# Thinking out loud



## LeftEyeDominant (Aug 15, 2015)

I've read many descriptions about cognitive functions and MBTI types and some say that Te and Exxx types in general tend to think out loud.

But what do they really mean by thinking out loud? 

At first I thought it must be when someone is "actually" thinking and generating new thoughts/ideas/conclusions out loud. Well, of course it doesn't mean they never think to themselves. It's just that they have a high tendency to say things that they are currently thinking for clarification (seeking clarification not from other people but from themselves). Also, when reading a book or a text, they read out loud. "Talking to themselves"

But I noticed sometimes when I "think out loud" I don't actually do the one above. I think about something, trying to solve it then I think (or rather I say) it out loud for the people around me to know about what I've been thinking. I want to feel like I am connected to them, let them feel that they are part of the discussion also hoping to get some response. "Talking to people"

Then I've come to a theory that the first one is the typical Te and the second one is most likely Fe. I have a Te user friend and she does think and read out loud a lot.
But for the Exxx MBTI types, I am not sure how or why Exxx types think out loud or in what ways. Yeah I know, my profile says I'm an ENTP, but I don't know what other people mean by Exxx types thinking out loud. Also, I am still not sure of my type.

What do you guys think?

PS. I don't know if I should post this thread here in the Cognitive functions forums or MBTI forums.


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## goamare (Feb 27, 2014)

Thinking out loud as more of a firm statement to build up the next step would be Te.
->They usually want others to build up on it, such as with next step or ways of application, rather than the criticism of the idea itself. Because this is in a way supposed to be a "result."

Thinking out loud as more of a process of thinking would be Ti (with extravertedness-EXXX).
->They usually want feedback of the idea itself, and are very open to criticism. Because this is supposed to be a process.

As an ENTP I do the latter all the time. I need a logical criticism of the idea itself (e.g. if it is right/wrong), rather than really building up on it, because it's merely one of many perspectives I could've come up with.


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## Schizoid (Jan 31, 2015)

wingedfriend said:


> I've read many descriptions about cognitive functions and MBTI types and some say that Te and Exxx types in general tend to think out loud.
> 
> But what do they really mean by thinking out loud?
> 
> ...




I believe that thinking out loud is something that is linked to Ne.

I am an Ne user myself and I often think out loud as well. Whenever I have an idea in my mind, I'll feel energized by those ideas of mine and then I start sharing my ideas with the people around me. My ENFJ mom often said I have a childish mind, because I have so many wacky ideas about my future, such as starting my own business and working for myself, and being the Ni user she is, she views my ideas as unrealistic and she thinks my ideas will never pan out successfully.


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## LeftEyeDominant (Aug 15, 2015)

goamare said:


> Thinking out loud as more of a firm statement to build up the next step would be Te.
> ->They usually want others to build up on it, such as with next step or ways of application, rather than the criticism of the idea itself. Because this is in a way supposed to be a "result."
> 
> Thinking out loud as more of a process of thinking would be Ti (with extravertedness-EXXX).
> ...


As an ENTP/Ti user, do you also think out loud when you're all alone? Like saying the exact thoughts you currently have in your mind unconsciously? <--- this is one thing I've noticed with some Te users. Ti does it sometimes too, but Te users sure do this a lot

I would say the way you described Te's thinking out loud is related to commanding and getting to the point immediately together with other people, am I right? Not too much with brainstorming.




Schizoid said:


> I believe that thinking out loud is something that is linked to Ne.
> 
> I am an Ne user myself and I often think out loud as well. Whenever I have an idea in my mind, I'll feel energized by those ideas of mine and then I start sharing my ideas with the people around me. My ENFJ mom often said I have a childish mind, because I have so many wacky ideas about my future, such as starting my own business and working for myself, and being the Ni user she is, she views my ideas as unrealistic and she thinks my ideas will never pan out successfully.


So you're saying you like to share your ideas, right? But the thought process is not included when you try to share your ideas for the future. I don't think it's related to thinking out loud or brainstorming. (well, you only talked about how you like to share your exciting ideas, so I don't know if you usually brainstorm a lot too) But Ne is commonly known as the function to brainstorm a lot. So they would share their ideas and listen to others' as well and try to come up with one definite truth after looking at all the possibilities.


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## Stickman (Sep 30, 2012)

I think out loud when I'm alone. But never ever if I suspect someone can hear me.

I think my conclusions are true and I stand by them. But to get to those conclusions I make mistakes and pursue unelegant dead ends. The conclusion and its arguments are beautiful, but the thinking process to get to the result is often messy and horrible. If people would hear that they'd think I'm insane. Or at best, terrible at expressing my thoughts.

In publc I leave the crap inside and let the elegant coherent sentences out.


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## Aulredigon (Jun 19, 2015)

done, so done


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## Schizoid (Jan 31, 2015)

wingedfriend said:


> So you're saying you like to share your ideas, right? But the thought process is not included when you try to share your ideas for the future. I don't think it's related to thinking out loud or brainstorming. (well, you only talked about how you like to share your exciting ideas, so I don't know if you usually brainstorm a lot too) But Ne is commonly known as the function to brainstorm a lot. So they would share their ideas and listen to others' as well and try to come up with one definite truth after looking at all the possibilities.



