Silence is golden, we've all heard the famous saying and frankly speaking it can be true. There are times you need to speak, but understanding when is critical, as sometimes simply keeping quiet is actually far more powerful. Therefore, in this article we look at why silence is powerful and the 5 advantages of being silent...
1. Negotiating
- Negotiations are tough at the best of times and often becomes like a game of black jack
where people try to read each other and understand intentions.
- One key and highly beneficial tactic during negotiations is to keep quiet, because when
you do it becomes extremely difficult to know what you're thinking.
- This causes those you're negotiating with to start having doubts, as they start to wonder
what your intentions might be, will you walk from the deal or cede to their demands.
- This might create tension, but it means that whoever feels the need to fill the gap,
or silence, is more likely to be revealing their hand and putting themselves in a more
disadvantageous position.
2. Calmness
- Many think that silence is mostly of importance when interacting with others, as it's predominantly
related to conversing and understanding when not to speak.
- However, at the same time, it's equally important to learn to have silence internally,
as your mind is in constant thought during the course of the day.
- This means having a moment to clear your head of thoughts, using techniques such as
meditation, which not only help you to relax
- But helps to give you clarity of mind, focus and even helps you to make important decisions without being controlled by stress or your emotions.
3. Gain Trust
- It may not be immediately obvious, but silence can be a great way to develop trust and mutual
understanding with other people, especially when in a relationship.
- This is because trust is developed when you listen to what others have to say, whether
it be listening to their thoughts in confidence.
- or listening to them without judement, giving them space to share their feelings without interjecting with your thoughts and opinions the whole time.
- This is a highly valuable quality to have in a relationship in general, as trust is fundamental and having the qualities to develop trust is highly respectable
4. Emphasise Points
- For most people when they speak they speak far too quickly as they try to get the attention
and interest of the person they are speaking to.
- However, this can equally be counter productive,as it takes a lot of energy to focus and keep
up when listening in these instances and it's more likely the listener will begin to tune out
- Learning to integrating pauses and silence into speech can have numerous effects, making you appear more confident, helps you emphasise an important thought and allows the listener to process what you've said.
- This can make for more engaging conversations, with silence being used in a way to really
drive home the key points of the conversation and make it easier to remember.
5. Empowering Others
- A good leader knows the importance of listening and thus use silence to hear what others think
and have to say, giving them the opportunity to speak and be heard.
- Not only does this give a leader insight into what people think, but what they say might make an impression or influence the leader, giving them a fresh perspective on a situation.
- In addition to this, people appreciate being heard and feeling the respect of someone in a position of power, all of which helps to feel more empowered and respected.
- All of this reciprocates in feeling, as while they'll appreciate you showing them respect with your silence, they will be more likely to return that respect to you
Do you use silence to your advantage at any given time?
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