What if the answer you're looking for needs three breaths of silence? How do I turn silence into a leadership method?

Silence makes us nervous, so we fill it with words. But often teams don't stay quiet out of apathy—they're thinking. Aristotle would call this practical wisdom: stopping the impulse to choose better. Research on wait time shows that pausing 3–5 seconds increases both response quality and participation.

Leading isn't about speaking first—it's about designing the pause.

Studies suggest 3 steps: Breathe three times after each question; Register a phrase you heard or noticed; Round out with "this is what I understood, anything else?" Watch how your responses and choices improve.

The right pause says more than ten speeches.