We also have to navigate the details of Cuddy’s psychological research and the research of her peers. We can’t just pose like Wonder Woman for two minutes, nor can we merely learn important differences between social power and personal power, between authentic and inauthentic behavior, between powerless poses and powerful poses, between being present and dominating the conversation or shrinking in the corner. And that’s exactly how “Presence” reads at times: like a lengthy, detailed tome based on one simple idea. And both books resolve in a triumph of rousing speechifying and charming talk-show-circuit shenanigans - the new, truest measure of postmodern, high-capitalist victory.īecause hers was the second-most-popular TED talk ever (cue even more postmodern right-place-right-time magic), Cuddy promptly sold a book based on her TED talk.

Exemplifying this potent mix are Amy Cuddy’s “Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges” and Shonda Rhimes’s “Year of Yes.” Both books begin with the specter of success without happiness, success without camera-ready poise, success haunted by “impostor syndrome” and flop sweats and panic attacks. No wonder such books toggle unnervingly between awkward confession and ephemeral vision quest. We are all meant to be as charismatic as Steve Jobs or Oprah, with our creations always secondary to the spectacle of our passionate, unfailingly genuine personalities. If the Gilded Age celebrated the inventor and the innovator, our modern age wants to transform us all, no matter what we do, into some combination of expert, pop star and beneficent guru. This is the paradox of the modern digital world: It demands broadcast-quality demonstrations of social value, even as it steadily erodes our ability to deliver them.Įnter: a brand new era of self-help books in which happiness not only takes precedence over success, but poise and popularity sometimes seem to take precedence over skill or originality or productivity. Slipping into the shadows in the wake of an achievement is no longer an option you must re-enact your value in real time, on a world stage, via conferences, TED talks, panels, festivals, radio appearances and podcasts, all the while conjuring a level of poise and grace that was once the sole purview of news anchors and talk-show hosts.

But success without popularity doesn’t count, either.

That’s the message coming in loud and clear in this dawning era of transparency, whether it’s embodied in enraged emails from a powerful movie producer or depressive tweets from a wealthy celebrity.

Presence amy cuddy review