>Silence does have it's place in meetings and groups. Facilitators are
>sometimes taught to respect moments of silence for a variety of reasons.
>In the United States I venture to say that silence demands little respect,
>because it represents a lack of "fill", a void, negative nothing--as
>opposed to other countries where, let us say, silence is more tangible.
In some ways I suppose it depends on *why* people are being silent
- if it is because they fear speaking because they expect a
difficult response (defensiveness etc....), or are unsure, then it
is a pity they will be withholding data from the group which may
result in frustration. This is even more difficult when people are
silent in a meeting but voice their sense of dissatisfaction
outside it.
I realise we are talking about use of silence for
reflection - at best it will allow people to 'listen' again to the
issues and consider their own position afresh - at worst it gives
people time to gather up a whole set of new defenses/arguments
etc...
Sometimes equally noise can be great if it is because people are
interacting creatively in smaller groups to be mentally ready to
contribute again to the larger group - they may well be doing some
healthy synthesis which might never have developed in the larger
group context.
-- Julie Beedon <julie@vistabee.win-uk.net>