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Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,013 ratings

National Best Seller

An award-winning psychologist reveals the hidden power of our inner voice and shows how to harness it to combat anxiety, improve physical and mental health, and deepen our relationships with others.

Longlisted for the Porchlight Business Book Award

“A masterpiece.” (Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink’s Next Big Idea Club Winter 2021 Winning Selection)

One of the best new books of the year - The Washington Post, BBC, USA Today, CNN Underscored, Shape, Behavioral Scientist, PopSugarKirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Shelf Awareness starred reviews

Tell a stranger that you talk to yourself, and you’re likely to get written off as eccentric. But the truth is that we all have a voice in our head. When we talk to ourselves, we often hope to tap into our inner coach but find our inner critic instead. When we’re facing a tough task, our inner coach can buoy us up: Focus - you can do this. But, just as often, our inner critic sinks us entirely: I’m going to fail. They’ll all laugh at me. What’s the use?

In Chatter, acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross explores the silent conversations we have with ourselves. Interweaving groundbreaking behavioral and brain research from his own lab with real-world case studies - from a pitcher who forgets how to pitch, to a Harvard undergrad negotiating her double life as a spy - Kross explains how these conversations shape our lives, work, and relationships. He warns that giving in to negative and disorienting self-talk - what he calls “chatter” - can tank our health, sink our moods, strain our social connections, and cause us to fold under pressure.

But the good news is that we’re already equipped with the tools we need to make our inner voice work in our favor. These tools are often hidden in plain sight - in the words we use to think about ourselves, the technologies we embrace, the diaries we keep in our drawers, the conversations we have with our loved ones, and the cultures we create in our schools and workplaces.

Brilliantly argued, expertly researched, and filled with compelling stories, Chatter gives us the power to change the most important conversation we have each day: the one we have with ourselves.

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Product details

Listening Length 5 hours and 44 minutes
Author Ethan Kross
Narrator Ethan Kross
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date January 26, 2021
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B087YD4VG7
Best Sellers Rank #4,196 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#20 in Medical Cognitive Psychology
#35 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
#99 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,013 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides insightful and relatable advice to harness inner voice. They appreciate the engaging writing style and clear English. The content is useful and resonates with readers, providing practical tools and strategies. Many readers describe the book as a great, easy read that offers actionable strategies. However, opinions differ on the information quality - some find it helpful immediately, while others feel it's too academic.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

68 customers mention "Insight"68 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides valuable insights and connections to their inner voices. They appreciate the relatable examples and evidence-based studies that support the suggestions. The book is scholarly and well-written, with great perspectives on how to control inner thoughts. It references clinical studies, pop culture, and anecdotes from the author. The content is grounded in science and then converted into practical tools that are easy to remember.

"...3rd person using my name instead of “me” or “I.” It helps you zoom out from your inner voice and think more like a problem-solver not for yourself..." Read more

"...Its style is perfect for a broader audience: the author does cite specific studies that support the tools he recommends, but without a zillion APA..." Read more

"...into a more coherent perspective, but you also learn to face life-predicaments with acceptance, flexibility, courage, tolerance, and the ability to..." Read more

"...The tools described in the book are currently helping me deal with chatter resulting from work. I’m grateful...." Read more

59 customers mention "Writing style"55 positive4 negative

Customers find the book engaging and easy to read. They appreciate the author's skill in describing mental chatter and providing clear examples. The text is written in simple English that is understandable by laymen. Readers find the research and explanation of how humans can change valuable. They appreciate the author mixing personal stories with other stories.

