Credit Where Credit is Due: Review of 'Presence' by Amy Cuddy
Next up in my review series of work/career books: Presence: Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy.
 |
| Painting above: Autoportrait de 1790 (ca.1790) by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun |
Amy Cuddy hardly needs an introduction. Her 2012 TED talk on body language is the second most-view TED talk ever--this talk and her work on power posing is so well-known there was even a Brooklyn 99 episode about it.
Enter her 2015 book Presence: Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges. Those of you who are fans of the power posing won't be disappointed, she discusses power posing and body language extensively. For those of us who are perhaps more skeptical, there are tons of other highly-accessible takeaways.
Cuddy explains the concept and practice of the eponymous Presence:
Presence, as I mean it throughout these pages,
is the state of being attuned to and able to
comfortably express our true thoughts, feelings, values, and potential.
That’s it. It is not a permanent, transcendent mode of being.
It comes and goes. It is a moment-to-moment phenomenon.
p.24
And the promise of Presence?:
Can this kind of presence help you become more successful in the traditional sense?
Quite possibly. But what matters more is that it will allow you
to approach stressful situations without anxiety, fear, and dread,
and leave them without regret, doubt, and frustration.
Instead, you will go forth with the knowledge
that you did everything you could do. That you accurately and fully represented
yourself and your abilities. That you showed them who you really are.
That you showed yourself who you really are.
p.25-26
Credit Where Credit is Due
One of the first things that struck me about Presence is just how many of her colleagues, corespondents, fans, and collaborators Cuddy gives credit to or cites throughout her book. I felt like nearly every page she is mentioning the full name, study, and research institute of this or that person.
This is actually quite interesting to me - what could be interpreted as a painfully thorough way to legitimize her statements actually inspired me personally at the importance of sharing the floor. Cuddy is gracious and humble in valuing the work of her peers; it is not competitive, it is very much a village of a variety of experts on shared topics.
For those of us in animation, it's like mentioning a particular shot or scene from your show, and in the same breath recognizing the animator, compositor, modeller, editor, and production coordinator all in one go! What a wonderful way to pay tribute to work you hold dear or are inspired by.
Introverts Very Much Invited
A good half of the book is focused on body language - what it is, why it's important for our lives and work (both socially/emotionally and physically), and body language habits to embrace.
As an introvert myself, I found this helpful - I don't need to say anything, perhaps just adjust my posture a bit. Indeed, Cuddy was astute in noting the bias that many might have when approaching the book - that extroverts would be particularly adept at Presence. Cuddy insists this simply isn't true, and that introverted folks like myself definitely have what it takes:
Let me clearly say: presence has nothing to do with extroversion.
Not only are introverts every bit as likely as extroverts to
demonstrate resonant presence, but research conducted in the
last decade has also overwhelmingly shown us that introverts tend to
have qualities that very effectively facilitate leadership and entrepreneurship,
such as the capacity to focus for longer periods of time;
a greater resistance to the kinds of decision-making
biases that can doom entire organizations;
less need for external validation of their self-concepts;
and stronger listening, observing, and synthesizing skills.
from Presence by Amy Cuddy
With such a heavy focus on body language in the book, it is a relief to us more reserved folks that a lot of the practices that Cuddy encourages are supposed to happen before you go out and socialize, from the privacy of your own room, cubicle, whatever.
Big Takeaway = Tiny Tweaks
Fortunately for readers, Cuddy teaches us that to start, we really don't have to be that bold at all. For me, that's why I took a lot away from the Chapter 10, "Self-Nudging: How Tiny Tweaks Lead to Big Changes," in particular. Cuddy remarks:
That's how it works. In each challenging situation, we nudge ourselves:
we encourage ourselves to feel a little more courageous,
to act a bit more boldly--to step outside the walls of our own fear, anxiety,
and powerlessness. To be a bit more present.
And incrementally, over time, we end up where we want to be...
even if we couldn't have said where that was when we started.
p.252
Cuddy offers a few examples (citing of course the other experts whose studies offer these insights): reframe anxiety as excitement to overcome stage fright, print an aged-up picture of yourself to remind yourself to save for retirement, consider an outfit change to help yourself visualize the role you want, etc. Seems like very minimal efforts, no? Cuddy assures us they are indeed, but with potentially big payoff.
Read my fave highlights from Cuddy's book here.
the yak occidental career book review series includes:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity by David Whyte
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke
Not quite a full review yet but close enough on Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think by Dr. Tasha Eurich
Just Listen: Three Different Career Books on One Key Skill - in which I synthesize wisdom from three of the books above!
