no inner dialogue - managing emotional intelligence
ONLY 30-50% of people experience a frequent inner dialogue (although it is estimated that 75% experience it from time to time - source)
Even though it is called self-talk/ inner monologue – inner speech is more of a dialogue (source).
Wow! I have heard of this fact before. However, have never really processed this information. Thus, I also did not think about the consequences for leaders in a work environment.
Anauralia describes the “absence of auditory sensory imagery” – the inability to hear sounds in your mind’s ear/ hear imagined sounds. One of which would be your own inner voice.
This phenomenon is often associated with Aphantasia – the lack of visual processing behind your mind’s eyes. Here a very interesting video about how Aphantasia feels like. The reason for this close association between the two is that Anauralia and Aphantasia are highly correlated! Meaning that when you are reading a book and you are experiencing the words as a colourful movie in HD, your inner broadcast channel most likely also comes with a Dolby Surround system (source). – And the other way around: When you are reading a book and ‘only’ experience the words as they are, you most likely are also not ‘hearing’ the different voices of the book characters as if listening to an audio book.
Those observations are so fascinating, because (not) having an inner voice determines our “working memory, memory rehearsal, prospective cognition, thinking, reading, planning, problem-solving, self-regulation, and music” (source). For the context of leadership, nearly all of these aspects are fighting for my attention. However, I find self-regulating especially meaningful.
Inner speech creates the opportunity for verbal mediation, which then leads to self-regulation (source). In children private speech is observed, which occurs when kids take on tasks, which their caregiver usually did, and now while starting to learn how to tie their shoelaces, get dressed, they are talking to themselves in an attempt to regulate their cognition and behaviour. Usually, private speech internalises gradually but does not have to. Even in older age, talking to yourself (internally and out loud) can support you in organising your thoughts. By now it becomes imminent to stress that the benefits lie in the quality of inner speech/ private speech. Productive talk is productive, non-productive talk like a very loud inner-critic is not productive (ebd, source).
Also, inner speech plays a main role in social understanding and creativity, which brings me back to the topic of this article (ebd). What consequence does one’s speech development have on one’s leadership qualities? The article gives us an answer: “Inner speech has also been proposed to have an important role in metacognition, self-awareness and self-understanding (ebd). – Key players in Emotional Intelligence (source, source) and thus in leadership. Wow, wow, wow.
I am still wondering though, what it really means to not have an inner dialogue (because I think that there is a difference between (not) having an inner dialogue and ‘hearing/ seeing’ that dialogue play out in one’s head). In a reddit forum, I am reading up on the different experiences. As someone, who subscribes to that meme:
and totally felt seen by this show:
...it is difficult to image, that there are people with no ‘inner’ sound. And that a ‘silent mind’ does not mean a mind without thoughts. Some reddit users report that they can even get a song stuck in their head, however, do not ‘hear’ that song (source). Other people report that they do have a dialogue but are not hearing/ listening to the thoughts. They experience their thoughts more as conceptualisations, than a lively, bashful chat with oneself. A user called Resident_Space859 talks about frustration, when being given extra work for example. They feel it, but there are no extra comments about it in their brain. Which makes me think that this is a good thing, because some of my brain’s comments are just not helpful. Nevertheless, I am also wondering who else, other than my cheerful inner voice, would motivate be to get on with that extra work? I guess that the crux to understanding this phenomenon is that not hearing your thoughts does not mean, that you are not thinking. Yet, there is data that suggests that having the ability to have a discussion with yourself in your own head is beneficial for practicing self-reflection, self-regulation and motivation.
So, what does it mean? Probably not that much. From what I understand, the consequences are that people truly, truly, truly experience and process the world in as many different ways as there are humans. Hence, when giving and receiving feedback, expressing wishes, evaluating behaviour… it is crucial to check in with your colleagues to make sure that you are on the same page. Example for unnecessary misunderstandings would be the following:
- Say, I get mad at my colleague for constantly mumbling to himself (Anauralia) or being annoyed at them for not fully appreciating my guided meditation (Aphantasia).
- Or they get irritated, when not provided with photos during meetings, when discussing a design innovation for example (Aphantasia).
- My mini research suggests that it can be helpful for people with Anauralia to have an external discussion with either themselves or with a partner. When knowing that leaders could support their team member accordingly. – While others prefer to discuss all sides of the decision with themselves, inside their head and need alone time.
- Also, people with an inner monologue can motivate themselves as much as they can talk themselves down (source). Thus, if you are a leader make sure that your feedback is clear and cannot be misinterpreted.
I assume that some people do not even realise that they have Anauralia/ Aphantasia or that not everyone has a very chatty self inside their brains until later in life. Thus, most likely they already picked jobs, which suit their individual strengths. Still, when miscommunication occurs and frustrations bubbles up, it is advised to pause, reflect and consider that maybe your mental processing is simply fundamentally different.
I hope this a-bit-moreout-of-the-box exploration inspired you.
Until soon,
Saskia
