Power Posing—Stand Tall, Stand Your Ground

by: Josh Bryant

Bill Romanowski exemplifies power posing. 

Dennis, a witty and sharp-tongued 65 year old, was a total classic. Despite his reputation as a skilled manipulator and slick talker, he found his calling as a Waffle House cook. Dennis achieved more in one hour behind the grill than most cooks did in 12. I learned from Dennis that productivity outweighs the number of hours spent working!

Dennis appeared unassuming—a short, pudgy man with a bald head, thick glasses, and feeble hands. However, his silver tongue more than compensated for his lack of physical strength. When dealing with customers who refused to pay their bills, Dennis’s performance was remarkable. He would unleash a flood of curse words, threats, and outrage, often resulting in immediate payment.

One day, a stunning woman walked into Waffle House. Dennis, a known womanizer, attempted to charm her, but his advances were swiftly snubbed. Later, an enraged man (her husband), 250 pounds of rock-hard muscle stormed into the Waffle House, ready to make cannon fodder out of Dennis.

Instead of retreating, Dennis started talking shit, flailing his hands, and intimidating the man. He claimed that his hands were registered as lethal weapons in 37 states. Despite his lack of physical prowess, Dennis’ audacity and unwavering confidence diffused the tension. The man left the Waffle House, leaving a lasting impression on me. Dennis’ body language and stance literally morphed from Clark Kent to Superman, his testicular fortitude taught me the importance of standing tall and holding my ground, regardless of the circumstances, even when faced with a seemingly uphill battle!

What I learned from Dennis 20 years ago at Waffle House off Trinity Lane in Nashville, TN, has since been confirmed by University research.

Harvard and Berkeley did research that shows weak posture is holding you back in life. Turns out, how you position yourself makes or breaks your chances of getting a job or surviving a malaise at the Waffle House. 

In this study, participants were told to strike either a powerful pose, such as arms extended in the air or a weak-ass pose—like they just got kicked in the nuts and can’t recover. They held these poses for one to two minutes, then had to give a speech while being recorded. Experts then listened to these recordings and judged people based on speech quality, presentation skills, hire ability, and overall performance. Surprise, surprise! The folks who struck those high-power poses consistently scored higher than those that executed the lower power poses. (Cuddy, Wilmuth, & Carney, 2012)

But wait, there’s more! (RIP, Billy Mays.)

Power posing doesn’t just affect your job prospects. It messes with your hormone levels, too. Those who posed like they had balls of steel were more likely to take risky bets. And get this—while those high-power posers saw their testosterone levels skyrocket and felt like kings, the low-power posers watched their testosterone levels shrivel up like prunes while their cortisol, the stress hormone, shot through the roof! (Carney, Cuddy, & Yap, 2010)

Now, here’s the deal, to be powerful, pose as if you are. Don’t walk into a scary situation with weak posture; like Dennis, strike a pose that makes you feel like a superhero—Superman, Wonder Woman, or even a victory stance with arms spread wide. It doesn’t matter as long as it makes you feel powerful.

Doing just two minutes a day of power posing can make a big difference. Do it right before you face a challenge, like giving a presentation, attending a high-stakes meeting, before a big game or when you take your dogs out to a little waterhole near the nature center after hours, and the old k-car full of addicts decided to go “birdwatching” and you gotta defend your two dogs, your old lady, and your van. It will be like injecting confidence straight into your veins.

So, the next time you are slouching like a wet noodle before a high-stake’s situation, straighten up! Teach your kids to sit up straight, not just because it makes you look like a proud parent, but because you’re saving them from a lifetime of cortisol-induced misery. Stand tall, strike a pose, and kick ass!

Change your thoughts, change your life HERE.