How Does Your Posture Affect The Way People Perceive You?

Picture yourself walking into a room full of strangers. What is the first thing that you’ll likely begin doing? Whether we like to admit it or not, a vast majority of us will start to make assumptions about the people in the room. We may analyze a person’s clothing to determine their socio-economic status. We may listen out for another’s accent to understand where they are from. However, before engaging in a social interaction we often want to decipher a person’s personality traits. This generally helps us decide whether or not a social interaction will be beneficial. But how do we assess someone’s personality before conversing with them? Besides their physical appearance, we begin subconsciously interpreting their body language. And, one of the main body language indicators that highlight our personality is our posture. In saying so, our posture plays a role in how people perceive us.

Your health and well-being also impact the way people perceive you. This is because your health contributes to your behavior. A healthy individual is more likely to feel confident in their body. As a result, they exude confident body language. For example, adopting an upright stature. Maintaining a balanced meal plan and regular exercise is key to promoting a healthier lifestyle.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways people will perceive you based on your posture. In doing so, this article hopes to direct you towards more positive postural behavior.

Looking Into Your Sole

Positive posture starts with the feet. After all, they form the foundation of your stature. Now more than ever, people are adopting an open-foot walking stance. In this position, the feet are pointed outwards instead of straight as one stands or walks. This gait cycle (the term used to describe a stride) appears clunkier and sounds heavier than a straight-footed walk. It often causes one to seemingly swagger. While pop culture may position it as attractive, it exudes a sense of awkwardness and unsteadiness. Rather than representing confidence, it is indicative of a laissez-faire, or disinterested, attitude.

Flat Back vs. Protruding Pelvis

We sit for hours on end during our days in the office or around the table over the weekend. Sitting has had an exceptionally bad impact on the posture. The two primary consequences are the posterior pelvic tilt and the anterior pelvic tilt. The posterior pelvic tilt causes the back of the pelvis to drop and the front to rise. This is due to core and leg muscular imbalances. The anterior pelvic tilt is commonly categorized by a protruding bottom. It occurs when the back of the pelvis rises and the front drops because of muscular imbalances in the quadriceps and lower back.

The Hunchback

Lack of energy and poor sitting habits result in an over-arched back stature. This slouched pose can be seen in individuals who are 16 as well as others who are 60. The prominence of it today is alarming.

If you wish to learn more about the correlation between posture and personality, you can view the following scientific study here.

What Can You Do About It?

Beyond looking after your health, actively trying to change your habitual posture is the first step to shifting the way people perceive you. We often tend to blame bad posture on our desk-bound day jobs or compounding stress. Sure, these factors are detrimental to our health and posture, however, our emotional state plays a part in impacting our posture. In saying so, it is important that you take note of how your emotions trigger certain postures. Do you slouch when you feel powerless? Do you tense up when you feel nervous? Try to actively notice these behaviors and work towards minimizing them. You can implement the following healthy habits to improve your emotional state – therefore, positively impacting your posture and changing the way people perceive you.

• Practice meditation in the mornings to cope with the stress of the day.
• Set an affirmation for the day which you can draw on to get through tough situations.
• Perform posture exercise regularly throughout your day. For example, practice posture breaks during work intervals.
• Connect with friends in a healthy environment.

These are just a few beneficial lifestyle changes that can improve your mental health. For a more comprehensive list, click here.