the discomfort of silence

everyone has definitely encountered awkward moments of silence in their daily lives. it could had happened when you were alone with your boss during a meeting, when you were sharing a table with your colleagues during lunch, or when you were trying to engage in some small talk after bumping into an acquaintance on the train.

maybe you were eager to discuss about something until your interlocutor's lackadaisical reply cut you off; maybe you were unable to connect with the other party on the same frequency; or maybe everyone just ran out of topics to talk about. and when that happened, the silence pervaded the whole room like a repulsive smell that made you cringe. you could hear the clock tick, the chair creak, and the bucket drip.

unfortunately, situations like these are not uncommon, and they make the ambiance stale and awkward. so like a knee-jerk reaction to overcome that moment of quietness, you might fiddle with your watch, check your phone, pretend to be in deep thought, burst into laughter, or comment on the weather. but at the same time, your mind might be frantically searching for a new topic to break the deafening silence.

but why do we do that? what makes silence so unsettling that we try our best to avoid it? is it because we don't know what to expect next? or is it due to the lack of control and certainty over the situation? or is it because we view it as a reflection of our lack of social competency?

i have found my source of discomfort, so maybe you should find yours too. although you might not be able to overcome your fear of silence, but at least your awareness of it will help you disguise your discomfort.