🪑 How to sit on a chair (like Andrew Huberman)

Andrew Huberman is good at a lot of things; but he’s really good at sitting on chairs. Which is lucky, because he’s invited to speak on a LOT of podcasts.

Coincidence? I think not…

Now, I’m not here to teach you how to sit.

But I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to be conscious of how we sit during a podcast/panel etc.

Especially, because we don’t get to choose the chair we sit in. Biggest traps include…

1. Leaning on a chair arm 🛋️
   When you lean to one side, your posture collapses and your energy dies - casual is not compelling.

2. Hiding your hands 🙌

   Usually under the table, on your lap. When we can’t see your hands, we trust you less.

3. Sitting too deep into the chair 🪑 
   When you sink, your diaphragm compresses and your voice loses it’s power and range.

4. Covering your face… 🤦

   While you’re speaking. Usually when sat at a table - so easy to do!

5. Leaning too far forward 😬
   Increases your intensity and not in a good way.

The bottom line? When we let the chair we sit in dictate our shape, we give up control of how we show up.

Here’s Andrew Huberman showing us what can happen when we get this right (whilst teaching us how to become a morning person)… 🍿

So if you find yourself…

1. Sinking into a comfy sofa 🛋️

   • Stay centred.

   • Rest your elbows on the sofa arms to lift your posture.

   • Gesture with your hands to stay visually dynamic.

   • Position the mic so you’re not straining your neck.

   • Keep both feet on the floor, shoulder width apart.

2. Sitting at a table (hard chair) 🪑

   • Sit back into the chair.

   • Knees should be lower than your hips (so you sit upright).

   • Keep your hands above the table.

3. The (dreaded) office chair… 💺

   • Resist all urges to swivel or rock

   • Tuck yourself right in (n.b. the difference between Andrew and his guest)

   • Raise the seat so elbows are at table height.

   • Plant your feet flat on the floor to anchor yourself
      

     [P.s. Now I know Andrew’s covering his face here in this image. BUT… he’s the host, not the guest and he’s listening. Look how engaged he comes across - bet that’s giving his guest lots of confidence…]

Inside MicDrop, our public speaking community for tomorrow’s thought leaders - we don’t help our members sit on chairs. But we do help them:

1. Nail their message,

2. Build their personal brand, and

3. Become sought-after.

We’ll be launching our May intake this month, so if you’ve been thinking about joining, now is the time to get on a call (if the last time was anything to go by, it’s going to get crazy)! Click here to find out more.

Alex

P.s. Think I could be an interesting podcast guest for your audience - reply to this email. (I promise to sit in the chair properly).