Silence: The state of being quiet

Communication between the people in an organization may not always be in the form of words, signs, signals and symbols; ‘Silence’ is also a media to communicate in a business environment. Generally speaking, Silence means assent. But communicating through Silence may be a positive or a negative approach depending on the situations and the individuals.

Silence can effectively communicate a number of responses among the members of the organization. Some of such responses are denial, anger, acceptance, refusal, fear, respect, indifferent, disapproval and even lack of interest. The most commonly found use of Silence is the ‘Pause’ during a conversation. Such a pause creates suspense, raises a sense of anticipation and also gains the attention of the audience.

All communication in an organization is mainly based on “Human relationships”. There are various instances in an organization to bring out the feelings of the sender or the receiver through the ‘The state of being quiet’. Silence is more powerful than words and the outcome of such instances lead to different implications.

For instance, during the busy business hours when a subordinate makes a requisition for leave and if his superior remains Silent then the implied response may be ‘Refusal’. On the other hand, when the superior asks an explanation to his sub ordinate for an act of mis-behavior and if the sub ordinate keeps quiet then the implied response may be denial or may be acceptance too. Similarly, collective Silence among the audience during a speech may reveal an understanding that they are keen in listening and at the same time, a candidate’s Silence in an interview process may leave a negative implication proving his ignorance.

So ‘Silence’ in our daily lives is not a meaningless act but contains the essence of feelings without expression of words. Its significance in the organizational communication can be realized by understanding the factors influencing the state of keeping quiet. Some of the important factors that influence Silence in a communicative situation are:

• Existing culture in the organization
• Attitude of the individuals in the process
• Analytical ability of the sender and receiver
• Sills of observation involved in the situation
• Experiences in interpreting the Silence
• Communicative climate of individuals

Sincere efforts can make to understand and interpret “Silence” in any organizational communication so that interactions between the individuals are meaningful. Silence is effective to overcome the cultural barriers between the organizations and also between the individuals.

Even the gaps between the genders in the working atmosphere are recovered through Silence. It helps in avoiding conflicts and creates a smooth and healthy relationship among the groups in the organization. Also creates attention and invites participation among the audience. Silence among the group of people can reveal their attitude to work and their culture. To some extent, Silence can control and balance the emotions of the individuals in the communication process and thereby leads to good interpersonal situation.

“Silence” is certainly an essential and handy communication tool used in an organization to speak effectively without words. Probably, that’s why they say Silence please!