"...The tools are thus listed in order of easiest/fastest to implement...." Read more

"...It is a simple and easy read. I enjoyed learning the science behind my thoughts and how I can better use my thoughts...." Read more

"I love this book. Its style is perfect for a broader audience: the author does cite specific studies that support the tools he recommends, but..." Read more

"...An underlying theme of Professor Kross’ creative, eloquent work, is to change your thinking to steady your emotions - to promote more rational..." Read more

57 customers mention "Use"57 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helpful and compelling. They appreciate the insights, stories, and tools it provides to help calm their chatter. The suggestions resonate with them, making the content relevant and helpful. Readers also appreciate the practical suggestions and summary section at the end. Overall, they consider it an interesting and timely topic.

"...experiences of famous and unfamous people to weave together a most compelling treatise on how to gain control over that inner voice, turning it from..." Read more

"...It is a simple and easy read. I enjoyed learning the science behind my thoughts and how I can better use my thoughts...." Read more

"...during the pandemic, and I found comfort and value in the suggestions in this book, and especially in the compassionate tone in which those..." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. In addition to the helpful content itself, it seems as though the author knew exactly where my mind would go..." Read more

50 customers mention "Readability"50 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read with practical ideas. They describe it as a good product and an interesting read with helpful tools.

"I love this book...." Read more

"...So in that sense, the book was a natural read...." Read more

"This is an excellent book, however, I paid for a new copy and received a used one...." Read more

"Excellent read with many insights & relatable examples that make you think." Read more

4 customers mention "Actionable"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the tools and strategies in the book actionable. They appreciate the concise and easy-to-implement strategies for emotion regulation and everyday strategies. The action steps are helpful and they will use them to improve their quality of life.

"...Its advice is simple, actionable, and backed up by current clinical research...." Read more

"...Final chapter on "tools" is concise and actionable." Read more

"...As another review noted, it's hard to put down. The action steps are especially helpful and I will be using them to improve the quality of my life..." Read more

"...of the science of self-control and emotion regulation to actionable everyday strategies people can easily implement on their own...." Read more

9 customers mention "Information quality"4 positive5 negative

Customers have different views on the book's information quality. Some find it provides practical tools and techniques that can help immediately. Others describe it as academic and dry, with only superficial summaries of psychological studies.

"...It was not too painful given that he dismisses too many studies and because of the lack of references in his book...." Read more

"...All the principles, tools, and techniques taught in how to turn spirals of negativity into clear and constructive thoughts are listed together in..." Read more

"...I can tell that a researcher wrote this book. Delivered like a science textbook. 242 pages is misleading...." Read more

"...So I’m delighted with this fun-to-read book with an entire section of tools...." Read more

Shipment review - haven’t read the book yet.
5 out of 5 stars
Shipment review - haven’t read the book yet.
May sound strange - but arrived without a cover. I enjoy buying hard cover books and it was strange to me that it didn’t have its cover. Still excited to read it though!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021
    4.5 rounded to 5 stars

    Over the last year I have been drawn to memoirs and contemporary fiction with psychological themes. I believe this book is the first psychologically themed book I’ve read from self-help department. You know that chatterbox, that inner voice you have that seems to make your life miserable? Yeah, that. It is particularly chatty in introverts who spend a lot of time in their heads like me. Wouldn’t you love a way to just shut it up seeing as it’s generally a glass half empty yapper? If so, then you should pick up this book. It gives you a ton of ways to squelch the miserable totally unhelpful demoralizing blather coming from that inner voice.

    Ethan Kross, PhD, is a worldwide researcher and expert on controlling the conscious mind. He is currently a psychology professor at the University of Michigan where he is director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory. In Chatter, he uses research studies (his and other scholars’) focusing on the brain and human behavior and real-life experiences of famous and unfamous people to weave together a most compelling treatise on how to gain control over that inner voice, turning it from being a negative critic into a helpful coach.

    I was amazed at all the ways chatter can be corralled. And not just corralled but turned into something beneficial. Just corralling with a technique like mindfulness can turn off the negative thoughts for a while, but nothing really gets resolved. Dr. Kross teaches us how to corral AND convert that voice into a valuable constructive ally. Even though this was a Libby App book, I was highlighting like crazy as this stuff is so good. When I had to return the e-book I decided I needed to download my own copy from Amazon as I’m sure I will refer to it time and again.

