Stand up straight. Shoulders back. Chin up.

Parents and teachers have been giving this advice forever. But it turns out there’s real science behind it. Your posture doesn’t just affect how others see you—it affects how you feel about yourself.

The relationship between posture and confidence runs both ways: confident people stand taller, and standing taller can make you feel more confident. Understanding this connection gives you a tool that’s always available, costs nothing, and works immediately.

The Science: How Posture Affects Your Mind

The “power pose” research

In 2010, social psychologist Amy Cuddy and colleagues published research showing that holding “power poses”—open, expansive postures—for just two minutes changed hormone levels. Testosterone (associated with confidence) went up, and cortisol (the stress hormone) went down.1

While the hormonal effects of this research have been debated and replicated with mixed results,2 subsequent studies have consistently shown something important: posture affects how people feel about themselves, even if the exact mechanism is debated.

Embodied cognition

This is the broader scientific principle: your body affects your mind, not just the other way around. Smiling can make you feel happier. Nodding can make you more agreeable to ideas. And standing tall can make you feel more confident.3

Your brain takes cues from your body. When your body is in an open, upright position, your brain interprets that as “things are good, I’m in control.” When your body is hunched and closed, your brain interprets that as “something’s wrong, I should be defensive.” Research shows that upright participants report higher self-esteem, better mood, and lower fear compared to those in slumped postures.4

Pain and mood

There’s also a practical connection: poor posture causes pain, and pain affects mood. Chronic neck pain and back pain are linked to depression and anxiety—a systematic review found that approximately 39% of adults with chronic pain have depression and 40% have anxiety.5 Fix the posture, reduce the pain, improve the mood.

The Social Impact: How Others See You

Beyond how you feel, posture affects how others perceive you.

First impressions

Research shows that body language (which includes posture) accounts for a significant portion of first impressions. People with upright, open posture are perceived as:

These perceptions form in seconds—before you’ve said a word.

Professional settings

In job interviews, meetings, and presentations, your posture communicates your confidence level. Slouching signals uncertainty. Standing or sitting tall signals that you belong in the room.

This isn’t about “faking it”—it’s about not undermining yourself. If you’re qualified for a position, you don’t want your posture suggesting otherwise.

Social interactions

People are drawn to confident energy. Good posture projects that energy. It’s not about dominance—it’s about presence. You take up appropriate space, you’re present in the conversation, you’re engaged.

The Feedback Loop

Posture and confidence create a feedback loop:

  1. You feel uncertain → You slouch
  2. Slouching → Brain interprets this as submission/fear
  3. Brain response → You feel less confident
  4. Less confident → More slouching
  5. And so on…

But the loop works in the other direction too:

  1. You stand tall (even if you don’t feel confident)
  2. Standing tall → Brain interprets this as confidence/control
  3. Brain response → You feel more confident
  4. More confident → Natural upright posture
  5. And so on…

You can enter the positive loop deliberately, even if you’re starting from the negative one. That’s the practical application.

Using Posture to Boost Confidence

Before high-stakes situations

Job interview? Presentation? First date? Take two minutes beforehand:

  1. Find a private space (bathroom works)
  2. Stand tall
  3. Shoulders back, chest open
  4. Arms on hips or raised (expansive position)
  5. Take deep breaths
  6. Hold for 1-2 minutes

You’re priming your nervous system for confidence.

During the situation

Sitting:

Standing:

Speaking:

In daily life

The more often you hold confident posture, the more natural it becomes. Practice during low-stakes moments—walking down the street, standing in line, sitting at your desk—so it’s automatic during high-stakes ones.

Confident Posture vs. Good Posture

Confident posture and physiologically good posture are largely the same thing:

When you work on fixing your posture for health reasons, you’re also building your default confident presence. The two goals align.

What Confident Posture Is NOT

It’s not puffing up

Confident posture isn’t about puffing out your chest, pulling shoulders back aggressively, or trying to look like a drill sergeant. That looks stiff and try-hard.

It’s not being rigid

Natural, confident posture is relaxed and mobile. You can move, gesture, shift. It’s upright but not tense.

It’s not dominant

You’re not trying to intimidate or take up space that isn’t yours. Confident posture is about presence, not dominance.

It’s not permanent effort

When your muscles are balanced and your habits are good, confident posture is your default. It’s not something you have to consciously maintain every second.

Building Confident Posture Permanently

If you want confident posture to be your default:

Fix the underlying issues

Muscle imbalances—tight chest, weak back, tight hip flexors, weak core—make it hard to maintain upright posture. Address these with exercises:

Build awareness

Notice your posture throughout the day. When you catch yourself slouching, correct it. Over time, good posture becomes automatic.

Change your environment

Your workspace setup affects your posture. If your desk setup forces you to slouch, fix it.

Practice

Confident posture is a skill. The more you practice it, the more natural it becomes. Start in low-stakes situations, and it’ll be there when you need it.

The Authentic Confidence Question

Some people wonder: isn’t changing my posture to feel confident just “fake it till you make it”?

Consider this: your current slouching posture isn’t more “authentic” than an upright posture. It’s just the habit you’ve developed. If anything, poor posture is “faking” being less capable than you are.

Choosing to stand tall is choosing to let your body reflect your capabilities rather than undermine them. That’s not fake—it’s strategic.

And the research suggests that the confidence you generate from good posture is real. The emotions are genuine. You’re just accessing them through a different route.

Start Now

The next time you’re about to walk into a room, present an idea, or have an important conversation:

  1. Take a breath
  2. Roll your shoulders back and down
  3. Lift your chest slightly
  4. Balance your head over your shoulders
  5. Enter the situation

Notice how it feels. Notice how people respond. Then make upright posture your default.

You have more control over how you feel and how you’re perceived than you might think. Posture is one of those controls.

Related articles:

The Posture Workout app helps you build the physical foundation for confident posture with daily exercises and progress tracking. Download it free →

References

  1. Carney DR, Cuddy AJ, Yap AJ. Power posing: brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychol Sci. 2010;21(10):1363-1368. PubMed ↩︎

  2. Ranehill E, Dreber A, Johannesson M, Leiberg S, Sul S, Weber RA. Assessing the robustness of power posing: no effect on hormones and risk tolerance in a large sample of men and women. Psychol Sci. 2015;26(5):653-656. Journal ↩︎

  3. Winkielman P, Niedenthal P, Wielgosz J, Eelen J, Kavanagh LC. Embodiment of cognition and emotion. In: Mikulincer M, Shaver PR, eds. APA Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology. American Psychological Association; 2015. ↩︎

  4. Nair S, Sagar M, Sollers J 3rd, Consedine N, Broadbent E. Do slumped and upright postures affect stress responses? A randomized trial. Health Psychol. 2015;34(6):632-641. PubMed ↩︎

  5. Wieser MJ, et al. Prevalence of depression and anxiety among adults with chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(3):e250265. JAMA Network ↩︎