Public Speaking

24 CHAPTER^2 Giving Your First Speech: Developing Confidence

5. Continue to visualize yourself completing your speech, gathering your notes, making
   final eye contact with the audience, and returning to your seat.


6. Finally, imagine yourself back in the audience, delighted to be through!^30

Two key elements accompany successful visualization: You must create vivid images,

and you must control the images you generate.^31

Power Posing

Researchers from Harvard and Columbia University are exploring a new line of research

that links power posing to physical changes that can actually affect our levels of self-

confidence and control over our bodies, minds, and emotions. They studied whether or

not assuming a power pose (open and expansive posture) for two minutes could actu-

ally cause power. They discovered that high-power posers showed increased dominance

hormones, reduced stress hormones, more willingness to take risks and more feelings of

power.^32 In a related study, researchers in the Netherlands^33 found that using a lowered

voice pitch, which is also associated with power, influences a speaker’s feelings of power

as well as the ability to reason abstractly.

If you want to experiment with these techniques, copy some of the poses used by

powerful people. Stand with open (unfolded arms and uncrossed legs) and expansive

postures (taking up more space) for two minutes before you rehearse and again before

you present your speech. Lower your vocal pitch during your rehearsals, and maintain

lower tones when you speak.

To find out more about this research, do an Internet search for “TED Talks” and

link to Amy Cuddy’s speech, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.”

Fortunately, research shows that most highly anxious students finish their speech

class feeling less anxious^34 because of habituation, which means that anxiety lessens

power poseing assuming
the open and expansive
postures associated with
powerful people

habituation lessening anxi-
ety by successfully repeating
an experience over time

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Researchers are exploring the relationship between power poses, more confidence, and less stress.

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