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graciegrace1178's review against another edition
4.0
If you're looking for a pat on the back and a push to just go do the thing you've been procrastinating on bc it's mildly-to-extremely terrifying, this is for you. Target audience: 3V-1s and 3V-2s.
PT: self-development and motivation books, books that have been on my TBR for too long
WIL
1) For someone who just needs a motivational boost before a big interview or presentation, this is great. Really awesome book and full of fun, bite-sized tidbits about how motivation works and WHY certain tactics are so effective. (But... continued in WIDL 3)
2) Cuddy's got a natural and decently infectious enthusiasm about her! Love that! Always a great quality in an audiobook reader and a presenter on motivation.
3a) Emphasis on boldness. Oh, I do quite like this. I love that she structures this around the idea that one can BECOME bold, not that one is lacking particular qualities (e.g. confidence, strength of will, etc.).It's about building up from a baseline, not about catching up or trying to fill in a quality that one "should" already have. It's a kind way of approaching self-development and encouraging motivational skills.
3b) It's also not about reducing qualities one might have an abundance of, or at least it doesn't spend too much time on that. Talking about having a lot of anxiety and trying to bring down levels of anxiety tends to be a common trend in a lot of these sort of books, and that can be, well, anxiety-inducing. Cuddy instead switches the language and makes this about BEING bold and GAINING bold qualities and not so much about reducing anxiety/suffering. It makes the transition to boldness smoother and less of an existential burden. (Anxious readers might see: "reduce anxiety with these10 steps" which can lead to overthinking in the vein of: "If I'm losing my anxiety, I'm losing a part of myself. Oh god oh god I can't afford that loss of self because then I'll be nOTHING; I'll have NO personality." Cuddy takes the more modern approach of explaining that it's all part of a self-development and growth journey which then allows readers the more soothing self-message of: "I can develop this part of myself and learn and grow!! I won't be losing myself; I'll find more parts of myself along the way.")
4) genuinely inspiring. That last part especially. It's always cool to hear about other people chasing their dreams!
WIDL
1) (continuation of WIL 1) ...it's not super great technically. The science is a bit lacking and even a little misleading at times. Sure this was published in 2015 and we've come a long way since then, but even in 2015, neuropsychologists and psychoneuroendocrinologists knew that there was more to motivation than a simple breakdown of testosterone and cortisol. Sure, that's a quick way to look at it, but that reductionist viewpoint reinforces some pervasive pop-psych ideas. And that's my segue into WIDL 2:
2) (extracted from reading progress notes) It's worth considering that the dual-hormone hypothesis (high testosterone and low cortisol) might only be associated with positive/beneficial leadership qualities because there is a pre-existing societal expectation that high testosterone and low cortisol WILL produce good leaders. Basically, I don't think it's of *evolutionary* origin that high T/low C= a good leader. I think there could be roots in social history. The issue I take with this is that readers will come out of this associating testosterone with success, and that then gets funneled down the line into some rather obnoxious ideas about women's inferiority due to a "lack of testosterone." Reductionism in pop-psych and self-development books can be problematic!! Maybe Cuddy made a disclaimer about this; if she did, I missed it. And Cuddy, if you did make that disclaimer, I apologize for this. But I do wish you had made a LOUDER disclaimer.
3) (extracted from reading progress notes) Testosterone and cortisol are valuable data points, but taking them in isolation with that particular questionnaire is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You gotta take estrogen, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, histamine, tyrosine, etc. Also, what about myelin strength?? There is so much that is out of scope here that these data points seem useless. Especially in the context of the previous info about the anatomy of motivation.
PT: self-development and motivation books, books that have been on my TBR for too long
WIL
1) For someone who just needs a motivational boost before a big interview or presentation, this is great. Really awesome book and full of fun, bite-sized tidbits about how motivation works and WHY certain tactics are so effective. (But... continued in WIDL 3)
2) Cuddy's got a natural and decently infectious enthusiasm about her! Love that! Always a great quality in an audiobook reader and a presenter on motivation.
