Fake it Until You Make It

I recently delivered a training session to my new team on presentation skills. I work at an organization where even young and less experienced employees present to senior leaders and the full company. I am excited to help them develop their own presentation style and ability that will serve them as they grow their careers.

My boss pointed me to this video on YouTube. She assumed I already watched it as it is rated as one of the most popular TED Talk videos of all time with over 7.3 Million views, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are by Amy Cuddy.

I never seen the video until now and I am glad I did not miss it. I plan to share with my team as a follow-up to our training session. It is not directly about presentation skills, but more a focus on shaping your presence to make a difference in your thinking and performance. The video is 20 minutes long, so a bit of a commitment for you, but so well worth it. I expect you may watch it a second time, as I did, to fully grasp the concepts and decide on how to apply the approach to your daily life.

Amy Cuddy presents compelling evidence from her own research to prove her points on power dynamics and body positioning. Her story is also heartfelt and drives her point home on how we can move from “Fake it until you make it”, to the life changing, “Fake it ’till you become it”.

Needless to say, I will be doing the Wonder Woman Stance often. Yea, you need to watch the video to know what I am talking about.