When you go into a job interview, an important meeting, or even on a date, you want to feel strong. You want to feel confident and powerful. You want to feel a little bit like Wonder Woman.
Turns out, all you need to do is stand like her.
Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist and professor at Harvard Business School, found that tiny tweaks in the way you hold your body can have major effects on the outcomes of events in your life. Just two minutes in a “power pose”—an open, expansive stance—before your big event can make you more calm, more confident, more charismatic, and even more likely to get hired.
“If you pose like this,” says Cuddy, hands on her hips and feet spread wide, “and then go in, you’re much more excited about what you’re doing. And that’s what comes across.”
So, rather than sitting hunched over your resume before your next interview, head to the bathroom and spend a couple minutes power posing (you could even pop the Wonder Woman theme song on your iPod for musical inspiration). The difference will be powerful.