Day 19: How to Examine What Your Silence Is Communicating

Silence is not the absence of communication. It is communication — and like all communication, it can be accurate or inaccurate, intentional or unintentional.

Name one conversation you have been not having. Not because there is nothing to say — because you have chosen not to say it. What has that silence communicated to the other person? Is that what you intended to communicate?

Sometimes silence communicates exactly what it should. Sometimes it communicates the opposite of what was intended. Sometimes it communicates nothing useful — it simply creates ambiguity that the other person fills with their own interpretation.

The task today is to assess the signal your silence is sending and whether it is the signal you actually mean to send. If it is, continue. If it is not, this is the information you need before deciding whether to speak.