Bearing
More Than Just Good Posture
Years ago, I attended a leadership conference where the keynote speaker walked onto the stage with an effortless presence. She didn’t say a word at first—she simply stood tall, shoulders back, and surveyed the audience with confidence. The entire room fell silent, captivated by her presence alone.
Later, she shared her secret: “Your posture tells the world who you are before you even speak.” That moment stuck with me. How often do we send unintentional messages through the way we stand, sit, or carry ourselves?
Bearing is more than just good posture—it’s the foundation of how we present ourselves. Successful people stand up straight, exuding strength and capability. Their posture reflects their confidence and readiness to take on challenges. However, many of us spend so much time hunched over computers that we’ve forgotten how to carry ourselves with presence.
The good news? Good posture isn’t just about looking strong—it makes you feel strong. When you stand tall, you shift your mindset, boost your energy, and project authority.
Here are three simple ways to improve your posture and presence:
- Posture Check: Throughout the day, pause and assess your stance. Are your shoulders back? Is your head lifted?
- The 2-Minute Power Pose: Before a big meeting or presentation, stand tall with your hands on your hips (think Wonder Woman). Studies show this increases confidence.
- Movement Matters: Take breaks from sitting. Stand up, stretch, and walk around every 30 minutes to keep your muscles engaged.
- Take a moment right now—sit up or stand tall. Notice how it makes you feel. How does your posture affect your mindset and confidence?
- Let me know in the comments!
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How I met your father
I know this is early but I wanted to share it now. I’m a member and president of Lehigh Valley Toastmasters this year. One of our members, John, signed up to be a speaker on Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February. John asked me to write about how I met Jerry.
Hi Linda, I couldn’t agree more with you. My mother AND my grandmother always told me to stand up straight. I was tall for a girl back in the day, 5’10 1/2″, and my grandmother lovingly told me that if I didn’t stand up straight I’d walk around looking like a question mark. LOL. But I am so glad that they kept telling me to stand up straight, because it’s amazing how much different your posture can make you feel.
I love your 2-minute power pose, I never really thought about that before, and we all really need to remember to move every 30 minutes. Sometimes, if I’m working on something that is really intensive, I set a timer to remind me to get up.
Ooh, I felt better immediately. More present. More confident in who I am. Thanks for suggesting it. I will write myself a note to do it throughout the day.
That is so true! As part of a training course, we were filmed giving a short presentation to the class. On my video, we saw a young woman who had already started talking on the way to the podium in order to get it over with as quickly as possible. She was speaking faster than normal and her whole performance screamed “I’m not feeling well, when is it over?”
Although this was around 25 years ago, I haven’t forgotten it. I’m certainly not a gifted public speaker, but I tell myself the audience wants to see that I’m successful and confident. Let me give them that!