Silence feels awkward because there’s nothing to hide behind. That’s exactly why it’s useful.

Talking lets you steer what somebody thinks of you, sentence by sentence. Silence takes the steering wheel away, which is why a pause can feel like exposure. The discomfort is not a sign something has gone wrong. It is a sign nothing is being managed for a moment, and that is often where a conversation gets real.

Try holding a pause three seconds longer than feels comfortable, once this week. People often say the true thing in the second half of a silence. You may hear something you would have talked straight over.