Inner Harness

Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It by Ethan Kross
Crown, February 1, 2022

Whether it happens before asking an individual for a donation or while preparing for a tough meeting with parents, internal chatter is real, and we all experience it. What if tools existed to quiet those voices? And what if these tools could improve performance under stress, help people think more precisely, and reduce negative rumination? In the book Chatter, award-winning psychologist Ethan Kross helps us understand and defeat the inner voices that prevent us from performing at our best. Through the lenses of research, science, and personal experiences, Kross explores the silent conversations we have in our heads. Additionally, he introduces high-profile figures such as Fred Rogers to demonstrate how others use strategies to overcome stressful situations. Using tricks most people can easily access, such as talking to themselves in the third person, mental time-travel, and reframing experiences, educators can learn to harness inner voices to work for them. While Kross does not want to eradicate our inner voices, his book provides the tools to harness them to perform at our best during the many challenges of a day at school.