The problem with this "silence" is that you are not actually silent, you never are. If you can't back up silence with non-verbal communication skills you will e

The problem with this "silence" is that you are not actually silent, you never are. If you can't back up silence with non-verbal communication skills you will end up being that weird shy guy who never says anything and you really don't want to be weird shy guy. There is also a huge difference between silence in a group setting, which just means letting others speak compared to silence in a 1-on-1 conversation in which you are forcing someone else to make a move. Whereas the first is relatively simple to pull off, it also just affects the signal to noise ratio and might give others the impression that you are more intelligent than you actually are. Once that intelligence is put to the test this becomes anything but simple. The second one can be a lot more difficult. Most people are not accustomed to silence, they prefer noise, they live in noise and they hide in noise. If you are not comfortable or confident enough in how you use silence it will backfire and you end up in a situation that is just awkward.