Awkward silences are only awkward because we feel like they are supposed to be. Silence typically means a conversation is over, but when it feels like it should have continued, the silence feels “wrong”. The solution is to remember that silence doesn’t have to mean that the conversation is over. Pauses feel out of place because practised talkers don’t need them.

Don’t get too comfy with it though, I’ve become so immune to awkward silences, that I sometimes completely fail to notice when someone is uncomfortable while I’m just chillin and thinking about what to say next. When you stop speaking, people’s imaginations take over for what you’re thinking, and especially for anxious people those 30 seconds of silence wondering what you’re thinking can be hell. I used to be that anxious person.

Hence I started announcing why I’m being quiet. It lets their thought-spiral of worry calm because you’re essentially saying “don’t worry, I wasn’t offended or turned off by what you said, I will tell you what I’m thinking, I just need a moment”.