Fill in the Blanks THE POWER OF SILENCE - gap-fill exerciseOnline version Fill in the gaps. by Boglárka Kozári 1 conducted across concessions essential privacy upper thoughtfulness dread fraction powerful turns universal stretched aware perceptions happy nearly confused tend knowing THE POWER OF SILENCE Studies show that typically we leave just a of a second between taking to talk . But while this pattern may be , our of silence differ dramatically cultures . Native English speakers to be most uncomfortable with long gaps in a discussion . And yet , when to be tight - lipped can give you the hand in everything from sales deals and pay negotiations to presentations and staff development . Silence really is golden . Research at the University of Groningen found that when a silence in conversation to four seconds , people started to feel . A separate study of business meetings found that Japanese people were with silences of 8 . 2 seconds ? twice as long as in Americans ? meetings . The Finns ? who respect , reserve and the art of listening ? are also happy to sit in studied . The fact that English speakers generally silence is partly why it can be such a tool . Learning how to face silence is an skill , says psychologist Matthew MacLachlan . " Chinese negotiators are very , very that Americans like to fill silences and they are trained to stay silent and unemotional because that will make the Americans uncomfortable and possibly make without the Chinese having to do anything , " he says . So , what ? s the best response ? " Grit your teeth and wait it out . Don ? t offer a compromise or concession just because they are not speaking . "
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