(An important note: Self-talk becomes concerning if it’s the manifestation of a hallucination. “Talking to yourself,” as we’ve defined it here, refers to knowingly engaging in dialogue with yourself versus engaging with a perceived external source.)

“If we speak out loud, it forces us to slow down our thoughts and process them differently because we engage the language centers of our brain,” explains Dr. Nicolosi. “By talking to ourselves we become more deliberate, and this creates a slower process to think, feel and act, instead of being bombarded by our thoughts.”

In that sense, talking yourself through a left turn forces you to be more alert, and talking to yourself when feeling an extreme emotion — such as nervousness before a meeting — can help you process what you’re feeling and better prepare for the events to come.

3 Ways to Master the Art of Talking to Yourself

Dr. Julia Harper, an occupational therapist and life coach, agrees that it’s normal for us to talk to ourselves, but stresses that it’s important to do it the right way. “Self-talk is a normal part of the development of language," she says. "[It improves our] higher order cognitive and meta-cognitive skills and is a fundamental part of self-mastery. Because of its functionality, not only do we all self-talk, it would behoove us to do it well.” Here’s how.

Be kind to yourself: There’s anecdotal evidence, and even a handful of scientific studies, that confirm the positive effect words of encouragement can have on performance. (Interestingly, sports psychology is leading the research on this topic.) It makes sense, then, that negative self-talk serves us poorly and ought to be avoided.

“If we’re talking to ourselves negatively, research suggests that we’ll more likely guide ourselves to a negative outcome,” says Dr. Harper. “However, when self-talk is neutral — as in a statement like ‘What do I need to do?’ — or positive, such as ‘I can get this done,’ then the outcome is much more effective.”