Is silence actually golden?

Quotes or phrases like ‘Silence is golden’, ‘Silence is the best answer’, ‘Speech is silver; silence is golden’, ‘Silence is a woman’s best garment’ and many more abound. All these tend to underscore the importance of using ‘silence’ as response when situ

Granted, silence can help dissipate a volatile situation where further responses can serve as a catalyst towards its eruption but is silence enough to douse such tension?

Is silence really the best response in certain situations? LifeXtra sought people’s opinion and here are their responses:

A banker, Umar Ali Wakeel, said silence can only worsen issues rather than solve them because “when an answer is not given it raises more questions, ambiguity or doubts which sometimes lead to confusion because you don’t know what the respondent implies.”

A student, Chukwudera Michael Chiedoziem, feels silence has it usefulness but it is not always the best response. He said a popular cliché says “silence is the best answer given to a fool” and not “silence is always the best answer.”

Chiedoziem added that when your response is useful to a person or group of persons, silence is definitely not the best answer.

He however stated that “It is only when you are sure your answer or opinion will never be used in a beneficial way or that the people in question will never learn from it; then silence becomes the best answer. You shun them by snubbing them.”

Another instance where silence is the best answer according to Chiedoziem is “when you are asked a question on a topic you are not sure of. It is better to be quiet.”

A data analyst, Mallam Moussa, feels that silence cannot be the best answer but that situations determine if one should respond or not. He said “Sincerely speaking silence constitute 80% of acceptance. But some questions need a response just to clarify your status. But I’m of the personal opinion that response is the best answer not silence.”

A church minister, Idongesit Ifet, feels that communication is the core of life; it is what gives meaning to our interactions. Without it misunderstanding sets in, and once there is misunderstanding, progress is hampered.

A journalist, Linda Chris, says silence quells certain situations but “communicating how you really feel is the best solution.”

Linda added that “without communicating how we feel about issues, life will be boring and there will be no peace.”

According to Dr Emmanuel Nwusulor silence is the best answer when it applies to the proverbial “fool” but not when it applies to “the normal or the wise.”

Nwusulor explained that silence is only good when “you are very angry and boiling inside, otherwise silence is not the best answer.”