She cautions against endlessly hunching over smartphones.

iPostureĭefinitely in the ‘new’ territory is her exploration of technology and presence. I coach executives in leadership presence and lecture on the subject at INSEAD so I wanted to know what new information Cuddy brought to the subject of presence and how this might help my coaching clients and executive students. In fact it is the last few chapters that really excite me.

In her quest to argue the science of presence she largely succeeds. Self-help pointers occur throughout and dominate the later chapters of the book. The rigorous research is clear from the extensive list of references and sources spanning thirty one pages. Her style ranges back and forth from highly academic to practical self-help. Her authorial presence is strong and dynamic. She is also humble and there’s the merest hint of vulnerability. As she kindly helped me with my suitcases I was closely observing her and she came across as a warm, smart, energetic and genuine person. It closely matches my recollection of meeting her in person at Santa Barbara airport in 2014. Amy’s presenceīut perhaps the most powerful presence in the book is that of Cuddy. His power came from his authentic presence. We also hear from a Boston priest whose presence has drastically reduced serious gang crime. There’s an actor’s perspective which is well-articulated by Oscar winner Julianne Moore and ultimately about feeling powerful. She illustrates presence in surprising ways. Synchrony, she explains, is all about the alignment of emotions, thoughts, physical and facial expression, behaviours”. She gives the best definition of presence close to the end of the book when she says it’s “when we execute with comfortable confidence and synchrony, regardless of the outcome”. In this judgement I was probably a little premature as the book quickly moves into a thoughtful and wide- ranging discussion on what presence is. I wondered if the book was going to be overloaded with stories from the many people who have written to her and become a rather tedious read. The new book on ‘Presence’ starts with a lot of anecdotes including one about Amy having brain freeze in an elevator with three academics she wanted to impress.

Viewers in their millions have connected to her as she shares strategies for becoming bold and confident: the power poses. When she tearfully discloses her own struggles with not feeling worthy it takes the conversation out of an academic comfort zone and into real-world pain and emotion. Why? A lot of it is to do with the Harvard Business professor herself. It was always going to be a tough call to follow Amy’s 2012 TED Talk: it’s had over 30 million views. 29th February 2016 | by Jacqui Harper MBE Can Amy Cuddy’s new book on Presence live up to the global success of her TED Talk? Executive Coach, Jacqui Harper, finds out.

Amy cuddy new book