Communication is part and parcel of our life. Use of appropriate words in communication process reflects the strength of your communication. However, usually we overlook the power of silence during communication. As we know communication is a continuous process. Even we are silent, we are engaged in communication. We can attach various meaning to the silence. For example, if we ask a person whether he/she is agreed or not and in response to that the person is at the silent end. In this scenario, we may perceive that the silence means full consent, half consent, or total disagreement. However, as a matter of fact, the matter is not the simple one. It is perplexed situation for both sides (communicator and the receiver). When the response is in silence then we are usually more inclined towards deducing the meaning of silence based upon our own mindset. Nevertheless, the judicious way is to derive the meaning of silence based upon the overall context of communication process rather than our personal biased opinion.
Have you ever experienced the power of silence? Just look at the various scenarios and situations! During a discussion, your friend is giving you arguments continuously but suddenly he becomes silent. What do you perceive? A teacher is smoothly delivering the lecture to the students, however, he/she stops abruptly and silence is there. What would be the possible insights on the part of students? A child is asking permission to go somewhere and in response to that the father is at the silent end. What should the child perceive? On special occasions, we keep on silence for some time to reflect something. For what purpose do we practice this? You are at a place where there is pin drop silence. What would be your feeling at that place? Teacher is asking a question to a student but the student is silent. What should a teacher see in this situation? Likewise, there are a number of scenarios that stir up our minds towards provocative thinking regarding silence.
In the context of communication, silence is type of nonverbal communication. So, we may feel the strength and power of silence with a total focus. Now, we should deliberate over it that how can we use the reasonable use of silence. First of all, we should comprehend the reality that silence is not having the same meaning all the time. It may vary situation to situation. It may vary person to person. Now, the rational use of silence can deliver the message effectively. For better communication, we should realize the careful use of appropriate words as well as use of silence at proper time.
There is a school of thought adhering to the concept of “Silence is golden”. When silence can do much more than that of words then we should prefer silence. The extrapolated perception is also there “Silence is golden but not always…”. When there is a dire need to express yourself in terms of words then you should not be at the silent end. The reason is quite obvious if there is vulnerability in the context of interpretation and there are more chances of misinterpretation then priority should be the words. Manipulation of silence in a negative way may give the negative impact.
In a wider perspective, we can see that silence is also assigned various meanings in different cultures. We can get access to pertinent information through internet by using key words including the words “silence and culture, power of silence, silence proverb, silence quotations etc.”. After this exploration venture, we would be in a better position to comprehend the diversification of silence across the various cultures (Asian and Westerns etc.). Through exploration on internet, we come across a variety of information pertinent to “Silence”. Amazingly, on websites there are a number of proverbs related to silence depicting the reflection of various nations. Moreover, there are websites showing a number of quotations of renowned personalities. The relevant videos are also available for further comprehension. For effective communication, we should understand silence meanings in the specific cultural context.
In nutshell, we can conclude that “silence” is something having the power and strength of communication. We should not overlook this fact. During the communication process, we should keep in our minds that silence reveals a variety of meanings, perceptions and interpretations (showing respect, keeping harmony, avoidance, consent, half consent, no consent, thinking, patience, focusing, wasting time, embarrassing, not interested etc.) depending upon the situation, culture, audience etc. We should harness the power of silence by using its strength in a suitable way. Additionally, the other non-verbal clues (gestures and facial expression etc.) can facilitate us to understand the silence. Right use and interpretation of silence in communication is having a lot of significance with respect to various walks of life (education, agriculture, industry, business etc.). So, we should feel the power of silence for effective communication.