Talking out loud to yourself is a technology for thinking
I recently started sending long form voice recordings to friends as a new way to stay connected (I explain that idea here https://nicktorba.com/brain/voice-memo-experiment). I'm excited to send those friends a link to this article as a way to further convince them they should send recordings back.I did not expect the personal thought benefits that come from speaking to yourself in long form. After starting to send recordings to friends, I quickly became more comfortable speaking for long periods and found it led to more interesting ideas and better understanding of my thoughts and ideas. Plus, it helped me better structure thoughts verbally. I've also started making a recording right after I listen to any podcast. It has made listening to them much more engaging.I was also surprised by how energizing recording audio is. I find myself refreshed after going for a walk and recording my thoughts, or creating a recording for a friend (much more so than if I listened to a podcast on the same walk, or just walked in silence). It's also a fantastic way to make time in the car creative and productive.Voice recording or self talking is definitely an underutilized tool for thought and creation.