What Your Body Language Says About You as a Financial Advisor
As a financial professional, the way you present yourself and the qualities you project to the people you meet can have a major impact on your business success. Similarly, the way you feel about yourself and your abilities as a professional also influence your accomplishments.
I was recently pointed to a 2012 TED talk by Dr. Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist who teaches at Harvard Business School. Her work focuses on how people judge and influence each other and how body language affects hormone levels, trust, and hierarchy.
You can find her original 2012 TED presentation here. If you have 20 minutes, it’s well worth watching. In short, Cuddy’s experiments into psychology have found that how we carry ourselves and “pose” can lead to changes in body chemistry, causing us to perform better in high stakes situations and improve how others regard us.
Interesting, no?
Cuddy’s work has very important implications for those of us who work in situations of high trust with clients. For example, one series of experiments found that physicians who were able to project “niceness” to their patients were much less likely to be sued, regardless of their competence or the outcome of the medical procedure.
It’s very possible that similar results might be found among financial advisors who are able to express warmth and empathy to their clients. If clients work with you only because of your competence or professionalism, they may feel disillusioned or betrayed when their investment performance declines. On the other hand, clients who feel that their advisor cares about them and understands their needs, are probably less likely to leave or file complaints.
The idea that body language conveys our internal mood and influences how others perceive us is certainly not new. What’s new and fascinating is the idea that the phenomenon works the other way as well: changing your body language can influence your body chemistry, and how you perceive yourself within a situation.
Some of Cuddy’s most recent work focuses on the idea that we can improve our self-perception and present power in social situations by adopting poses of power. A New York Times profile by David Brooks summarizes her work like this: “If you act powerfully, you will begin to think powerfully.”
Cuddy found that people naturally adopt poses of “high power” and “low power” in social situations. High power poses are open, assertive, and take up a lot of physical space. Sitting tall, opening your chest, standing with your hands on your hips, and relaxing in a chair are all expressions of power. Public speakers who face the audience and use gestures to convey emotion and excitement are demonstrating power poses.
In contrast, low power poses are closed and shrunken. Hunching forward, crossing your arms or legs, or nervously touching your neck communicate an image of weakness and lack of confidence. Cuddy's work also found that humans naturally complement or the non-verbal expressions of another person. If one person adopts a pose of power, his or her conversation partner will often do the opposite, adopting expressions of less power.
As a financial advisor, it’s important to project an image of the assertive, empathetic, competent professional. It’s also important to feel that way about yourself. The next time that you’re in a meeting with clients or in a social situation, take a moment to audit your behavior. Are you feeling confident and assertive? Does your body language project power? If you discover that you're unconsciously adopting low power body language, try and shift your behavior to improve your mental state and the image you communicate to others.
While some people are naturally more assertive and behave in ways that project power, others can consciously adopt these behaviors to change their self-perception and mentality. If you aren’t naturally confident and assertive in social situations, Cuddy says, “Don’t fake it until you make it. Fake it until you become it.”
By adopting physical poses of powerful, you’re more likely to feel confident, authentic, optimistic, assertive, and professional. If you’d like to improve your internal mindset and project an aura of power and control to those around you, try changing your body language.
Before client meetings or important social situations, take a few minutes beforehand and strike a power pose. Imagine yourself as the confident, assertive, and powerful person you want yourself to be and see what behavioral changes you can achieve.
I was recently pointed to a 2012 TED talk by Dr. Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist who teaches at Harvard Business School. Her work focuses on how people judge and influence each other and how body language affects hormone levels, trust, and hierarchy.
You can find her original 2012 TED presentation here. If you have 20 minutes, it’s well worth watching. In short, Cuddy’s experiments into psychology have found that how we carry ourselves and “pose” can lead to changes in body chemistry, causing us to perform better in high stakes situations and improve how others regard us.
Interesting, no?
Cuddy’s work has very important implications for those of us who work in situations of high trust with clients. For example, one series of experiments found that physicians who were able to project “niceness” to their patients were much less likely to be sued, regardless of their competence or the outcome of the medical procedure.
It’s very possible that similar results might be found among financial advisors who are able to express warmth and empathy to their clients. If clients work with you only because of your competence or professionalism, they may feel disillusioned or betrayed when their investment performance declines. On the other hand, clients who feel that their advisor cares about them and understands their needs, are probably less likely to leave or file complaints.
The idea that body language conveys our internal mood and influences how others perceive us is certainly not new. What’s new and fascinating is the idea that the phenomenon works the other way as well: changing your body language can influence your body chemistry, and how you perceive yourself within a situation.
Some of Cuddy’s most recent work focuses on the idea that we can improve our self-perception and present power in social situations by adopting poses of power. A New York Times profile by David Brooks summarizes her work like this: “If you act powerfully, you will begin to think powerfully.”
Cuddy found that people naturally adopt poses of “high power” and “low power” in social situations. High power poses are open, assertive, and take up a lot of physical space. Sitting tall, opening your chest, standing with your hands on your hips, and relaxing in a chair are all expressions of power. Public speakers who face the audience and use gestures to convey emotion and excitement are demonstrating power poses.
In contrast, low power poses are closed and shrunken. Hunching forward, crossing your arms or legs, or nervously touching your neck communicate an image of weakness and lack of confidence. Cuddy's work also found that humans naturally complement or the non-verbal expressions of another person. If one person adopts a pose of power, his or her conversation partner will often do the opposite, adopting expressions of less power.
As a financial advisor, it’s important to project an image of the assertive, empathetic, competent professional. It’s also important to feel that way about yourself. The next time that you’re in a meeting with clients or in a social situation, take a moment to audit your behavior. Are you feeling confident and assertive? Does your body language project power? If you discover that you're unconsciously adopting low power body language, try and shift your behavior to improve your mental state and the image you communicate to others.
While some people are naturally more assertive and behave in ways that project power, others can consciously adopt these behaviors to change their self-perception and mentality. If you aren’t naturally confident and assertive in social situations, Cuddy says, “Don’t fake it until you make it. Fake it until you become it.”
By adopting physical poses of powerful, you’re more likely to feel confident, authentic, optimistic, assertive, and professional. If you’d like to improve your internal mindset and project an aura of power and control to those around you, try changing your body language.
Before client meetings or important social situations, take a few minutes beforehand and strike a power pose. Imagine yourself as the confident, assertive, and powerful person you want yourself to be and see what behavioral changes you can achieve.
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