I've often thought about this scene and the point Mia makes. As a generally shy person I find myself agreeing with her. When I'm with my friends or family I can appreciate a comfortable silence but when I'm in the company of people who are acquaintances or people who I'm not the most comfortable with I often feel the urgent need to discuss something, anything, just to break the silence. I don't know why I must "feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable." As Vincent says in the video, "[It's] a good question."
Monday, June 18, 2012
Uncomfortable Silences
In class today while someone was preparing their presentation we had a short discussion on silence. Our professor made the point that as the teacher she has the power to talk about nothing ("bullshit") and as students we would listen to it. While we were discussing this a scene from one of my all time favorite films came to mind. I thought I would share the scene. (Warning: there is some explicit language).
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you are not alone in your need to fill silence. :) The challenge is finding ways to fill it that you are comfortable with.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I (clearly) enjoy sharing things about myself. Why? I think that it makes me human and accessible to my students, which can be a good thing, especially when they do not want to feel the burden of having to fill the silence themselves.
That noted, I think that a great way to "fill" silence (until you hit a point where the silence is acceptable) is to ask people open ended questions. This can be a safe space to connect with others where you can comfortably get to know others. The challenge is that people typically feel more comfortable building rapport when sharing is perceived as equal. ;)
Those are my thoughts....
p.s. tomorrow I think that you should engage the class about your blog. I considered having me solicit the advice and I think that your plea will be more compelling than mine. That noted, I will support you by offering blog post points for blog post 4. ;) Partially I think that they are not sure where your blog is. Something to help them remember or directed their attention may really help...