You can be quiet and still be very clear. Silence works best when people know you’ll speak when it counts.

Clarity and volume are not the same thing, though they get confused constantly. Somebody who rarely speaks and is direct when they do gets listened to carefully, because the quiet carries information. What breaks it is being quiet out of avoidance, since then the silence means nothing at all and nobody knows where you stand.

If there is something you have been not saying, say it once, plainly, with no build-up. One clear sentence is enough. Then go back to being quiet, and the quiet will mean something next time too.