Coaching practices for Posture Confidence Effect

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Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • Right before something nerve-wracking I want a quick body-based way to feel a notch more sure of myself
  • I straighten up for about thirty seconds and then I’m slumped right back over
  • I keep seeing people swear that standing like a superhero for two minutes will spike my hormones and make me fearless, and I want to know what part of that is actually real before I pin my big moment on it.
  • Right before I walk into the presentation I’m jittery and small, and I want a quiet minute on my own to physically settle into feeling steady and grounded, so all the prep I did actually shows up instead of getting swallowed by nerves.
  • I catch myself hunched and folded-in, shoulders rounded like I’m trying to take up less space, and I notice I feel smaller and less sure inside when I’m carrying myself that way

Practices that may help

  1. Posture and Confidence, Honestly Explained
    Adopting an upright, open posture is associated with modest improvements in mood, self-perception, and felt confidence — but the dramatic "power posing changes your hormones and risk-taking" claims largely failed to replicate, so be skeptical of those. Think of posture as a small, real nudge on how you feel, not a hormonal hack; this is general wellbeing information, not medical advice.
  2. Adopt expansive posture to shift subjective confidence
    Upright, open posture — not a "power pose" — reliably correlates with higher self-reported confidence, even if the hormone claims did not hold.
    Power Posing Revisited
  3. Power Posing Revisited
    Amy Cuddy’s original 2010 claim — that two minutes of expansive posture changes hormone levels and risk-taking — failed to replicate reliably, and even one of the original co-authors distanced herself from the hormonal mechanism. The more modest finding — that posture affects subjective confidence and behavior — has held up better, though the effect sizes are small. The honest take: posture matters, the original claims were overreached, and the useful practices are simpler and more defensible than the original study suggested.
  4. Build the strength that makes upright effortless
    Strengthen the postural muscles so an open posture is your default, not a constant effort.
    Posture and Confidence, Honestly Explained
  5. Skip the hormonal "power pose" promises
    Use posture for felt confidence, but don’t believe it’s changing your hormones.
    Posture and Confidence, Honestly Explained
  6. Set your posture before high-stakes moments
    Take a private moment to settle into a confident posture before a presentation or hard talk.
    Posture and Confidence, Honestly Explained
  7. Posture and embodied confidence
    Getting stronger tends to change how you carry yourself — and that feeds back.
    Strength Training for Confidence
  8. Understand the "become it" claim accurately
    Sustained behavioral practice of confidence — acting as if — can build real self-efficacy over time, through mastery experiences rather than pose duration.
    Power Posing Revisited
  9. Reset to an upright, open posture
    Sit or stand tall with an open chest to give your brain different bodily evidence.
    Posture and Confidence, Honestly Explained
  10. Create a pre-performance ritual that includes posture
    A consistent pre-performance ritual — including posture — reduces anxiety and improves performance more reliably than any single element.
    Power Posing Revisited

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