ABSTRACT
Being able to suppress the natural human desire to fill silence with words is an integral aspect of our ability to ask smarter questions – and learn from the answers we receive. But growing to love the sound of silence and allowing those we’re questioning as much time and space as they need to answer our questions is not easy. It takes skill, practice, and self-control, not least because inhibition of inappropriate behaviours is something we have to learn twice as we mature. This happens first as we acquire and become skilled with language in young childhood and then again after the onset of puberty. But it’s worth it, for the quality and depth of answers that someone given the gift of silence will produce compared with someone hassled and harried into answering.
