The Strategic Sound of Silence

Communication skills are the bedrock of every great leader. Most outstanding leaders spend time and energy practicing both verbal and non-verbal communication. But there is one strategic communication tool that is often overlooked — the sound of silence.

Silence is a powerful communication strategy that can best be used by those who have learned to befriend it. Sadly, even many “successful” leaders are not comfortable with silence until they are, by circumstance, forced to be. However, when a leader learns how to be comfortable with it, silence becomes one of the most powerful strategic communication skills a leader can employ.

Let me explain. For many silence can feel like a terrifying beast we want to escape, but we cannot, because it cannot be seen, nor can it be heard. The “pregnant pause” is the home of the beast that lurks in the tension. It’s there waiting in the moments when you sit with yourself, or when you sit with another, and just “be”. Those moments between the anxious tension and the need to make noise can seem unbearable. They can feel like we’re standing on the edge of a giant gorge that could swallow us at any moment.

In my youth, I feared the beast of silence. But now, I have learned to embrace it, to sit in the tension of it. The beast has become my mentor, teacher, and strategic guide. When I am with this mentor, I…