3a) Emphasis on boldness. Oh, I do quite like this. I love that she structures this around the idea that one can BECOME bold, not that one is lacking particular qualities (e.g. confidence, strength of will, etc.).It's about building up from a baseline, not about catching up or trying to fill in a quality that one "should" already have. It's a kind way of approaching self-development and encouraging motivational skills.
3b) It's also not about reducing qualities one might have an abundance of, or at least it doesn't spend too much time on that. Talking about having a lot of anxiety and trying to bring down levels of anxiety tends to be a common trend in a lot of these sort of books, and that can be, well, anxiety-inducing. Cuddy instead switches the language and makes this about BEING bold and GAINING bold qualities and not so much about reducing anxiety/suffering. It makes the transition to boldness smoother and less of an existential burden. (Anxious readers might see: "reduce anxiety with these10 steps" which can lead to overthinking in the vein of: "If I'm losing my anxiety, I'm losing a part of myself. Oh god oh god I can't afford that loss of self because then I'll be nOTHING; I'll have NO personality." Cuddy takes the more modern approach of explaining that it's all part of a self-development and growth journey which then allows readers the more soothing self-message of: "I can develop this part of myself and learn and grow!! I won't be losing myself; I'll find more parts of myself along the way.")
4) genuinely inspiring. That last part especially. It's always cool to hear about other people chasing their dreams!
WIDL
1) (continuation of WIL 1) ...it's not super great technically. The science is a bit lacking and even a little misleading at times. Sure this was published in 2015 and we've come a long way since then, but even in 2015, neuropsychologists and psychoneuroendocrinologists knew that there was more to motivation than a simple breakdown of testosterone and cortisol. Sure, that's a quick way to look at it, but that reductionist viewpoint reinforces some pervasive pop-psych ideas. And that's my segue into WIDL 2:
2) (extracted from reading progress notes) It's worth considering that the dual-hormone hypothesis (high testosterone and low cortisol) might only be associated with positive/beneficial leadership qualities because there is a pre-existing societal expectation that high testosterone and low cortisol WILL produce good leaders. Basically, I don't think it's of *evolutionary* origin that high T/low C= a good leader. I think there could be roots in social history. The issue I take with this is that readers will come out of this associating testosterone with success, and that then gets funneled down the line into some rather obnoxious ideas about women's inferiority due to a "lack of testosterone." Reductionism in pop-psych and self-development books can be problematic!! Maybe Cuddy made a disclaimer about this; if she did, I missed it. And Cuddy, if you did make that disclaimer, I apologize for this. But I do wish you had made a LOUDER disclaimer.
3) (extracted from reading progress notes) Testosterone and cortisol are valuable data points, but taking them in isolation with that particular questionnaire is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You gotta take estrogen, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, histamine, tyrosine, etc. Also, what about myelin strength?? There is so much that is out of scope here that these data points seem useless. Especially in the context of the previous info about the anatomy of motivation.
belwood303's review against another edition
4.0
Goes well beyond fake it until you make it. Again, we have learned so much about what can motivate us, or help us really achieve our goals, to live a fuller and dare I say happier life.
x0pherl's review against another edition
4.0
If you're a reading this review, you're likely to have watched Amy Cuddy's TED talk on power poses. This book expands on that, and is filled (as was the TED talk) with fascinating insights into recent social science. I read the book after seeing Cuddy give a Philadelphia Free Library's Leading Voices talk (You can listen to the podcast here.
I was interested in the talk and the book largely because I've recently been spending a lot of time thinking about interviewing, especially through the lens of building out a more diverse and inclusive team. One of the things I was hoping to get out of the book were some ideas for helping those from underrepresented communities in technology be more "present" during interviews. I certainly benefited from the ideas Cuddy talks about in her TED talk when applying for my current job, and I shared the ideas with my daughter right before she kicked ass on the SATs. When I think about applying this from the other side of the interview, I have this vision of saying, "Okay, now stand in this room like Wonder Woman for 2 minutes, and I'll be right back so we can begin." Fun as the image may be, of course it would be far to socially jarring to actually work in an interview situation.
