Most of us can relate to the idea of a voice in our head, an inner monologue. The 1-1's we have with ourselves. And while me might be aiming to tap into a positive inner coach to lift our outlook (Focus, you can do this), we're often met by our inner critic instead (It'll never work. What's the point?)

It's a topic we explored with acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross, PhD — in a live, experiential session in May, and drawing from research, distilled in his new book Chatter. Some highly actionable takeaways from the book and the session are shared here.

In this enlightening podcast for the American Psychological Society, Ethan outlines much of his thinking, explaining why the debate on the presence of an 'inner voice' is often oversimplified and what we can do to make our own self-dialogue more of a coach than a critic.