The space in between the notes – that’s the good part. How long the space is – that’s how funky it is. Or how funky it ain’t.
-Prince

We talk a lot here about sound, but not nearly enough about the absence of sound.

Most people don’t like silence. It makes them uncomfortable. And there’s a very good reason for this.

One of the most soothing sounds to human ears is birdsong. It’s not just because it’s pretty. It’s a result of natural selection. The earliest humans in eastern and southern Africa came to associate birdsong with safety. The absence of birds often meant there was a predator nearby.

Today the majority of us don’t worry about getting eaten, yet the discomfort toward silence remains. When things get quiet, we feel we have to fill the space. Even most of our media doesn’t breathe anymore. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok often perpetuate our aversion to silence with content that removes dead spaces for the sake of expediency.

But there are ways to use silence to your advantage. Here’s another great quote about silence, also from Prince.

All you have to ask yourself is, ‘is there anybody I’m afraid of? Is there anybody who if I walked into a room and saw, I’d get nervous?’ If not, then you’re cool.

Check out this clip of Steve Jobs.

He takes what feels like an eternity to answer the question. But is it awkward? Not at all. Why? Because he’s not afraid of his audience. He’s the expert. That’s why he’s there. So he chooses to own the silence, and he uses it well.  The longer he waits, the more the listener is drawn in. Of course, if you’re going to take that long, you better have something good to say. People typically want a payoff that’s proportionate to the silence.

One of my favourite public speakers is Barack Obama. He’s not afraid of silence either. It doesn’t matter how many people are listening, he’ll take all the time he needs to make his point.

Not only does he make his point, his point has impact. It’s delivered from a position of strength and confidence. His pausing also gives his audience time to consider his words.

Whoever can tolerate the most silence will have the upper hand in many situations. In a noisy world, silence is not awkward. Silence is not danger. Silence is power.