Power Poses that work

Last week there were heated discussions during the G7 meeting, and afterwards, with exchanges of tweets and press conferences. But it was one image that spoke a 1000 words. One that I’m not able to use, for fear of copyright, but here is the link to an article on the meeting.

In the photograph it is clear that Angela Merkel is using a very strong power pose to dominate the conversation – and Donald Trump. Whatever the official summaries of the talks, this indicates that the discussions – if they were that – were ‘heated’ to say the very least.

Frau Merkel demonstrated that words alone are not powerful enough when dealing with difficult situations and conversations. I have no doubt she had a powerful voice and direct language, but with the power pose, she demonstrated that she was in charge and that Trump – look at this defensive, closed body language, was losing the battle. I also find it fascinating that other ‘leaders’ had defensive posture too; Frau Merkel was prepared to step up and confront the situation and demonstrate she was A) in Charge and B) the most powerful person in the room.

Last week a Fellow of the PSA said that speaking was all about WORDS. This photograph

Demonstrates how a powerful pose adds to the impact when you are speaking.

My message is to remember that your posture and body language impacts on what you say and how it is received by other people. If you have a posture that matches your body language, it will be incredibly powerful; as I have no doubt Merkel’s message to Trump was.

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