The Art of Silence and the Professional Pause
This is a guest post by Joe McCormack!
With so much to say and to do, when is there any time for silence and inspiration? With constant connectivity and kinetic activity, where is our time to reflect, process and plan? It used to be that a good flight was a sacred moment for professionals to stare out the window and enjoy a much-needed moment of solitude. 
Not any more.
I recently published my first book, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less and I discovered that throughout that process finding sacred silence and time to break away from running a business, managing family commitments and juggling the mental demands of a busy life was a constant challenge. I discovered that creating little breaks in my life enabled me to not only find time but also to achieve inspiration and make important discoveries through silent, momentary pauses.
Everyone has goals, but life seems to always get in the way. Our day-to-day reality is daunting. The flood of information we constantly create and consume is killing off any hidden hopes of quiet time. Professionals receive more than 300 e-mails a week and check their smartphones 150times a day. It’s reported that we consume 100,000 words of information daily. That’s a novel or two.
We are so connected to our data and devices that there’s not even rest in the restroom. I know more than a handful of people that admit to ruining their smartphones by dropping them into the toilet. That’s a sad state of our busy, connected world.
So how can we regain silence?
The answer is in the power of a pause. Here are four ways to benefit from a brief break:
- Put pauses into your conversations. Before you start talking, first let the other person speak. This may feel awkward or unnatural but it’s a way to show that listening matters more. Inserting brief pauses not only gives people a chance to process what’s being said, but it also gives you a moment to hear what you would’ve missed and gain inspiration and clarity.
- Place a pause at the open and close of the day. Before tackling your work head on or running out the door at the end of the day, schedule quiet time to think. Close your door and take ten minutes to contemplate what you want to achieve at the start and consider what you’ve done at the end. These brief moments bookmark your day in silence and make it more meaningful.
- Permit yourself to pause on the go. When you’re in a car, taxicab or airplane, take advantage of those quiet moments to let your mind wander. These instances are opportune for innovation, insights and reflection. Far too often do we hit the radio, fire open the laptop or check the smartphone. Give yourself a quick break – maybe 10 to 15 minutes – before getting connected and back in gear. Thoughts will come to you during these silences.
- Pursue a pen-and-paper pause. Go old school and briefly ditch your connected device. Take out a pad of paper and a good pen – maybe even a nice fountain pen and leather notebook – and scribble your thoughts down. Writing and drawing can be cause for creativity and clarity. When an idea comes, jot it down. Who knows, maybe the next breakthrough idea or spy novel will start here.
Why is it so important to embrace silence and take momentary pauses? As a professional, you need time – without interruption and information – simply to think. Time like this won’t come in large pieces but in brief bits. You need to take advantage of them every day, in conversations and throughout your day. It will make you a better professional, one that doesn’t rush around doing things but is clear and purposeful.
It’s important for you to be convinced that, in each of these precious pauses, you have something more valuable to gain. These moments will help you achieve greater clarity and insight. For me, it helped me write Brief, a lifelong dream. At some point, you will begin to recognize and embrace that powerful, silent pauses are precisely what propel you forward.
Biography
Joe McCormack is an experienced marketing executive, successful entrepreneur and author. He founded and serves as managing director of The Sheffield Company, an award-winning boutique agency recognized for its focus on narrative messaging and visual storytelling. His new book, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less (Wiley & Sons, 2014) tackles the timeliness of the “less is more” mandate. In 2013, he founded The BRIEF Lab as a specialty institute to help business and military leaders become lean communicators. There are currently facilities in Chicago, IL and Southern Pines, NC.
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