Power Posing and Virtual Presentation Effectiveness: A Quantitative Study of Embodied Cognition, Confidence, and Persuasion Outcomes

Syeda Sabika Hussain

doi:10.5281/zenodo.21726141

Authors

Syeda Sabika Hussain University of Karachi: Karachi, Sindh, PK https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9839-6565

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21726141

Keywords:

power posing, virtual presentations, confidence, persuasion, embodied cognition, nonverbal behavior

Abstract

This study examines the effects of power posing prior to virtual presentations on speaker confidence and persuasive effectiveness through a quantitative experimental investigation. The sample consists of 100 professionals randomly assigned to either a power-posing condition or a neutral-pose control condition, each instructed to hold the assigned posture for two minutes before delivering standardized virtual presentations evaluated by blind raters. Grounded in Embodied Cognition Theory (Barsalou, 2008) and Power-Approach Theory (Keltner et al., 2003), the research investigates the psychological and behavioral mechanisms through which bodily states influence communicative performance. Findings indicate that participants in the power-posing condition report significantly higher subjective confidence levels, with a 24% increase compared to the control group (t = 3.42, p < 0.001). Independent blind evaluators also rate power-posing participants as 18% more persuasive (t = 2.86, p = 0.005), suggesting that embodied posture influences observable communicative effectiveness. Additionally, proxy indicators of dominance-related signaling, including assertive language use and lowered vocal pitch, increased by 14% in the power-posing group. Moderation analysis reveals that baseline confidence significantly conditions the effect: the intervention is strongest among low-confidence individuals (d = 0.68) and becomes negligible among already confident participants (d = 0.12), with a significant interaction effect (p = 0.008). Regression analysis indicates that pose condition (β = 0.28), baseline confidence (β = 0.34), and perceived presentation stakes (β = 0.20) jointly explain 38% of the variance in persuasion ratings. While virtual delivery slightly attenuates the magnitude of effects relative to in-person benchmarks, the influence of embodied preparation remains statistically robust. The study contributes to behavioral science and communication research by clarifying the boundary conditions of embodied cognition effects in professional virtual contexts and offers practical implications for presentation training, digital communication strategies, and confidence-building interventions in organizational settings.

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