So, here’s to being ourselves! Here’s to being PRESENT and getting to know our true selves. As we apply more presence into our lives, we will not all of a sudden develop new skills and talents we don’t have-we will have the power to unlock the skills and talents we already have. Impostorism, as Cuddy refers to the feeling of being an imposter, will cause us to be fixated on the opinions of others and lead us to overthink and second-guess. Cuddy's most cited academic work involves using the stereotype content modelthat she helped develop to better understand the way people think about stereotyped people and groups.8 Though Cuddy left her tenure-track position at Harvard Business Schoolin the spring of 2017,5she continues to contribute to its executive education programs. In the end, my biggest takeaway was to stop feeling like an imposter. If we learn how to live in the moment and act naturally, a new level of self-confidence and awareness will appear. After reading Presence, I have discovered that the quickest way to do this is to learn how to be present in each situation. Not just whom people think we are, but our actual character. Amy Cuddy shows how your body language influences others and even changes the way you see yourself. In life, most of us are constantly trying to figure out who we are. Presence is an inspiring continuation of her TED talk that can help people from all walks of life develop the mindset to take on life’s biggest challenges.Ĭuddy claims that presence emerges when we feel personally powerful, which allows us to be true to our most sincere selves. In her TED talk, she shares her research on the power of body language and the effect our body language has on us before an important interview, event, or performance. Amy Cuddy is best known for her seminal TED talk titled, “ Your Body Shapes Who You Are”. Presence is something she defines as the feeling of being your authentic self.

Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges is an engaging book by Amy Cuddy that sets out to aid readers in developing a strong sense of presence.

“Focus less on the impression you’re making on others and more on the impression you’re making on yourself.”

Amy cuddy book review