Although most don't think twice about it, body language is something everyone uses throughout the day. Body language is the process of communicating with others non-verbally, and social psychologist Amy Cuddy explains why she believes being more aware of one's body language and intentionally altering it can dramatically change one's life in her 2012 TED Talk. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Download an original essay In this TED Talk, Cuddy avoids giving away the main point of her speech right from the start and instead begins it by making the audience aware of her language of body, for example if they are stretched out or become small. Then Cuddy delves into multiple examples of body language related to emotions everyone has experienced, from victory to feelings of helplessness. His study of body language is also investigated in the professional world through a study conducted with doctors, their patients and casual observers. In this experiment, people were asked to watch a doctor treat one of their patients via a video that contained no audio. After watching these videos, observers were asked to determine which doctors they believed would be most likely to be sued for malpractice. Because there was no audio for the observers to work with, their judgments were based completely on how friendly the doctor appeared to be when working with their patients, instead of being rated based on their skills as a healthcare provider. They were judged fully based on the body language they most likely subconsciously presented. By including these examples, Cuddy has set up her speech in a way that can be universally understood, while simultaneously establishing the main premise of her speech; the effects of body language on oneself and how they are likely to be perceived by others. Once Cuddy's speech is set up, she presents her question: Can people really pretend to be confident until they become confident themselves? Can an intentional alteration of body language result in a change in how one feels about themselves and the world around them? Or, in his exact words, “Do our nonverbals govern how we think and feel about ourselves?” and “Do our bodies change our minds?” In short, Cuddy's answer is yes. After examining information and behavioral experiments (like the one explained previously by the doctor) she came to the conclusion that when someone makes gestures associated with power and dominance, he himself begins to feel more powerful, even if he was previously in a situation of helplessness . position. To get her audience to see the power of body language as she does, Cuddy relies heavily on facts established from observations made during a series of experiments. This helps the audience understand how natural body language can influence self-image and interactions with others. Introduces the possibility of change in self-image by moving the conversation to experiments observing hormonal changes in primate hierarchies to demonstrate that those who place themselves in a position of power (or in this case, the primate) will show increased testosterone , a dominant hormone, and a decrease in cortisol, the main stress hormone. Those primates that display higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol are often found in leadership roles within their social groups. Cuddy explains this correlation with the idea that it is preferable for those in leadership positions, both among:10.1177/0956797617737124