Why is this important to me to figure out how to put someone interviewing to work for me at ease? Cuddy explains that better than I could:
So what can we do as the folks on the other side of that power equation do to put those fears to rest? Here's one useful thought from the book:
The book offers another useful interviewing tip on the importance of warmth and openness in our body language:
The book offers far more than some useful insights into interviewing; it's filled with research that will spark your imagination: after reading about research into risk-taking after assuming power poses (spoiler: it goes up) I became worried about what casinos might be able to do with that research. After reading about how her research has been applied to horse training(!) I've been debating conducting some research on our pets.
Cuddy has filled the book with the personal stories of many people who have been inspired to reach out to her and explain how her TED talk has changed their lives. While these stories provide a good bit of the heart and soul of the book, at times this feels a bit overwhelming (especially in the final chapter, which is essentially a collection of these stories). Very strongly, the same warmth, humor, and personal experiences that compelled us all to share Cuddy's TED talk come across on almost every page of this book. It's well worth the read.
One ridiculously minor complaint about the book that did really bother me? The cover looks terrible on an e-Ink screen.
I was interested in the talk and the book largely because I've recently been spending a lot of time thinking about interviewing, especially through the lens of building out a more diverse and inclusive team. One of the things I was hoping to get out of the book were some ideas for helping those from underrepresented communities in technology be more "present" during interviews. I certainly benefited from the ideas Cuddy talks about in her TED talk when applying for my current job, and I shared the ideas with my daughter right before she kicked ass on the SATs. When I think about applying this from the other side of the interview, I have this vision of saying, "Okay, now stand in this room like Wonder Woman for 2 minutes, and I'll be right back so we can begin." Fun as the image may be, of course it would be far to socially jarring to actually work in an interview situation.
Why is this important to me to figure out how to put someone interviewing to work for me at ease? Cuddy explains that better than I could:
Research shows that in pressure-filled situations, when we are distracted by thinking about possible outcomes of our performance, our skills are measurably diminished. When we explicitly monitor ourselves, second by second, any task that requires memory and focused attention will suffer. We don’t have enough intellectual bandwidth to perform at our best and simultaneously critique our performance. Instead we’re caught in a faulty circuit of trying to anticipate, read, interpret, and reinterpret how other people are judging us, all of which prevents us from noticing and interpreting what’s actually happening in the situation. This dynamic, which psychologists refer to as self-monitoring, is significantly higher for people who experience impostor fears. It takes us out of ourselves. It stands in the way of our presence.
So what can we do as the folks on the other side of that power equation do to put those fears to rest? Here's one useful thought from the book:
Pamela Smith, a professor of management at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego, and [Adam] Galinsky have demonstrated in their research that power often operates at a nonconscious level, meaning that it can be activated without our knowledge — turned on like a switch — and can affect our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in ways we’re not even aware of. That’s good news. It means we don’t need to wear a crown to feel powerful, and we don’t have to plot and strategize ways to deploy our power in order to reap its benefits.
Recall a moment when you felt personally powerful. A time when you felt fully in control of your own psychological state — when you had the confidence to act based on your boldest, most sincere self, with the sense that your actions would be effective. Maybe it was at work, at school, at home, or in some other part of your life. Take a few minutes right now to remember and reflect on that experience of your personal power, on how it felt.
It felt good, right? Whether you know it or not, you’ve just been primed. Thanks to that little exercise, your psychological state was, and likely still is, infused with feelings of confidence and strength.
The book offers another useful interviewing tip on the importance of warmth and openness in our body language:
In a famous 1974 paper, Princeton psychologists presented a pair of experiments on the self-fulfilling power of body language. The researchers wanted to know if white college admissions officers were unconsciously adopting cold, disengaged, and discouraging body postures (e.g., orienting their bodies away from the applicants, crossing their arms, not nodding) when interviewing black applicants, and, if so, how these postures might affect the applicants’ interview performance. In the first experiment, white interviewers were randomly assigned to interview either black or white applicants. Indeed, when interviewing the black applicants, white interviewers used cold, disengaged body language, and the black applicants were perceived to have performed more poorly in the interviews than the white applicants. In the second experiment, trained white job interviewers were split into two groups and instructed to use either cold, disengaged body language or warm, engaged body language. They were then randomly assigned to interview either black or white applicants. The black applicants performed as well as the white applicants when their interviewers exhibited warm, engaged body language. And applicants of both races performed equally poorly when their interviewers behaved in a cold, uninterested way.
