Silence

Take a look at this marvelous piece by John Cage (4'33"):



Wonderful isn't it? There's absolutely no sound in that piece. If you didn't know the piece before the video, you might have sat there intently starring at the video trying to see if he'll play a sound. The lack of a single sound has the same power as a whole orchestra playing at full throttle.

Likewise in an argument, argumentum ex silentio, argument from silence, is a very subtle but powerful technique. It causes the opposition to reconsider his or her proposition and insert the seed of doubt into their mind. Effective use is very tricky but an astute debater can put silence to work even more than sound.

“There are times when silence has the loudest voice”

- Leroy Brownlow

The best speeches have silences built in them. The writers knew that a rambling list of ideas would not capture the attention and imaginiation of the audience, rather time to let the audience digest, to applaud, to appreciate the speech is needed.

Hopefully you get my jist by now.

-runiteking1

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