Presence. Amy Cuddy

Judging by the fact Amy Cuddy's “Your Body Shapes Who You Are" is the 2nd most-watched TED talk in history (behind Sir Ken Robinson) I am probably in the minority in that I read (or listened in my case) her amazing book 'Presence' before watching her talk. 

The video is a must watch for all, but the book goes so much deeper, into a wide range of tools, research and strategies. I have found myself recommending the book to everyone, to the point that I wish it was the compulsory Year 9 English text.

Here are my 5 takeaways for educators.

1. Presence is about being our truest selves. This means believing in our own abilities, values and feelings. If we do not trust ourselves, others will never put their trust into us - and trust is the medium that ideas travel though. As teachers, we need to ensure we are not trying to make 'imperfect versions of ourselves' and allowing each individual student to shine. 
2. Expectations. One of the best things we can do is have high expectations for all students and believe in their abilities. Amy notes the 1970s experiment where teachers were told a random selection of students were expected to have phenomenal learning growth over the coming year. No surprises that these randomly selected students had phenomenal growth over the year due to the teachers high expectations.
3. Self Affirmation Theory. Self affirmations should not be about lying to ourselves, trying to fool the brain into thinking we own something we have no idea about. Rather, research shows self affirmations work when we recall times that we have demonstrated values that are important to us. As teachers, we can help students get through stressful situations by having students write about when they have demonstrated their values. The research shows that this will keep cortisone (stress hormone) levels steady in stressful situations.
4. Our bodies change our minds. The studies in this book demonstrate that by positioning our bodies into powerful poses (power posing) hormonal changes occur that configures our brains into being less stressed and more assertive, confident and comfortable in ourselves. 'Power posing' for 2 minutes before an important exam, speech or event would be a great 'life skill' for everyone. If there was ever evidence to finally squash the idea of children sitting on the mat it lies within this book. 'The mat' is a submissive position for students and power position for teachers. Yes, there may be times where students need to sit for short periods of time, but squashed on a mat will not allow students to be their best.
5. I'm excited. Another study with implications to education is what to do when a student is stressed. The answer is not telling the person to calm down, rather it is telling the person to get excited! This shift, from nervous to excitement is easier and more beneficial than attempting to shift from nervous to composed.