Try going a whole afternoon without saying a word. You’ll find out how much you talk just to fill space.

Much of what people say is not information, it is upholstery. Silence in company feels like a problem to solve, so you reach for a comment, a joke, an agreement, and most of it leaves no trace. Going without for a few hours shows how often you were filling rather than saying. It also shows which silences were never uncomfortable in the first place.

Try an afternoon, or an hour if that is all you can manage, and tell one person beforehand so nobody worries. Notice the moments you wanted to speak and what you would have said. Afterwards, keep a few of those back on purpose.