Furthermore, in both cases, the applicants’ body language matched that of the interviewers; they were unconsciously mimicking what the interviewers did, which is what we usually do in social settings. In short, our body language, which is often based on prejudices, shapes the body language of the people we’re interacting with. If we expect others to perform poorly, we adopt body language that is off-putting and discouraging. Naturally, people take the hint and respond as expected — poorly. How could anyone ace an interview under those circumstances?
When our body language is confident and open, other people respond in kind, unconsciously reinforcing not only their perception of us but also our perception of ourselves.
The book offers far more than some useful insights into interviewing; it's filled with research that will spark your imagination: after reading about research into risk-taking after assuming power poses (spoiler: it goes up) I became worried about what casinos might be able to do with that research. After reading about how her research has been applied to horse training(!) I've been debating conducting some research on our pets.
Cuddy has filled the book with the personal stories of many people who have been inspired to reach out to her and explain how her TED talk has changed their lives. While these stories provide a good bit of the heart and soul of the book, at times this feels a bit overwhelming (especially in the final chapter, which is essentially a collection of these stories). Very strongly, the same warmth, humor, and personal experiences that compelled us all to share Cuddy's TED talk come across on almost every page of this book. It's well worth the read.
One ridiculously minor complaint about the book that did really bother me? The cover looks terrible on an e-Ink screen.
insertsthwitty's review against another edition
3.0
An unpretentious and candid examination of how your body language influences your emotional state, this book builds on Amy Cuddy's TED talk and expands it. What's more, it's compassionate, balanced and visibly veers away from dangerous generalisations and jumping to conclusions that is often an easy and a tempting way to sell a book or an idea.
I just found it very - pleasant, I think pleasant is the best word for it. It has a flow that's easy to follow and you do end up with an awareness of your body - or at least a way to examine and build an awareness, that might not have been there before. I would not go for exclamation mark enthusiasm here, but then again, exclamation mark enthusiasm is for Buzzfeed and a ten minute passion. It's more of a slow and steady wins the race approach, which is brilliant.
I did not buy the book - got it for free at one point or another a few years ago, and I'm just plowing through my stack of books. So this was in the end quite a nice surprise.
I just found it very - pleasant, I think pleasant is the best word for it. It has a flow that's easy to follow and you do end up with an awareness of your body - or at least a way to examine and build an awareness, that might not have been there before. I would not go for exclamation mark enthusiasm here, but then again, exclamation mark enthusiasm is for Buzzfeed and a ten minute passion. It's more of a slow and steady wins the race approach, which is brilliant.
I did not buy the book - got it for free at one point or another a few years ago, and I'm just plowing through my stack of books. So this was in the end quite a nice surprise.
ashs_books's review against another edition
5.0
Someone at work recommended this book to me and thought I’d give it a go! Let’s just say I’ve never been more aware of my posture and body language and how that can totally change how I feel about myself and how other people see me. It sounds obvious, but this book really makes you aware of yourself and how much of a difference it can make on your confidence, anxiety and many other things.
This book has soooo many good tips and tricks on things you can do with your body and mind that will make you feel more powerful, and make you feel more like YOU in those challenging moments.
I loved reading about all of the case studies and different situations where these techniques have helped people. It’s absolutely amazing and so inspiring!
This book has soooo many good tips and tricks on things you can do with your body and mind that will make you feel more powerful, and make you feel more like YOU in those challenging moments.
I loved reading about all of the case studies and different situations where these techniques have helped people. It’s absolutely amazing and so inspiring!
weeties's review against another edition
3.0
Just your average self-help book really ... quite typical of the genre.
tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
5.0
I had long been familiar with Cuddy's TED talk, but listening to her book added depth to meaning, both for her story and for how I could implement her research into my own life. I really think this is a great book for anyone who works with anyone, but specifically for people who present (whether ideas or music) and for people who desperately want to overcome something within them that infringes on their ability to live the fullest life they've imagined.