Whistle while you work and it will all happen!

Do you talk out loud to yourself?  A colleague in the next office frequently does ....to the extent he thought he may have a problem. I argued "of course not!" ...because I also happen to talk to myself a lot. So it was reassuring to read this week that a team of psychologists are backing me up. In a series of tests with volunteers at the University of Toronto the researchers looked at the influence of our "inner voice." That way we have of announcing and explaining to ourselves  something we're about to do. Like tackling self-assembly furniture or explaining to your partner that you're off for a golfing week-end when her mother is due to stay!
Apparently letting the inner voice out can make us more decisive and resolute, improve our self-control, and make us less likely to do things impulsively.
The same day I read about this, I came across another piece of research that showed how whistling while you work can be a huge help. Again I could relate with this concept as I'm sure many other happy whistlers will. It always fascinated me how my old window cleaner Ted would whistle this repetitive non-tune as he scampered up and down his ladder and across window cills with all the instinctive assurance of a mountain goat.

The scientific part of this story deals with our working memory ...kind of like the RAM in your computer. It seems that if we think to much about what we're doing we use up too much RAM and can lock up. Something else I can relate to!  On the other hand if what we need to do is hard-wired into our consciousness then we don't have to think about it ...just do it!
Both of these stories have a relevance to nerve wracking occasions we encounter in business. Like an important pitch or a key presentation. Neither should be "busked!" Something we are all guilty of at times when time pressures encourage us to believe that "I'm better when I'm spontaneous!" Yeah ...right!  Both should be properly planned and prepared and dare I say rehearsed. Then once learned and hard-wired we have to trust our inner self to deliver.
With a few words of encouragement ...or maybe a whistled non-tune!

 For more tips on persuasive communication visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/