History Main / ThinkingOutLoud

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'': Basil did this often, most notably (and awesomely) when tied up in Ratigan's DeathTrap.

* Extremely common in SuperHero comics in general, at least as recently as UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Characters' thoughts would be written in regular round voice bubbles half the time, rather than bumpy thought bubbles, indicating that they were speaking out loud. It would frankly be easier to list [[SuperHero superheroes]] of the era who did ''not'' do this.

-->'''Ivan:''' " . . . [[CatchPhrase but I'd never say that out loud]]."

* In ''{{TabletopGame/Forsooth}}!'' everyone's primary character gets one soliloquy per session. These are very useful for winning applause from other players.

--> "And now I'm in here by myself, ah, [[LampshadeHanging talking to myself]]."

* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', as {{Medium Aware|ness}} as he is, sometimes thinks out loud completely unintentionally. This "outer monologue" often still uses the narrative boxes. Example from ''ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool'' issue 30:

* ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse: A downright ridiculous example is [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+2263-1 the Disney comic "The Mystery of the Old Mansion"]], where the villain is busy with his work, unaware of anything else being present, and suddenly, for no reason, he spontaneously decides to recite four pages' worth of backstory, complete with dramatic acting.

* It happens in ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}''. During their trip to Bizarro World, Kara Zor-El reflects out loud on ''[[ComicBook/NewKrypton the events which led to her retirement]]'', her decision to go back to being Supergirl and taking her “twin” back to Bizarro World.

** Of particular note though is the cover of ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, where Franchise/SpiderMan announces quite clearly that he is Peter Parker while holding a ne'er-do-well in one hand, thus telling him his SecretIdentity.

* ComicBook/DoctorDoom does this a lot. In ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'', [[TalkativeLoon Klaw]] calls him out on it, asking if Doom is taping himself. Doom then reveals that he is, because "Every utterance of Doom must be recorded for posterity!"
* Lampshaded in a ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' comic in which The Key takes over the Justice League.
-->I've finally done it. The Justice League are mine. Their thoughts belong to The Key. And with their help, I shall open new doors onto a new universe! Oh, and make a note of an interesting side effect of my expanding consciousness. I can't stop talking to myself…

* Chopper of ''Manga/OnePiece'' combines this with ImStandingRightHere when he both thinks out loud and badmouths his hosts because he'd thought them crude primitives at first glance.

Thinking Out Loud occurs in the odd circumstance that a character is talking to himself/herself out loud and they could easily be thinking the same thing, but just don't. Villains do this a LOT. It's usually a form of AsYouKnow: often the character would be better off hiding their thoughts from people who might hear them, but, of course, the audience needs to be informed...

The difference with DidIJustSayThatOutLoud is that that trope incorporates an Outer Monologue when other characters are in the room and happen to hear what the character was thinking ''because'' he/she blurted it out. This is where they are speaking out loud intentionally, and/or if bystanding characters learn nothing from the experience.

* ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'' invokes this by fear of forever losing the ability to speak if he stayed alone with no one to talk for too long.
* In ''Literature/TheOldManAndTheSea'', the titular old fisherman Santiago does this ''a lot''.
-->"If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy", - he said aloud. "But since I am not crazy, I do not care".

* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Miles Vorkosigan does this ''a lot'', in keeping with his hyperactive and not-entirely-stable personality. He mentions on one occasion that he likes to think out loud because it slows down his thoughts to the point where he can get a good look at them, and also admits that very few people can stand to listen to him for long. On another occasion he actually uses this -- ranting about how everyone always thinks ''Ivan'' is the smart one, and the bad guys have exposed their entire scheme for the sake of grabbing the ''expendable'' Barrayaran, and it's been like this since they were kids, y'know... -- to provide a distraction for an ally, who takes so long to spring her ambush that even ''Miles'' starts to worry he's going to run out of things to say.
* ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'': Galder Weatherwax mutters calculations under his breath before firing the magic arrow intended to get the Eighth Spell.

Don't confuse this trope with TalkingToThemself, in which case the character has some kind of split personality or think he is really talking to someone else.

A frequent trope in AdventureGames, especially PointAndClick which when lacking a narrator will have the player character comment on anything that is clicked on. Less serious examples of these games will often [[LampshadeHanging Lampshade]] this.

[[folder:Radio]]
* {{Radio Drama}}s are prone to this, because, you know, how would you tell the difference between narration and someone talking to himself?
[[/folder]]

* Dr. Robotnik of ''Franhcise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has a tendency to do this.

Interestingly, thinking out loud has been studied; it's formally known as private speech or egocentric speech. Although it's often stereotyped as a bad habit, one of the earliest defenders of the practice was Lev Vygotsky, who studied private speech in children and reasoned that speaking out loud while performing tasks tended to help the child perform better.

* In point and click adventure games where there's no narrator the player characters do this to explain things to the player. Often lampshaded and mocked in less serious ones.
* Dr. Robotnik of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' has a tendency to do this.

* ''Webcomic/GrimTrigger'': Lodin's first conversation with Tage and Hunter is about him talking to himself. He seems pretty embarrassed by it.

* Repeatedly and unconsciously speaking your thoughts out loud is one of the lesser-known quirks of people on the autism spectrum.
* Persons living with ADD or ADHD, some learning disabilities or traumatic brain injuries that impair attention or concentration, and recovering stimulant addicts are actually often encouraged to use this as a coping mechanism for deficits in attention and concentration. It works to some degree to combat lack of focus and forgetfulness.