​I have been lately thinking about why we as humans choose to remain silent and more so when someone has asked for something or maybe we are just dreading some conversation. I know there is a saying that “No response is a response. And it’s a powerful one” but as professionals there are ways to help close a chapter or help the other person by just explaining that maybe the request they made you may not be able to fulfill.

​I think that silence affects relationships especially when it is work related as people are lost on how best to relate going forward. Communication remains one of the strongest requirements of human beings and we should be ready to communicate expectations to the other person since the lack of it creates room for speculation and more room for misunderstanding. Given that one of the reasons that people go mute is because they do not want to hurt the other person, in reality the silence makes it worse.

​ For me and I know I am a big culprit of silence and cutting people off and it is feedback that I am actively working on. I am thinking the world would be a better place if we helped the other person by just saying no and managing expectations. In making our relationships even better, let's always remember. No is a complete sentence. It does not require an explanation to follow. You can truly answer someone’s request with a simple no.” Sharon E. Rainey