Some people know how to be silent. These lucky ones know the power of silence and feel really comfortable without uttering a word. But most of us need to learn the art of keeping silent.
1. Silence calls people’s attention
If you have ever been in a situation when you needed to draw the attention of the whole school class or a group of people, you must have noticed: it is most effective to keep silent.
When a teacher or speaker is silent, the audience begins to feel interested in him. The lecturer’s silence sends a signal that something has happened. The audience then tries to concentrate and listen to understand why the communication has stopped.
This applies not only to public speaking, but to everyday conversations as well. When we are silent, people get concentrated and we attract their attention.
2. Silence may be the obvious answer
Sometimes we say too many unnecessary words or explain too much. If a question is met by silence, it means this is the best answer. We can also use silence to soften the rigidity of a negative response. Not saying “no”, we avoid rudeness and verbosity. Perhaps silence as an answer is the best way out of a difficult situation.
Another example: someone has said something with which you disagree or which you find offensive. Having restrained yourself from saying anything in response, you send a strong signal that you do not like it and do not agree with the other person.
3. Silence employs body language
Body language and gestures are often more expressive than the words spoken out loud. Facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and the tone of the voice say a lot. The ability to decipher and correctly understand the body language can be a powerful tool to be used in everyday communication, when dealing with others and building strong relationships.
4. Silence is the manifestation of sympathy
There are moments in life when silence equally means an expression of sympathy and signals that you understand the other person.
Sometimes the right words do not exist. Pain or sorrow can hardly be calmed during a conversation. However, silence is enough to show how we care for and sympathize with one another.
5. Silence is courtesy
We are constantly surrounded by information noise. News on the radio and TV, music in elevators, stores and offices, notifications on smartphones and tablet PCs… Moreover, people around us keep talking all the time. There occurs a feeling that we have to talk for the sake of communication as such not to be excluded from social life.
We fight with the information noise around us. When we value words, we are frantically trying to cram as much information as possible in the least amount of time.
But when we are silent, we show the companion that we listen to him/her carefully and respect every word that the person says.
Thus, silence is a powerful tool that can make you a good speaker. Silence is a great power that one must not fail to use.
Practice the ability to keep silent.
