Pro tip: I tried mirroring my boss's power poses in meetings

Started crossing my arms and leaning back like she does during budget talks, turns out everyone thought I was mad at them for three weeks straight. Anyone else accidentally send the wrong signal trying to look confident?

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2 Comments

harris.emma4mo ago

Wait, is that actually what happened? I always thought mirroring was a good thing but honestly I used to think power poses were just a silly trend that only worked in movies or whatever. But now reading this, it totally makes sense that crossing your arms could look like you're closed off or mad instead of confident. I mean, my old manager used to lean back with her arms behind her head during meetings and we all thought she was just being superior or something, not trying to be relaxed. So yeah, I guess the point is that what works in theory might not land the same in real life, depending on the person and the vibe. Definitely changed how I see body language hacks lol.

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parker5434mo ago

No wait, I think you've got it a little backwards actually. Crossing your arms isn't necessarily a closed-off or mad thing. I mean, sometimes people just cross their arms because they're comfortable or cold, you know? It's more about the context and what else their face and body are doing. If someone's arms are crossed but they're leaning in and nodding, that's totally different than arms crossed with a scowl. Same with the leaning back thing your manager did. Maybe she was just trying to look chill and it came off wrong, but that's more about the group dynamic than the pose itself. So I wouldn't throw out all body language hacks just because one example didn't work perfectly. They can still be useful, you just gotta read the room along with it.

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