This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Master Guides: Understanding and Using Body Language" by Shortform. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here.
What kind of body posture makes you appear more confident? Can body posture also make you feel more confident?
Body posture and confidence are deeply intertwined. Often, your posture will reflect your emotional state, and when you feel more confident, your posture will change. However, you can also influence the way you feel by intentionally changing your posture.
Read more about the link between body posture and confidence and how you can use nonverbal cues to look and feel more self-assured.
What Does Confident Body Posture Look Like?
Body posture and confidence are directly related. And in Presence, Cuddy states that showing people the truest, most confident version of yourself enables you to gain their trust quickly. This means that our posture and general body language makes a difference in countless scenarios, including meeting new friends.
Here are some body language cues you can use to communicate confidence and recognize confidence in others:
Standing Tall
Cabane also states that standing tall will make you look and feel more confident. Additionally, Lowndes argues in How to Talk to Anyone that people interpret good posture as a welcoming signal because it implies that you’re proud, you’re confident, and you have nothing to hide. They assume that you’re an accomplished person who deserves their attention.
In contrast, people interpret poor posture as unwelcoming. Trying to minimize your physical presence by slumping implies that you’re insecure or ashamed and don’t want to be approached.
Opening Up the Shoulders
According to Navarro in The Dictionary of Body Language, a strong signal of confidence is extending the shoulders to be wide and open. You might observe this in people with authority and power, such as business executives. This pose contrasts with the looser, more inward posture of someone less confident.
Moving Deliberately
In The Charisma Myth, leadership expert Olivia Fox Cabane recommends moving slowly and deliberately. The fewer movements you make, the more confident, in control, and authoritative you’ll seem. Restless fidgeting makes you seem distracted and agitated.
Can Changing Your Posture Make You Feel More Confident?
Body language and posture are deeply connected to emotions. Understanding the relationship between body language and emotions can help you change your emotional state.
In Presence, Amy Cuddy argues that there’s a two-way link between your body language and your emotions. Your body language often reflects your emotional state (as in slumped shoulders when you’re feeling upset), but you can also alter your mindset by changing your body language. For example, when you change your posture to exude confidence—by relaxing and opening up your shoulders—your emotions take cues from your body, and you start to genuinely feel more self-assured. According to Schafer and Karlins in The Like Switch, confidence and ease are some of the qualities that most attract potential friends, as confident people are more comfortable sharing details about themselves. This builds rapport in new relationships. Additionally, confident body language displays friendliness and openness to connection, so it makes you more approachable to potential friends. Therefore, it’s possible that if you consciously adopt body language that makes you look and feel more confident, you’ll have an easier time making friends.
———End of Preview———
Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Shortform's "The Master Guides: Understanding and Using Body Language" at Shortform.
Here's what you'll find in our full The Master Guides: Understanding and Using Body Language summary:
- How to better understand nonverbal communication
- How to use and interpret body language to form connections
- The body language you should avoid if you're looking to make friends
