Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
“Ok, Evan. You can do this. You’ve done this dozens of times before – this time is no different. Just remember the words you practiced. Ok, let me go through the steps again… step 1 is this, step 2 is that –
“Who are you talking to?” the voice interrupted, coming from behind where I was sitting.
“Um, I…”
“Were you talking to yourself?!” the voice asked incredulously.
I paused, unsure at first how to answer. “Yes,” I replied confidently. “Don’t you ever talk to yourself?”
As long as you’re not mumbling nonsense to yourself and making the people around you nervous, self-talk can be a powerful psychological tool used to enhance performance in various activities.
I came to be familiar with self-talk through my involvement in sport, but now I am realizing how many applications this skill has in the different areas of my life.
If you want to go over the basics of self-talk, check out my other post titled, Self-Talk: How and Why You Should Talk to Yourself.
The purpose of this post is to dive a bit deeper into the world of positive (and negative) self-talk.
Although many athletes are familiar with the basics of self-talk (i.e., what it is, plus a few examples of how and when to use it), many lack enough of an understanding needed to properly use self-talk to benefit their performance.
Self-Talk and Speaking Clearly
The image below comes from a 2019 paper from researchers Latinjak and colleagues titled, Speaking clearly…10 years on: The case for an integrative perspective of self-talk in sport.
The researchers did a thorough job of assessing the literature on self-talk, with their paper serving as a follow up to Hardy’s 2006 paper, Speaking Clearly: A critical review of the self-talk literature, in which a working definition of self-talk was outlined.
This table is very helpful for collecting and summarizing the main elements of the various types of self-talk, with examples of interventions included at the bottom.
Organic vs Strategic Self-Talk
Think of organic self-talk as natural, reflexive, or instinctual. Something happens, whether it be good or bad, and you react to it with a self-statement out loud (overt) or in your mind (covert).
Strategic self-talk consists of planned, rehearsed self-statements. Good or bad events are anticipated beforehand, and these self-statements or cue words are pre-determined to trigger a specific response in the user. These can also be said out loud (overt) or in your mind (covert).
When distinguishing between these two main types of self-talk, Latinjak and colleagues argue the main difference lies in the origin of the self-statement, and not necessarily in the content of the self-statement.
Here’s the example used by the authors.
The self-talk statement is calm down. Is this more likely to be considered:
- Organic self-talk
- Strategic self-talk
- Both
The answer is both. Here’s why.
- Organic: calm down can be used organically in a specific situation if one notices themselves becoming angry, frustrated, or some other undesirable emotion that could lead to undesirable behaviour.
- Strategic: calm down can be used strategically if it is part of a pre-determined plan to be used at a specific, anticipated moment to trigger a specific response in the user.
What’s even more interesting is how strategic self-statements can turn into organic self-statements over time.
The authors argue that an individual can internalize a phrase or cue word that has been used strategically, and then decide later to use that phrase or cue word autonomously to solve a different problem.
Organic Self-Talk: Spontaneous vs Goal-Oriented
After learning a bit more about organic self-talk, it is clear to see this category is layered.
Spontaneous self-talk happens without intention, planning, or anticipation. This is an interesting area for research, as spontaneous self-talk statements could be viewed as a window into one’s mind, filled with emotions, beliefs, thoughts, and more – all which can be examined and analyzed to learn more about the individual.
In this case, the content of the self-talk is more important than the function of the self-talk.
Goal-oriented self-talk is still organic in that it isn’t planned or rehearsed, but it does still aim to solve a problem or achieve a specific goal.
In this case, the function of the self-talk is more important than the content of the self-talk.
Here’s the example used by the authors.
In 2018, Latinjak and colleagues found that athletes used self-talk that focused on negative reinforcement (e.g., that was crap) to improve performance.
Looking to closely at the content of the self-talk would be a mistake, as in this case, it is the function of the self-talk that is most important.
Information = Power
The information found in Latinjak and colleagues’ 2019 paper has changed the way I use self-talk.
When I reflect on all of the academic work I’ve read in recent years, I am extremely grateful for all of the theoretical knowledge I have been able to absorb, convert, and put to practice in my life.
But when I think about a lot of the texts I’ve read, I can’t help but notice a recurring theme:
Information delivered plainly is far from appetizing.
Unless you’re an academic who is passionate about reading papers and studies around your interests, or you just happen to be a voracious reader with more discipline and free-time than the rest of us combined, information sometimes needs to be distilled, condensed, or spiced up a bit before it becomes palatable.
My goal in writing this was to take the important elements of self-talk to share with anyone who is interested in learning more about the amazing psychological tools we have at our disposal without necessarily clicking through Google Scholar just to read long, complicated papers.
Knowledge is power has been overused, and I’ve only lately heard it (or said it myself) in a mocking tone. But as clichéd as this phrase has become, it still holds weight.
Take the time to learn about the various psychological tools at your disposal and realize that you can experiment, implement, and modify these tools to best suit your reality. You don’t need to have a Ph.D. or work with a sports psychologist to take advantage of the information available.
By taking an interest in psychology, not only will you learn new sets of techniques to help you overcome obstacles and make your way through stressful situations, you will reinforce your ability to find, learn, and apply valuable teachings across various areas of your life.
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