When we think of nonverbals, we think of how we judge others. … We tend to forget, though, the other audience that's influenced by our nonverbals: ourselves.

This line is associated with social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s popularization of “power posing” and her broader work on nonverbal behavior, self-perception, and impression management. It reflects a point she often makes in public-facing talks and writing: people commonly treat body language as something used to read and evaluate others, while overlooking how posture, facial expression, and other nonverbals can feed back into one’s own feelings of confidence, stress, and readiness to act. The remark fits the period when Cuddy’s research and TED talk brought academic discussions of embodied cognition and self-signaling into mainstream conversation.

Cuddy contrasts two functions of nonverbal behavior: communication outward and influence inward. The quote argues that body language is not merely a social signal interpreted by observers; it can also operate as a form of self-feedback that shapes mood, self-assessment, and behavior. In this view, nonverbals become a tool for self-regulation: adopting expansive, composed, or open postures may help a person feel more capable and less threatened, thereby affecting performance in high-stakes situations. The significance lies in shifting attention from managing others’ impressions to managing one’s own internal state through embodied cues.