Confident Posture Helps Improve Your Appearance and Attitude

Wouldn’t you like to feel more empowered, confident, and ready to take on the world? We all would,  but sometimes life bogs us down. That’s why confidence is crucial to a healthy state of mind: it improves not only the way we’re socially and professionally viewed but also helps improve our self-worth. So how do we obtain more confidence? Perhaps it’s as simple as straightening up.

Confidence and Posture

Studies show that our posture affects our self-worth, specifically when it comes to our emotions. Just as hunching over a screen sends the message that we don’t want to be approached, sitting up straight can invite conversation, and even compliments. Our posture and body language greatly influence how others view us.

Furthermore, good posture increases the flow of oxygen to the brain, generating clarity. With this clarity, we’re able to focus better and apply ourselves. Let’s think of posture as a mirror of our confidence. Sometimes when we’re feeling low, it helps to sit or stand upright to improve our state of mind. Even though it seems simple, this significant shift can help you feel happy, healthy, and confident.

In short, great posture not only helps us appear more confident, but it can also help us be more confident. Sometimes, you have to start by faking it ‘til ya make it.

Create More Confident Body Language

If we want to be perceived as confident in ourselves, standing tall is a great way to send the message that we value ourselves and our capabilities, but we can go even farther. We have the power to project confidence, simply by improving our overall posture. In fact, a 2009 study from Ohio State University found that sitting up straight improves confidence, which can help with work performance and social settings. 

From nailing your interview posture to being the life of the party, check out these 7 posture tweaks to show confidence:

1. Keep Your Chin Up
   Keeping your head up in conversation, as you wait, or while you present creates a positive, confident image. In contrast, looking down or to the side can show nervousness, manifesting that you don’t want to face what is in front of you. Along with keeping your head up, straighten your whole body. Stand up tall with a straight spine and rolled-back shoulders to show poise. Hunching over can make you appear shy or lazy, but standing up shows you are ready for the room.
2. Make Eye Contact
   Take looking up one step further and maintain eye contact with the people you speak to. Making direct eye contact shows you are sure of yourself and ready to tackle any conversation. To avoid being too assertive, break eye contact throughout the conversation and look at other parts of the person’s face or surroundings, but always come back to eye contact.
3. Hands Where We Can See Them
   Avoid putting your hands in pockets, behind your back, or under the table. Also, avoid crossing your arms across your body. Hiding your hand and crossing off your body language can make you appear standoffish and unapproachable. But, having your hands out and by your sides can make you appear relaxed and confident. Bonus: try to keep your palms visible as much as possible, especially when making hand gestures. Showing the palm is a sign of honesty which makes those around you more trusting of your character and capabilities.
4. Lean in when in conversation, slightly lean towards the person speaking. This displays interest and attention to the speaker. Keeping the focus on others can also show confidence while saving you from being put on the spot. Ask conversation-starting questions, listen wholly, and ask more personal follow up questions. If in a group, open questions up to everyone listening. Leading the conversation shows your assertiveness and helps you buy time to think of an answer. In short, don’t worry about being the most interesting person in the room, your confidence can send that message for you.
5. Go slow
   Whether you are talking, gesturing with your hands, eating at a party, or just walking across the room, go slow. Obviously don’t move like a snail, but taking your time to move at a slower pace shows that you are in no rush. Plus, going slowly gives you more time to think on your feet when necessary. Moving too quickly can expose nerves or the desire to leave a situation while moving slow tells those around you that you are happy where you are and calm in the situation. Slowing down can also improve your manners. For example, By not inhaling your food you show appreciation to the cook or host and can hold a better conversation; by not running from a conversation you show the other person you value their insight and by not racing through a speech you tell the audience you appreciate their attention and are proud of what you have to share.
6. Don’t Fidget
   Keep fidgeting to a minimum. Whether you are prone to playing with your hands, pulling at your clothes, or fiddling with your keys or glass, try to stop. Fidgeting can be distracting to those around you and can signal anxiety. Try to find a comfortable position to rest your hands (outside of pockets, of course) and keep them there. While working on physical fidgets, keep in mind fidgets or fillers in your speech. Avoid using words like ‘um,’ ‘like,’ ‘okay,’ or ‘you know’ frequently as you speak. Cutting out unnecessary verbiage will help you appear more intelligent and more.
7. Take up Space
   The last way to assert your confidence is to demand the space you occupy. When standing, keep your feet about hip-width apart, not letting your feet cross or get too close. Remain tall and keep your hands by your sides to fill your full space while remaining approachable. When walking, take large steps to travel farther with each step. Remember to not rush your steps by moving slowly. Overall, let yourself feel larger than life and project that confidence into the atmosphere around you. It can sound silly, but others will feel confident in the air when they are near you.

By following these tips, you’ll propel confidence to any room you enter.  Acting confident can help you appear confident, and attract friends or opportunities which can help you grow your true confidence. It’s the perfect cycle. 

To get your new confidence-boosting moves ready, practice in a mirror or on a close friend. You may feel odd at first, but these postures will get easier and more natural to do, and your confidence will surge. Just don’t forget, as much as we’d like others to view us in a positive light, true confidence comes from within.

Confidence Impacts Self Worth

Why do we feel confident? Ultimately, we believe in ourselves and what we have to contribute. But in those areas of our lives that we are less self-assured, good posture can help boost our confidence. When approaching a high-pressure or stressful situation, stand up straight. Powerful outcomes can be achieved by standing tall. Standing upright is a great tool to bolster self-worth, improve wellbeing, and generate confidence. Want to know the best part? Back posture, and confidence, as a result, is something we can improve with posture training. In fact, using UPRIGHT’s posture sensor for just 15 minutes a day can yield bold results.

The world is yours! “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” – Henry David Thoreau