Silence Matters

Partaking in a deep and important discussion on a Zoom call today, I noted the couple of occasions where we sat in silence.

Not for long. 15, or maybe 30 seconds max.

The pause, however, was just what was needed in the conversation. A chance to take a breath. An opportunity to feel the words as well as hear them. A welcome invitation for new words to come forth.

In our workplaces - and elsewhere - we don’t have conversations like this enough. We don’t allow the power of silence to play it’s role in communication. Our work and lives are incredibly noisy and we feel uncomfortable with silence.

As John O’Donohue also points out in his book Eternal Echoes,

Without the presence of silence, no word could ever be said or heard.

Communicating well about the change we seek matters more than ever. How can we bring forth the power of silence as part of this?