It was very interesting to recently become aware of the research work that Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy has been pioneering at Harvard Business School. She gives evidence to show that body language can change other people’s perceptions — and even our own body chemistry — simply by changing body positions.

As a young training Actor in the 1980s I was introduced to the technique of using PGs (Psychological Gestures) to help generate brain, body and voice states to best reveal the truth of a character’s persona. The technique has been used by Actors for many hundreds of years, and was made universally popular since Michael Chekhov’s book “To The Actor” was published in the 1950s.

This is a very powerful technique that I have used in many forms over the years to help both Performance and Corporate professionals find a voice that is comfortable and authentic to enhance the delivery of  their message. It is a simple, quick and effective way to give yourself a noticeable boost when either exploring possibilities within your voice, or successfully generating the approapriate energy for a presentation, job interview or pitch to your stakeholders.

To read more about Amy Cuddy’s research, and her own remarkable story – this is a good place to start:

http://harvardmagazine.com/2010/11/the-psyche-on-automatic?page=all