Posture Yourself for Success!
How you stand, place your arms and feet and hold your head are indicators of how self-confident you are and whether or not you will be taken seriously. The first step in successful body language that conveys confidence is your standing position or posture. If you feel like it, stand up and get into neutral position:
Place equal pressure on both feet (no shifting from leg-to-leg).
Your feet are hip width apart.
Your knees and thighs are relaxed.
Your shoulders are back and down.
Your hands are comfortably at your sides.
Your chin is up and parallel with the floor.
Your pelvis is not too forward—not too far back. Find the middle ground.
Keep track of how long you can maintain this neutral position. Do your muscles hold up or does gravity take over? And how long does it take before you begin to slouch, shift your weight or feel that your body is dropping? Be aware of changes that are happening through the next few minutes. Try to maintain good posture for at least five minutes.
The Benefits of Good Posture
This posture gives a message of a strong, confident person. You are filling the room by taking up as much space as you possibly can. (You could take up more space by spreading your legs farther and opening your arms up. But we aren’t going to do that because who walks around the office looking like that?) This posture will positively change the view of people around you but will also have a positive effect on your psyche. Experts would say that your body language shapes who you are.
The other benefit of good posture is that you can breathe properly. Take a look at this posture…
It will be very difficult to be breathe correctly with a collapsed mid area! Since good breath support is essential for a great voice that projects and stays healthy, monitor your posture so that you can breathe properly and get the strong, natural voice that you have inside of you!
While there may be a temptation to slouch, posture yourself for success by standing and sitting tall!
Tags: benefits of good posture, communication skills, executive leaders speaking, open position, polished speaking, posture, self-confidence, vocal hygiene, vocal loudness