5 tips to deal with awkward silence in a conversation - Improve your communication skills.

5 tips to deal with awkward silence in a conversation - Improve your communication skills.

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One particular situation that people worry about is facing awkward silences in their communication and how to fill these empty moments in a conversation? Some people fear them, some think it's very embarrassing and some feel that they fail miserably in socializing. Here are some five tips for you to deal with awkward silences when they occur in your communication.

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1. Don't Panic - There are many times when we have to face these silences in a conversation. A few seconds of silence is not a big deal. It is important to how you react. You need to stay confident and in control of yourself which will send the message to the other person that this silence is totally normal and not awkward at all. There are situations where silences are very much acceptable. For instance if you have just been introduced to someone it is impossible to keep the conversation flowing, there will be quite periods. Therefore, there is no need to fill in these empty moments and just stay confident.

2. Come up with a new topic - If silence settles in , you can give yourself few seconds to introduce a sentence. If you fail to do that and unable to continue with the current topic then it's time to come up with a new conversation starter. You need to just pick one of the common topics like talking about what's happening around the world, about your favorite book that you have recently read or about a new movie that you have watched recently. SO don't worry too much and just shift the gear to a new topic.

3. Comment on the Silence - When silence occurs do not end up saying Wow this is Awkward, sometimes it can be appropriate to make a casual observation about the situation and comment on it.
For example if someone cracks up a joke which is not funny and inappropriate just laugh it off and change the topic immediately. If someone says something that you don;t agree to just say 'that's interesting, haven't thought about it but will surely do when I get a chance.

4. Avoid Flat responses - Avoid one word Yes - No responses in a conversation. It just makes the other person feel that you are not interested in having a conversation and will make you appear rude and have the other person struggling to think about topics to discuss. Try to add up points to a question that has been just asked and this will give a good flow to your conversation rather than facing awkward silence.

5. Take the opportunity to exit - Even if you don't intend to end the conversation but you see that the conversation is going no where and just a drag then take charge and say something like " Anyway, I will go get another drink for me" SO if the silence hits in a conversation then just exit by saying " It was great seeing you or It was good running into you" This exit prevents you from facing an awkward silence

Hope you enjoyed going through these tips and practice them the next time you have to face a similar situation, don't feel the pressure and stay confident.