How to Silence a Room Without Saying a Word: Tips On Leadership By Stanford Communication Expert

Want to captivate an audience and command a room, but have fear of stage fright? Or, you fear that people won’t listen to you when you speak? Matt Abrahams, a communication consultant and organisational behavior lecturer at Stanford University, shares that the best way to command a room is to be silent. With his expertise, Abrahams suggests harnessing the power of silence to captivate attention effectively.

70% employees are poor listeners

According to a 2020 report from the University of Southern California, a staggering 70% of employees in the workplace are poor listeners. This leads to a host of issues including misunderstandings, errors, missed opportunities, arguments, stalled projects, and damaged relationships.?

“So you’ve got to be clever if you want to grasp someone’s attention,” says Matt Abrahams, as quoted by CNBC Make It.

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Just stand in front and say nothing

“One of the best things to do to command attention and get people to be quiet is to actually just stand in front of them and not say anything,” Abrahams says.

Silence is awkward - and making people awkward is the best way to gain their attention.

In fact, It only takes four seconds for silence to become awkward, according to a psychology study published in 2011.?

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It might feel uncomfortable for you too, but the awkwardness alone “will typically draw people in,” says Abrahams.

Make a declarative statement

Abrahams suggests another method for capturing attention: making a strong statement.?

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According to him, saying something impactful or thought-provoking without warning can have a similar effect and grab attention of the room.?

In essence, instead of requesting control, simply show it.?

Abrahams also recommends trying other strategies such as beginning a major presentation with a question or playing music before an event starts to indicate that something significant is about to occur.

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