The Science of Presence: Unlocking Confidence When It Matters Most (Part 1) with Amy Cuddy

Sep 17, 2025

Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist and author known for her work on confidence and presence, joins Stephen and Britton Covey to discuss how we can unlock our best selves in high-stakes situations. She highlights the importance of preparation in building confidence and warns against the pitfalls of over-preparation. Cuddy explains the concept of self-affirmation, illustrating how anchoring personal values can enhance performance and mitigate self-doubt. Join them as they explore practical ways to embrace challenges with calm and confidence.

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INSIGHT

Presence Is A Skill Not A State

Presence is the ability to access and bring your authentic, bravest self to high-stakes moments.
It’s not permanent but a skill you develop to act with calm, composure, and connection.

ADVICE

Prepare Mindset Alongside Skill

Prepare both the content and the mindset before high-stakes interactions.
Aim to enter with calm confidence, composure, and focused attention.

ANECDOTE

Punt Return: The Wall Of Doom

Britton Covey describes punt returning as terrifying because everyone watches that one player.
Amy Cuddy's son compared punt return to "running into a wall of doom," highlighting the pressure.

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In this first part of a two-part conversation, Amy Cuddy, renowned social psychologist and author of Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges, joins Stephen and Britain Covey to explore the powerful concept of presence. Amy delves into how our ability to bring our authentic, best selves to high-stakes situations, whether it’s a job interview, public speaking, or even sports, can drastically shift our confidence and performance. Drawing on years of research, she explains how presence is not a permanent state but a skill we can develop in order to show up with calm, composure, and confidence when it matters most.

Through engaging discussions, Amy shares actionable insights into how we can all embrace our bravest selves during stressful moments, access authentic self-affirmations, and overcome the paralyzing effects of self-doubt and hyperawareness. This episode also explores the science behind self-affirmation theory and how small but powerful mental shifts can improve performance in unrelated challenges. Tune in to discover how cultivating personal power and agency can turn every challenge into an opportunity for growth and success.

What We Discuss:

[00:00] Introduction
[01:57] Defining Presence: Being your authentic self in high-stakes situations
[07:04] The role of confidence in preparation: Gaining confidence through training and practice
[14:43] Over-preparation and its pitfalls: Finding the balance between preparation and mindset
[19:52] How self-affirmation theory impacts performance, even in unrelated situations
[29:41] The impact of hyperawareness: How to overcome distractions and perform at your best

Notable Quotes:

[02:31] "Presence is about our ability to access and bring forth our authentic, best selves in our most challenging situations." – Amy Cuddy
[15:25] "We often have to stop preparing the content or the skill and start preparing our mindset." – Amy Cuddy
[29:14] "If we get hung up on what we didn’t do well, we’re less likely to be present the next time." – Amy Cuddy
[08:58] "Confidence is not about tricking yourself; it’s about getting out of your own way." – Amy Cuddy

Resources

Paradigm Shifting Books

Book

Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

Amy Cuddy

Britain Covey

Stephen H. Covey