Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

Dr. Amy J. C. Cuddy is a social psychologist who authored Presence (2015) and has an expected release date in 2023 for new title, Bullies, Bystanders, and Bravehearts (Mariner). Cuddy earned her PhD from Princeton University and served as a fulltime professor at Harvard Business School from 2008-2017. Interest in her research topics of presence and performance under stress came into wider public view after her 2012 TED Talk “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are,” which has more than 65 million views and generated the interest that led to the publication of Presence. Her work has been published in academic journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, and Psychological Science. Articles about her findings for a popular audience have also been published in The Economist and The Guardian, among other outlets.

Of particular acclaim in Cuddy’s research is an idea that she discusses in Chapter 3: “Stop Preaching, Start Listening: How Presence Begets Presence.” She focuses on the two dimensions on which we tend to judge others as part of a first impression: warmth versus competence. She writes: “When we meet someone new, we quickly answer two questions: ‘Can I trust this person?’ and ‘Can I respect this person?’ In our research, my colleagues and I have referred to these dimensions as warmth and competence respectively” (71).