“Deafening Silence”

It started like any regular meeting:

I walk in.

They’re already there.

Everyone with open laptops and looks that say, “We’re totally with you (but also looking at someone else’s report).”

I bring up the main topic

a recurring issue, one that should get everyone fired up.

And… nothing.

Silence.

Someone coughs.

Someone else takes a sip of water.

Then… someone asks what time it is, as if that matters right now.

So I try a different angle.

“What do you think about this solution?”

Silence.

More silence than when someone opens a can of tuna in the office.

And then it hits me:

The problem isn’t that they have nothing to say.

The problem is they have too much to say and they’re afraid to say it.

Maybe because it’ll offend someone.

Maybe because it’s a sensitive dynamic.

Or maybe because they’ve learned that telling the truth doesn’t end well.

And that’s where the lesson came in:

When it’s too quiet don’t assume everything’s calm.

Sometimes silence is just a symptom of fear.

Remember this:

Next time there’s silence in a meeting

Don’t move on to the next topic.

Ask:

“What hasn’t been said yet, that needs to be said?”

And then…

Wait.

Wait a moment past the discomfort.

Because sometimes, it’s after the silence that the truth begins.