I think out loud all the time. It's not just limited to ideas about my future, but even in normal social situations, I often find myself speaking faster than I think. I actually created a thread about this topic before:

http://personalitycafe.com/cognitive-functions/668250-thinking-out-loud.html

As for brainstorming out loud, if there are people around me, I'll brainstorm out loud and share with them all the random ideas that is going through inside my mind. Like there was once when I was in the supermarket and I saw an umbrella on sales, then I started telling my friend all the crazy things that I want to do with that umbrella, like how that umbrella could be used as a walking stick and also how I want to use that umbrella as a feather duster to whack my enemy. But my brainstorming isn't just limited to being around people. Even when I am alone, my brainstorming never stop.


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## counterintuitive (Apr 8, 2011)

Schizoid said:


> I think out loud all the time. It's not just limited to ideas about my future, but even in normal social situations, I often find myself speaking faster than I think. I actually created a thread about this topic before:
> 
> http://personalitycafe.com/cognitive-functions/668250-thinking-out-loud.html
> 
> As for brainstorming out loud, if there are people around me, I'll brainstorm out loud and share with them all the random ideas that is going through inside my mind. Like there was once when I was in the supermarket and I saw an umbrella on sales, then I started telling my friend all the crazy things that I want to do with that umbrella, like how that umbrella could be used as a walking stick and also how I want to use that umbrella as a feather duster to whack my enemy. But my brainstorming isn't just limited to being around people. Even when I am alone, my brainstorming never stop.


Me too, all of this. I think out loud all the time. I think much faster than I speak though, so often I need to talk or write (or type) to slow down my thinking enough to process what I'm actually thinking.


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## LeftEyeDominant (Aug 15, 2015)

Kremy said:


> done, so done


Hmm...? What happened here? Was there a long content here before? Lol



Stickman said:


> I think out loud when I'm alone. But never ever if I suspect someone can hear me.
> 
> I think my conclusions are true and I stand by them. But to get to those conclusions I make mistakes and pursue unelegant dead ends. The conclusion and its arguments are beautiful, but the thinking process to get to the result is often messy and horrible. If people would hear that they'd think I'm insane. Or at best, terrible at expressing my thoughts.
> 
> *In publc I leave the crap inside and let the elegant coherent sentences out*.


Ahh this one. Same, except that I'm always skeptical about my own thinking process. For some reason I always have the feeling that I might be missing something big and obvious that might result into a really stupid conclusion and misses the "obvious" truth..


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## Aulredigon (Jun 19, 2015)

wingedfriend said:


> Hmm...? What happened here? Was there a long content here before? Lol


there was, I edited some confusing phrases then it accidentally got deleted. I was trying to redo it but I could no longer remember or even put the idea into words.


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## Convex (Jan 5, 2015)

I cannot think and speak at the same time, at least not coherently, there will be a lot of pauses, and in those, I will be thinking, refining.


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## Mr inappropriate (Dec 17, 2013)

I never think out loud. Never felt the need to. I dunno why its an extraverted quality though.


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## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

I struggle with my mind and body being in sync here. Which I dont think is weird exactly. Sometimes I am thinking faster then I speak, sometimes I am reacting faster then I think. Pretty sure in that regard I am high strung and inconsistent. I can sometimes for example on here appear to be a non native english speaking person (despite speaking english lol) because my mind will jump ahead of my typing or my typing will jump ahead of my mind and then I have a ton of typos. Geezus I see why people say I have adhd when I write this here like this. 

I can think out loud but its often weird as heck. I think the little or any social awkwardness I can have at times is because of my Se/Ti racing back and forth chasing each other. When I speak sometimes I can be so fast in trying to express verbal in action or my mind that I lose the thought and then people are looking at me like I am slow but I am trying to remember where I was because I pass the topic in my mind or blurting before I get it delivered adequate. When I have time to think like say a work meeting I can usually be eloquent because I have to wait my turn and am preparing in my mind my thought arranging it to then say. But if I am off the cuff it can be extremely disoriented and I know this. I have learned just to tell people I am high strung, and slef depricate (<----I left those errors I caught on purpose to show youhow my mind jumps all over-usually I try and go back and correct alot of my erros but theres usually so many not because I am illiterate like some would think but because of the pace of my mind and action) I self deprecate that I have tourettes and am high strung. .


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## CalmTachycardia (Dec 16, 2015)

Te is objective logic. It focuses on organising and dealing with the external world.


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## KalimofDaybreak (Aug 6, 2015)

I suspect that all types do this in some capacity, though I think what they externalize depends on their extraverted functions. (I also suspect that Judgers are more prone to doing this than Perceivers, because often times 'thinking out loud' involves processing information, with makes sense for Je types.) All that said, here is my two cents.

Se--'shoutcasters': narrate what they want to do or what they are doing/seeing/experiencing, etc.
Ne--externalizes their free association: "cat, mouse, ball, louse."
Fe--speaking from personal experience, I can only understand my emotions when I'm talking about them. I suspect this is the case for many IxFJs.
Te--talks through their logical process step-by-step.

Those are just guesses, but I'd like to think they're good guesses.


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