Thinking Out Loud

Thinking out loud is people sharing their thought process in real time

Looking back at decades of life, I realize that despite considerable intelligence and endless pragmatism, it took me years to comprehend the concept of thinking out loud. I had an assumption — on the basis of my own habit of thinking everything through before saying much — that everyone did the same. It was only after I had a variety of people tell me they were thinking out loud that I became aware of this “phenomenon.” Even my wife does it at times, although she warns me up front so I’ll not react as if she really means everything she is saying.

I have come to view the phenomenon as a source of insight into how some people think. The behavior that used to make me wonder about the judgement and decision-making skills some had is now a tool to evaluate their intellectual thought process. This can be problematic because my confidence in them is influenced by what I hear. At the same time, it explains what otherwise would be mystifying and inexplicable about them: Is their thinking chaotic or disciplined, do they combine variables sensibly or get sidetracked, are they reality-based or distracted by emotion and/or irrelevant information.

Above all, do they change their minds endlessly…and why. This matters because while one can dither back and forth in the process of evaluating facts, options and goals, and recognizing that being “consistent” is not necessarily a sign of wisdom, if someone keeps changing their viewpoint and decisions, is there reason to question their mental process. To me, when individuals think out loud and one hears what can be described as some version of incoherence, it simultaneously reveals a deficiency of focus and also what can only be characterized as the Peter Principle gone rogue.

Anyone who has been paying attention knows I consider the Peter Principle to be a fundamental rule of life. In one sentence: People are promoted one level (at least) above their level of competence and then become a liability to their company and those around them — all without losing their job. Those who think out loud take this to another level by letting us in on their mental reality. One can only feel sorry for both the person trying to do what they aren’t capable of and the effect it has on those who suffer the consequences. Unless, of course, that Peter Principled person is a narcissist, an egoist, a lover of self.

Of course this brings me to the incompetent-in-chief, who has degraded the presidency of the US to a parody of the Peter Principle. He thinks out loud (and in tweets), and in doing so reveals the utter chaos that is his supreme incompetence. It’s not as if supporters don’t recognize there’s something very odd about the endless contradictions and free-form assertions. Keeping score is impossible because positions are often changed within the same day (or night). Complete reversals, accompanied by incoherent observations, are delivered as if this is what everyone does. But of course they don’t. Thinking out loud reveals what’s going on within. Lying only bothers the liar if there’s comprehension of doing it.

I would never, ever think out loud. Besides, it would be incomprehensible given the complexity of my process. But others do it automatically, which sometimes isn’t necessarily negative. Thinking out loud but consistently arriving at thoughtful, reasonable, functional decisions and observations may simply represent a different way of getting from here to there. I don’t find that it is all that common, so it is easy to misconstrue the verbal expressions of whatever crosses someone else’s mind as what they mean, when it reality they are sharing their thought process in real time.

To varying degrees we learn to adapt and accept this, but it’s likely our expectations change when those who think out loud are in positions of greater responsibility and leadership. I wrote several months ago about character. One of its positive qualities is communication that is direct, honest and reasonable. If thinking out loud sounds and feels like chaos, an executive — in business, government, education, whatever — will have failed this most basic expectation.

There’s nothing pragmatic about thinking out loud. It’s not the same as an exercise in throwing out ideas, which is commonly a mutual agreement that “blue skying” is an exercise in creativity. When those who make decisions spew a medley of confusing and contradictory statements, it’s never really obvious what to believe. In my experience, those who think out loud are not particularly good at what they do, nor aware of this.