Talking to Yourself
Most people assume talking to yourself is somehow odd, when in fact it's one of the most normal things humans do.
When you're opening the fridge and muttering: "Right, what was I looking for?" "Milk... milk... where's the milk?" "No, not that drawer." you're actually using language as a cognitive tool.
Psychologists sometimes call this private speech. Children do it constantly. Watch a five-year-old building Lego:
"This goes here." "No, that's wrong." "I need the red one."
They're literally using their voice to organise thought.
As we grow up, most of that speech moves inside our heads. We're constantly "talking to ourselves" inside our head. But under certain conditions it comes back out. Let's discover why.
1. It helps us think
Your brain evolved in a social species where communication is one of its primary operating systems. Speaking aloud can reduce the load on working memory. Instead of holding everything mentally, you partly "offload" it into the environment.
Which is why people often say:
"Keys, phone, purse..." while leaving the house.
The voice becomes an extension of memory.
2. It helps us direct attention
Imagine opening the fridge. There are forty objects competing for attention. Your brain says:
"Looking for yoghurt."
The spoken words act like a spotlight. You've essentially given yourself an instruction. Research shows people often perform visual searches more effectively when they verbalise the target. So we instinctively say the instruction out loud. "Where's the yoghurt?"
3. It creates a feeling of companionship
This is where it gets more interesting. Humans are profoundly social creatures. The brain evolved expecting dialogue. Sometimes when we're alone, a little of that dialogue continues anyway. You're simultaneously the speaker and the listener.
It's almost as if part of the mind says: "Come on, Rachel, focus..." and another part receives the instruction.
This isn't pathology. It's the mind using one of its oldest operating systems.
4. It regulates emotion
Notice how often self-talk appears when people are stressed:
"Okay, okay, let's just do one thing at a time." or "Right. Deep breath. Here we go."
The voice becomes a regulating mechanism. Almost like borrowing the soothing voice of a trusted adult. Which raises an interesting possibility about play and fun. The playful voice matters a lot. Many adults only retain the managerial voice:
"Come on." "Hurry up." "Don't forget that." "Get on with it."
But they've lost access to:
"Ooooh, what's in this drawer?" #curious "Let's see what happens if..." #explore "That would be funny." #mischief
It's really healthy to encourage that playful internal dialogue.
Not: "Am I doing this properly?" but "I wonder what would happen if I did this?"
That's a very different relationship with yourself.
There's also a lovely evolutionary irony here. Language probably evolved partly so humans could coordinate with other humans. But one of its most powerful uses turns out to be coordinating with ourselves. So when you catch yourself saying:
"Now where on earth did I put that?"
while standing in front of the fridge... you're not losing your marbles.
You're witnessing your brain using one of its oldest and most effective tools: conversation. Even if, for a moment, both participants happen to be you. 😊
Play Sessions
At PowerVox, we run a 30-day play experiment with our leaders. We give them a prompt every day to bring lightness, mischief, fun and play into their day. We give them a little task to do. We challenge them to do something unusual and see how uncomfortable it may make them. One of those tasks is naming and speaking to 3 x household items. For example, you call your kettle Bob and chat to it:
"Morning Bob." "You're working hard today, Bob. Good effort." "Come on mate, boil faster. There's people waiting here."
What does this do?
It suspends judgement
Most adults — especially people in high pressured jobs — live with an internal editor running constantly: "That's silly." "Don't be ridiculous." "Normal people don't do that."
The moment you decide to have a conversation with Bob the Kettle, you've already stepped outside that editor. So the exercise isn't really about the kettle. It's about giving yourself permission to be slightly absurd.
It reawakens imagination
Children naturally animate the world.
Teddy bears have feelings. Trees have personalities. The moon follows the car home.
The boundary between imagination and reality is more porous. Adults become extremely efficient at shutting that down.
The object-naming exercise briefly reopens the door.
You're practising seeing the world differently. And creativity often begins there.
And also, it means that the next day you go to boil the kettle — you have a little memory of Bob.
It reveals the voice you use
This is something we find fascinating at PowerVox.
How do you speak to Bob the Kettle?
Do you encourage him? Tease him? Thank him? Apologise to him? Complain at him?
The tone often tells you something about the tone you habitually carry.
Some people naturally become playful. Some become nurturing. Some become bossy. Some become hilarious.
It's almost like a tiny projection screen for the self.
It creates micro-moments of joy
The problem with many wellbeing interventions is that they become another job.
Journal. Reflect. Analyse. Track. Meditate.
This doesn't. It interrupts the day with tiny moments of delight. You open the fridge and suddenly remember:
"Ah yes. Benjy the Butter."
And you laugh. The nervous system notices. For a few seconds you have moved from task mode into play mode.
It changes your relationship with your environment
One of the saddest things about adulthood is that familiarity makes things invisible.
You stop seeing your house. You stop seeing your garden. You stop seeing the objects around you.
Everything becomes functional. When you name them, they become visible again. You notice them. Pay attention to them. Interact with them. Feel grateful for them.
The world becomes a little less grey.
Talking with your voice
At PowerVox, we're fundamentally interested in voice.
Most people think voice is something that happens in boardrooms, presentations and difficult conversations, or on stages.
But voice is much older than that.
Voice begins in play. Voice begins in experimentation. Voice begins in making sounds, telling stories, inventing characters and talking to imaginary friends. Long before we learn to persuade, negotiate or influence, we learn to play with expression.
Which means the way we run our Play Sessions isn't just helping you reconnect with your inner child. It helps you reconnect with your voice.
Not the polished voice. The alive voice. The one that existed before she learned what was expected of her.
We hope you've enjoyed this blog post. If you're interested in working with PowerVox you can email us [email protected]. Learn more about The Greenhouse at https://www.powervox.co.uk/the-greenhouse. To find out more about PowerVox Play Sessions, visit https://www.powervox.co.uk/studio-play. You can also follow us on social media, using the handles at the footer of our website.
