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How to Avoid Awkward Silence

Name: How to Avoid Awkward Silence
Uploaded: 2024-09-04T17:59:21+00:00
Duration: 43 s
Channel: Shanli Liu, CPA, CTP
Description: In this concise instructional video, speaker Shanli Liu, CPA, CTP, presents three actionable strategies to prevent or resolve awkward silence in…

4 Sept 2024 · 1 min

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In this concise instructional video, speaker Shanli Liu, CPA, CTP, presents three actionable strategies to prevent or resolve awkward silence in conversations. The first tip is to use the phrase “I imagine” to fill gaps and keep dialogue flowing, offering example sentences. The second tip encourages favoring stories over brief statements by asking open-ended, story‑eliciting questions about a person’s background and experiences. The third tip advises a graceful exit when silence persists, suggesting a polite closing line to end the interaction. The overall message is to employ simple language tools to maintain conversational momentum and exit smoothly when needed.

Chapters

How to avoid awkward silence. Number 1: Use the phrase "I imagine." Rather than letting the conversation drift off into awkward silence, use the phrase "I imagine." For example: I imagine that's a lot of fun. I imagine that's pretty difficult. I imagine you've learned a lot. Number 2: Favor stories over statements, meaning find ways to draw out a story rather than just a 1- to 2-word response. And you do that by talking about what has led them up to the present moment. For example: How did you come across that? When did you get into this? Where did you learn it? And number 3, if the awkward silence continues to hang there, just end the conversation. Often it happens because the scene is over, but just nobody knows how to exit the stage. So quickly just say, I got to get going. It's been great talking with you. So try that and follow me.