There is something strangely familiar about the moments before we have to speak in public. Whether you’re an experienced public speaker or someone preparing for their first presentation, the feelings are often remarkably similar.

Whether it’s a presentation, an interview, an important pitch or a difficult conversation, many of us experience the same physical reactions. Our shoulders tighten, our breathing becomes shallower and without even realising it, we begin to make ourselves smaller.

It’s almost as if our body has received a warning before our mind has had chance to catch up.

This is one of the reasons Amy Cuddy’s famous power pose captured so much attention when she introduced it to the world. The idea itself was remarkably simple: before stepping into a high-pressure situation, stand tall and open your posture. It focused on taking up space and adopting a position associated with confidence rather than anxiety.

At first glance, it can seem almost too simple. Can changing the way we stand really influence how we feel?

Perhaps the reason the idea resonated so widely is because, on some level, most of us already know the answer.

Think about how confidence and nervousness show up physically.

A nervous speaker often looks down, folds their arms, rounds their shoulders or shifts their weight uneasily. Someone feeling confident tends to do the exact opposite.

What Cuddy highlighted was something many people had never consciously considered. If emotions influence our body, perhaps the body can influence our emotions too.

This is where the idea becomes particularly useful.

Many confidence-building strategies focus on changing our thoughts. The challenge, however, is that when nerves are at their peak, our thoughts aren’t always easy to control.

Our posture, however, is.

Standing taller won’t magically remove anxiety, nor will it transform someone into a world-class public speaker overnight, but what it can do is interrupt the physical patterns associated with stress and self-doubt. It can create a small but important shift in how we feel before stepping into a challenging situation.

For many people, public speaking is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences they face at work, which is why small techniques that help manage those nerves can be so valuable.

In public speaking, this matters.

One of the biggest misconceptions about confident speakers is that they don’t experience nerves. In reality, many experienced presenters still feel anxious before speaking. The difference is often that they have developed ways of managing those nerves rather than being controlled by them.

The best public speaking advice isn’t about eliminating nerves altogether; it’s about developing practical techniques that help you perform at your best despite them.

Posture is one of those tools.

Before a presentation even begins, audiences are already forming impressions. In public speaking, those first few moments can have a significant impact on how your message is received. They notice how a speaker enters the room and observe their body language. They pick up on energy long before the first slide appears.

A speaker who walks in looking apologetic and uncomfortable creates a very different impression from one who appears open and composed.

The audience may not consciously analyse these signals, but they respond to them.

This is why the enduring appeal of the power pose has less to do with a particular stance and more to do with what it represents.

It serves as a reminder that confidence is not simply something we wait to feel.

Sometimes confidence begins with a physical choice like a deeper breath or relaxed shoulders.

These may seem like small adjustments, but in public speaking, small adjustments often create meaningful shifts. More importantly, they help redirect our focus. Instead of becoming consumed by worries about what might go wrong, we begin paying attention to how we are showing up in the moment.

And that is often where confidence starts.

Not with fearlessness, but with a decision to stand a little taller than the voice of self-doubt would like us to.

Perhaps that’s why the power pose continues to resonate with so many people. Not because it offers a magic solution, but because it reminds us that confidence is not always something we have to find.

Sometimes it’s something we can begin to create.