Glossary
Self-talk
What is self-talk?
Self-talk is speech directed at yourself, silently or aloud. It can be instructional (“Keep your eye on the ball”), motivational (“You can do this”), or negative. It can also arise without deliberate effort.
Self-talk as a change technique
The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy uses a narrower definition: prompting positive statements before or during a behavior. A learner might say, “I can work through this step,” while practicing. This is technique 15.4.
What the research shows
Tod, Hardy, and Oliver reviewed 47 studies and reported performance benefits from instructional and motivational self-talk. But evidence about which type worked best for which task was inconsistent. Negative self-talk did not consistently impair performance.
The words you use may matter, but the review does not provide a script that works for every task.