In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf, after talking to himself aloud in the presence of others, defends the practice as, “a habit of the old,” to speak to the wisest person available.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Lucy Paulise is executive coach and author of Timebox, based in Texas. How do you say no—or let go—when your inner critic won’t ...

Positive self-talk is an internal dialogue that makes a person feel good about themselves. A person can use positive self-talk to think optimistically and feel motivated. Identifying negative ...

The road to self-love is a winding one, with self-talk as the navigation system. It’s no secret that the way we communicate with ourselves plays a major role in the way we see and experience the world ...

I frequently get this question from my coaching clients, “Can you please help me with my self-introduction? I don’t know what to say about myself.” According to my recent research, less than 20 ...

When you’re on the spot, be it during a job interview, a big presentation at work, or a midterm exam, how do you respond? Do you start to sweat and shake? Do you have trouble forming sentences? Or are ...

You have the power to get through the hard times with a booster shot of positive self-talk. Self-talk is exactly what it sounds like: It’s how we talk to ourselves, our internal dialogue. When our ...