The fact of the matter is that hiring decisions aren’t just
based on what we say. They’re based on how
we say it and what we do—our non-verbal posturing, or body language. If one
is shaking from anxiety it doesn’t exactly paint a confident picture. And
unfortunately, a closed, anti-social posture can affect how others perceive us
during social evaluations like a job interview, a school presentation, or any
other situation where we are the centre of attention.
Then the solution is simple, right? Just act extra confident
during the job interview. Open yourself up, put your hands behind your head and
your feet on the desk, and bam! You’re hired!
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. There’s a status
hierarchy that needs to be respected in these kinds of situations, and in
social encounters with a large power differential (like between an interviewer
and an interviewee), mimicking the high-status postures of your interviewer actually
makes them like you less. We would be violating social norms if we waltzed into
an interview acting like a hotshot. So, what should we do to help our chances
of landing that job?
Recent research by Cuddy and colleagues proposes a solution
to this posturing conundrum, and it’s called “preparatory power posing.” The
researchers theorized that adopting “high-power” poses—expansive, open
postures, like Superman’s iconic pose—before
a stressful job interview could positively impact how others see us. There are
several known benefits to adopting “high-power” poses, such as boosting
confidence, raising self-esteem, improving mood, and decreasing feelings of
fear. These power poses affect us biologically; they raise the levels of
hormones associated with dominant behaviours and decrease stress hormones. This
results in us appearing more approachable, enthusiastic, and most importantly,
calm.
Researchers placed participants into one of two groups. Each
group stood in either high-power positions or low-power positions immediately
before a mock job interview, without being told why. Participants in the
high-power group were told to stand with their hands on their hips and their
feet spread apart. Participants in the low-power group were asked to stand with
their legs crossed over and their arms wrapped around their torso. Participants
held their pose for one minute, and then were told they would be giving a
five-minute speech about why they were qualified for their dream job to two evaluators posing as interviewers. After preparing what they were going to say
while maintaining their high- or low-power postures for five more minutes, the interviewers walked in and participants were allowed to stand normally while delivering their speech.
Evaluators rated participants on their overall performance
(whether the interview was good or awful) and hireability (whether they would
hire the participant). Two different evaluators rated participants on the
content of their speech (whether they appeared intelligent and qualified) and
their body language (whether they were confident, enthusiastic, or awkward).
The nonverbal presence of the participants differed
depending on whether they had been adopting a high-power pose or low-power pose
prior to their interview. Those who had been standing like Superman appeared
better able to maintain their composure, more confident, and presented more
captivating and enthusiastic speeches than those who had been standing like a
proverbial “shrinking violet.” High-power posers were rated as performing
better overall and were judged as more hireable than low-power posers. And
surprisingly, the content of the speech didn’t affect the ratings.
The most important thing to take into account is that these
results occurred because participants altered their own sense of power prior to the interview, and this changed
their nonverbal presence during the interview. In short, posing in a
particular way before an interview affects how others perceive you, even if
they weren’t there to witness the power posing itself, because it alters your
body language. Neither the high-power or low-power group differed on how they
behaved during the interview itself, but adopting the preparatory power poses
gave them the psychological and physiological benefits associated with being in
a position of high status without risking the negative judgment associated with
acting powerful during an interview.
So what’s the take-home message? Stand like Superman for a
few minutes before your job interview or class presentation. I’m not kidding.
You may find yourself calmer and subconsciously radiating confidence, which is
sure to make a good impression!
Julia Kilpatrick
References
Cuddy, A.,
Wilmuth, C., Yap, A., & Carney, D. (2015). Preparatory power posing affects
nonverbal presence and job interview performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100, 1286-1295. doi:10.1037/a0038543
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