Maryellen MacDonald

Well, we know this because we scientists who study talking have looked at how talking works and why it has these effects that it has. And we get these benefits from talking really because of the way that talking works in your brain. So suppose you want to say something like, it's really important that I finish this report today.

Now, we have a pile of about 50,000 words we have stored in our memory. And to say this particular sentence at that particular moment you want to say it, we need to find those specific words, report, today, important, that sort of stuff. And only those words. We don't need a bunch of other words gumming up the talking.

Now, we have a pile of about 50,000 words we have stored in our memory. And to say this particular sentence at that particular moment you want to say it, we need to find those specific words, report, today, important, that sort of stuff. And only those words. We don't need a bunch of other words gumming up the talking.

Now, we have a pile of about 50,000 words we have stored in our memory. And to say this particular sentence at that particular moment you want to say it, we need to find those specific words, report, today, important, that sort of stuff. And only those words. We don't need a bunch of other words gumming up the talking.

It's a really tall order to get just those words out of our 50,000 word haystack of memory. And the way we do it is to concentrate very hard mentally, even if you're not aware of this concentration. concentrate on the idea we want to convey. And this concentration makes it possible to find the relevant words for talking.

It's a really tall order to get just those words out of our 50,000 word haystack of memory. And the way we do it is to concentrate very hard mentally, even if you're not aware of this concentration. concentrate on the idea we want to convey. And this concentration makes it possible to find the relevant words for talking.

It's a really tall order to get just those words out of our 50,000 word haystack of memory. And the way we do it is to concentrate very hard mentally, even if you're not aware of this concentration. concentrate on the idea we want to convey. And this concentration makes it possible to find the relevant words for talking.

The consequence, the additional consequence of you concentrating on the idea is that it then helps you maintain focus on it. Having said that this crucial report needs to get finished, you're more likely to buckle down and work on it.

The consequence, the additional consequence of you concentrating on the idea is that it then helps you maintain focus on it. Having said that this crucial report needs to get finished, you're more likely to buckle down and work on it.

The consequence, the additional consequence of you concentrating on the idea is that it then helps you maintain focus on it. Having said that this crucial report needs to get finished, you're more likely to buckle down and work on it.

People have actually studied, it's a very hard thing to study, but researchers have studied what goes on when people were talking in their head. The first interesting thing to know is that some people report there is no voice

People have actually studied, it's a very hard thing to study, but researchers have studied what goes on when people were talking in their head. The first interesting thing to know is that some people report there is no voice

People have actually studied, it's a very hard thing to study, but researchers have studied what goes on when people were talking in their head. The first interesting thing to know is that some people report there is no voice

in their head and there is no talking in their head and we don't know quite what's up with that because the vast majority of people report that they can hear a voice in their head when they're thinking to themselves or when they're reading to themselves but for those people who do report that there's a voice in their head.

in their head and there is no talking in their head and we don't know quite what's up with that because the vast majority of people report that they can hear a voice in their head when they're thinking to themselves or when they're reading to themselves but for those people who do report that there's a voice in their head.

in their head and there is no talking in their head and we don't know quite what's up with that because the vast majority of people report that they can hear a voice in their head when they're thinking to themselves or when they're reading to themselves but for those people who do report that there's a voice in their head.

We can detect tiny muscle movements in the mouth that suggest that, in fact, they're doing part of the process of talking up to but not including actually having the articulation of the words come out of their mouths.

We can detect tiny muscle movements in the mouth that suggest that, in fact, they're doing part of the process of talking up to but not including actually having the articulation of the words come out of their mouths.

We can detect tiny muscle movements in the mouth that suggest that, in fact, they're doing part of the process of talking up to but not including actually having the articulation of the words come out of their mouths.

And there's also really fascinating research studying patients who have strokes and other kinds of illnesses that keep them from being able to talk anymore, where scientists are trying to turn brain waves into a computer voice talking, where the patient's talking in their head.