful. This is because open body language produces power as well as reflects it, and this can help the interviewee to give a good impression and get the job.  Open body language can result in a feeling of power, a feeling of dominance and more risk-taking due to a higher level of the chemical testosterone in our body.  

        Cortisol is another important chemical that the body naturally produces. In fact it’s produced in times of stress, to help us deal with a challenging situation. This could be a dangerous situation, an unhappy situation or a situation where we need to succeed, like a job interview. When we use open body language, the feelings of power that result can physically lower our cortisol levels.  And less cortisol means less stress.

        So, what does all this mean? Well, we know that if we change our body language we can also change the way we feel. And if we feel confident then we can perform better. So I’d like to make a suggestion. I’d like you to all spend a few minutes at the beginning of every day standing tall with your chests forward and your heads high so that you can feel confident for the day ahead and become better able to work towards your goals. It will work and I’ve got some evidence to support this.

        There was an interesting study carried out with the University of Columbia students that supports this idea. Sixty-six students were invited to take part in a study to test the effects of power posing--that means showing open body language.(39 total)