    Another bonus in owning the book is there is a chapter entitled The Tools at the end. All the principles, tools, and techniques taught in how to turn spirals of negativity into clear and constructive thoughts are listed together in this section. The techniques are subdivided into those you can implement with yourself, tools that involve other people, and approaches that involve the environment. Some of the tools are tougher to pull off. For example, when you are in the heat of an argument, you have little time to journal about it or visualize being a neutral fly on the wall. The tools are thus listed in order of easiest/fastest to implement. My favorite is one of the fast ones—turn the chatter into 2nd or 3rd person using my name instead of “me” or “I.” It helps you zoom out from your inner voice and think more like a problem-solver not for yourself but for someone else. I can say to myself, “Chris, that’s ridiculous thinking—what would you think Jean should do if this was her situation and not yours?” Try it. It works!

    This is a read that requires you to pay attention. One half star off for that as I’m sometimes lazy when I read and then it’s work to pay attention. Five stars for content, however. I am definitely rounding up as content trumps my own inherent laziness. I highly recommend Chatter for everyone as everyone has that blasted inner voice.
    56 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2024
    This is a really interesting book about what goes on in your head.

    It is a simple and easy read.

    I enjoyed learning the science behind my thoughts and how I can better use my thoughts.

    So, if you hear me talking in the third person, the doctor told me to!

    I'm afraid after a few years, I will forget I even read this book.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021
    I love this book. Its style is perfect for a broader audience: the author does cite specific studies that support the tools he recommends, but without a zillion APA citations or the discourse-specific language you get when you read a journal article. The voice behind it is endearing––this is someone who allows himself to be vulnerable to his readers and empathizes with the anxieties we feel. I loved the way he shared his perspective as a husband and father. So many books written by men can feel pedantic and a little distanced––as though this is a detached professional with no experience of the pain his patients go through––and this is definitely not the case with Kross. He's kind, compassionate, self-effacing, and generally relatable.

    Kross makes specific recommendations for different ways to deal with chatter backed up by specific research studies. He uses a real-world example (sometimes his own, sometimes a famous person, sometimes just someone he's encountered in his research) to illustrate a particular type of struggle as well as a specific way of coping. He also shows how many of us go about coping with chatter the wrong way (for example, by venting to friends who encourage our venting, or "ruminating," to the point where we relive the anxiety-inducing scenario again and again).

    For people expecting this to be a jargon-heavy psychology article... this isn't the book for you, nor does it purport to be. This book is meant for a wide audience and, quite frankly, a wide audience needs it! My "chatter" has intensified during the pandemic, and I found comfort and value in the suggestions in this book, and especially in the compassionate tone in which those suggestions were made. I have already begun adopting the tools the author suggests, and I have already seen a difference in my ability to handle that inner voice.

    I highly recommend this book!
    10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Karen O
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
    Reviewed in Canada on April 29, 2023
    This book was helpful but not enough given the title.
  • Alison Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great insights and tips for over thinking
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2024
    Wow - loved this book, great insight and very very useful tips to stop overthinking. I have given it as gifts and, as a coach, recommend it often to others.
  • Placeholder
    5.0 out of 5 stars My view
    Reviewed in India on August 24, 2024
    It is a amazing book and if you are l curious about knowing why sometimes we have a fight with someone why there is a stream of thoughts in our head then go for this book you will surely find something.
  • Davide
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ancora all'inizio, ma per ora ottimo libro!
    Reviewed in Italy on July 25, 2024
    Comprato per capire al meglio questo lato psicologico.

    Ottimo anche per migliorare l'inglese.
  • Arley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
    Reviewed in Brazil on June 20, 2021
    The author is able to face the "chatter" phenomena, something very common nowadays. I myself am always chattering a little, and after read this book my way of chattering did not stop, but change.