She’d been investigating the way entrepreneurs make pitches to potential investors and the way investors respond. On that day, a visiting student, Lakshmi Balachandra, was soliciting feedback about some new data.

“ Several years ago, during a lab meeting in my department, I had an aha moment that acutely piqued my interest in cracking open the psychology of presence. People have the ability to see through others and whether or not they’re authentic. When you’re more authentic, others can see that you’re your real self and that they can trust you. People believe that you have to fake who you are to gain the approval of others but that actually doesn’t help you as much as you think. being your true self) will help you become a more compelling person. The ability to authentically display your emotions congruently with your actions (i.e. Here are some of the points to the book:ġ. In her book, Cuddy refers back to her TED talk and lists out various ways to increase your presence. This seems to be similar to Bruce Lee’s definition of emotional content with regards to martial arts. So what exactly is presence? There is no clear or universal definition of what presence is but according to Cuddy, presence is the ability to express oneself truthfully and congruently with how one feels acting in harmony.

What is the power behind presence? Amy Cuddy, associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit, states that presence is essential for success.

Presence cuddy