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Speak less, win more: Mastering negotiation with silence
Mastering communication and silence are tools that can significantly increase your success, efficiency, and happiness. In negotiations and in life, the ability to use silence to your advantage is often underestimated and underused. We tend to equate effective communication with eloquence and speaking persuasively. However, to become a truly powerful communicator, and a successful leader, we can learn the art of staying quiet and draw inspiration from the richness of Sicilian culture and history.
Sicilian communication: A legacy of strategic silence
Sicilian communication, shaped by a long and vibrant history, offers valuable lessons for navigating dialogues and negotiations. The island’s strategic location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean has fostered a culture known for its subtlety, depth and at time silence. Sicilians are masters of discretion, and nonverbal cues, employing thoughtful pauses, expressive body language like raised eyebrows or a tilted head, and a keen understanding of unspoken dynamics. For Sicilians the strategic deployment of silence is not merely the absence of words; it’s a potent tool used to understand a situation, assess the other party’s intentions, and leverage pauses to gain a competitive edge.
