Most of us love to speak, rather than listen. Although, God has given us two ears and one mouth, we tend to speak more than we listen. I have come across a few people in my life whose silence spoke louder than their words.

One such person was my father. He was my role model in life and taught me a lot of life lessons ,through his actions more than his words. He was a man of few words. His actions and non verbal behaviour spoke louder ,than his words.

He was a very patient man too. I have hardly seen him lose his cool at home or heard of him getting angry at work. While he hardly spoke, we as kids ,used to be quite scared of him. He never scolded us, but his silence made us realise ,what he did not like.

Sometimes, his face would turn red and we would know that something was amiss and we would disappear ,from that room. The learning he gave us was that silence can indeed be louder than words.

Even at his work place, I have met a few of his colleagues and they had high regards for him ,as their leader. When I asked them the reasons, most often ,they spoke of his power of silence. They said they never knew what he had in his mind and would keenly observe his actions, as words were always scarce from him.

My mother used to observe silence, when we ended up doing some mischief. She would stop speaking to us for days, till we apologised and promised ,never to repeat that mistake. So, silence was again her power to discipline us ,rather than scolding or abusing us ,as kids.

At my own workplace too, I have noticed that ,when I am quieter, I listen more actively and observe more diligently. Even in meetings, the people who do not speak much, provide greater insights rather than the drum beaters.

Even nature teaches us, the power of silence. When we enter a forest alone ,on a walk, the hustling of trees or the singing of birds, kindle our inner consciousness. We are not speaking to anyone around us but the inner thoughts get kindled and a lot of new ideas and insights, come to our mind.

The best of leaders, use silence ,as their ultimate weapon. They listen more, speak less and let their actions speak for themselves. It is this trait ,we need to imbibe, to be more effective as leaders.

We need to realise that ,verbosity may not always define effectiveness as leaders ,in any context. We need to train ourselves ,to use silence as a potent weapon ,to convey our thoughts more than our words, both at home and the work place.

Many of us tend to speak ,even before we are asked. We tend to advise even when nobody is seeking it. We tend to intervene in an argument, even when both parties ,are not seeking our intervention. On the contrary, the best of leaders will make their silence speak on their behalf.

Let our silence speak more than our words ,from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

24th Dec 2024