Posture is one of the very first metrics we developed at Virtual Sapiens. With our assessment and in-call Sidekick tools, our AI can tell if you are slouched forwards, backwards, or off to one side.
The main reason we started with posture, is that it is a very ‘loud nonverbal cue’ AND our required use of computers, tablets and iPhones’ have dramatically increased poor posture and ‘Tech Neck’.
Whether you like it or not, your posture is always sending a message. Developing awareness around moments when your posture droops or falls can be a significant advantage in terms of controlling the impression you send to others.
Intuitively we know that good posture is supportive of (and thus associated with) better health and longevity.
Research also links posture with confidence, both in the signals we project to others, and also in the way our posture affects the way we feel about ourselves.
Recently, additional studies have been added that further support the relationship between posture and a felt-sense of confidence. In this study, we see that our posture affects our own self-evaluation. With participants reporting more confident and positive self-evaluations when writing with upright and open postures, vs. more negative self-evaluations with closed off/stopping postures.
In this study, we saw participants who typically under-performed or experienced high anxiety/stress during math tests, performed significantly better when they applied themselves in an open and upright posture vs. closed and stopped.
We understand the links between felt-senses of confidence and the confidence we project. This is particularly critical for professionals who have to perform under pressure, who have to show up and pitch clients on value and trustworthiness etc.
Understanding the power of posture both as a critical support of our physical and mental health, allows us to see the immense value of this seemingly simple nonverbal.
There are two things that are active barriers to improve posture:
🖥 Our reliance on screens for hours and hours in a day, actively draws our head forward, thus instigating the foundations of poor posture.
🧎🏻 Rewiring ages old habits, requires frequent and consistent reminders, ideally in the actual moment of stopped posture itself.
While it would be wonderful to have colleagues and friends around us to poke and prode us into good posture, at Virtual Sapiens, we figured having a subtle, private coach in your corner would be more convenient, and effective.
Our real-time nudge technology meets professionals where they are, helping them build new muscle memory to support better business outcomes.
If you or your team could benefit from a dose of improved posture (which let’s face it, everyone could!), let’s chat.