- On your day of silence, focus on actively listening to the world around you while monitoring your thoughts to get the most out of it.
- Use meditation, journal your thoughts, or listen to music to occupy your time.
- Keep a notepad on hand to write notes to people or use email to relay more complex instructions.
Staying Quiet
Focus on listening and processing everything you hear. It’s a lot easier to stay silent if you actively engage in the art of listening. Look directly at people when they speak, repeat the information you hear in your head, and absorb it entirely. By really focusing on the act of listening, you’ll have a much more rewarding experience in silence. If nobody is talking, just absorb the sound in the world around you. John Cage once said, “There’s no such thing as silence,” meaning that all of the ambient sound in the world is like music if you just listen and pay attention!
Question the value of what you’d normally say in your head. As you go about your silent day, think about the things you’d typically say out loud. For each comment, ask yourself if what you would have said would have a dramatic impact on someone. Not only is this a fun little game to play in your head, but it’s a great way to remind yourself of the value and power of speech. If you do find yourself pondering something important or valuable, say it! It’s okay to break a silent spell if you have something truly essential to share. Do you find yourself tempted to complain a lot? Do you catch yourself thinking about gossipy or sarcastic comments? Tracking everything you say can help you spot bad speech habits you have.
Practice silent meditation throughout your day. Meditation is a highly productive activity that actually requires silence, so this is the perfect time to try it. Silent meditation techniques can help you reflect on yourself, clear your head, and pass the time while you’re trying to get through the day. Take slow, deep breaths in and out. Close your eyes and focus exclusively on the air entering and leaving your lungs. Sit cross-legged with your eyes closed and visualize an empty bowl on the ground in front of you. When a thought comes to you, put it in the bowl, empty the bowl, and then put it back in front of you.
Document your thoughts by writing them in a journal. If staying silent makes you feel like you can't express yourself enough, start writing your thoughts down. Note how you’re feeling, why you’re feeling that way, and how your silence is impacting you. Journaling is also a great way to build self-awareness and monitor your experience. Recognize your urges to break the silence. Whenever you find yourself struggling to stay silent, make note of the moment and reflect on the reason why you felt compelled to speak in your journal.
Read a book to feed your curiosity and pass the time. Reading may give you something to think about if you find yourself swimming in your own thoughts. If you feel like you can't make it through the day without speaking, take out a novel (or grab an old favorite) and read a few chapters to switch your frame of mind and kill some time.
Listen to music throughout the day to maintain a good mood. Not only will music help you stay distracted during the parts of the day when you’re most tempted to talk, but it will also help you maintain a positive headspace. Put on some headphones and play some of your favorite songs so that you don't feel quite as compelled to speak or give yourself a mood boost.
When to Stay Silent
Pick a day when you don’t have a lot going on. If you’re just doing this voluntarily as a challenge or experiment, you don’t want to pick a busy, stressful day for this. This way, you won’t be forced to break silence and you’ll have time to meditate on the experience and take it all in. It’s easy to be overstimulated and used to constant noise in today’s day and age, so choosing a more laid-back day in your calendar will prevent this from feeling like this is a chore. Do you get anxious around people who are “too quiet?” If so, choose a day when you aren’t going to be around a lot of other people.
Take a vow of silence to support a movement or cause. Often, a group of people will commit to staying silent for a day to stand up for those who have been “silenced” in one way or another. If you choose to stay silent in order to benefit or support someone else, you may feel more motivated to stick with it throughout the day. For example, the GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network) has a day of silence in order to stand up against anti-LGBTQ bullying, which has silenced many in the LGBTQ community.
Stay silent in discussions to learn more. You may notice that you often say what's on your mind before listening to what others have to say. If you’re going to be in a conversational environment, try being quieter and see how it changes your experience. It can give you the upper hand in an argument, make it easier to develop empathy, and even improve your ability to solve problems! Try to stay silent for an entire day to get better at listening before you speak. There’s some evidence that people who are quieter tend to be smarter than their louder counterparts. This may be due to the fact that being quiet gives you more time to brainstorm and think through problems.
Try going silent if you think you need a mental reset. There’s a direct correlation between impulsive behavior and speaking too much. If you want to have more self-control, try being silent for a day. You may just find it easier to avoid making illogical or rash decisions.
Break out a vow of silence to avoid super frustrating days. Trying to stay silent for a period of time can help you gain a greater sense of calm and clarity. If you find yourself easily overwhelmed, aggravated, or anxious, a day of silence may be the antidote you need to adopt a more peaceful mindset.
Communicating While Silent
Carry a notepad and pen around to write notes. Keep a pen and a pad of sticky notes or a small notebook with you at all times while remaining silent for the day. This way, you can quickly write down your coffee order at the cafe or a reminder of your vow of silence to show to your teacher. This will make minimal, straightforward communication a lot less complicated.
Text people or message them online. Send emails or use social media to discuss things with friends, family members, teachers, or coworkers. This is an easy way to communicate complex instructions or extensive information without speaking. It’ll probably be a lot faster than writing by hand if you know how to type, too!
Mime to others to have a little fun with your silence. If you're good at acting or charades and you don’t need to communicate anything important, try getting your point across to someone by using gestures. You can actually communicate quite a bit just by using certain facial expressions. On top of that, you’re sure to get a few laughs if onlookers don’t know you’re staying quiet for the day. Consider using the thumbs-up hand signal for “yes” and the thumbs-down signal for “no” throughout the day. Try coming up with hand gestures for basic things that you may need throughout the day, such as asking to use the restroom. Share these hand gestures with your teachers and/or boss ahead of time so that there's no confusion on the day you remain silent.
Communicate with open or closed-off body language. People communicate more with their body language than with their words. When remaining silent, focus on displaying open or closed body language to tell people whether or not you want them near you. If your friend sits next to you in class, make eye contact with them and smile to show that you're happy they sat there. If someone is harassing you and trying to get you to speak, cross your arms and don't look at them to show that you aren't interested in engaging.
Informing Others about the Silence
Give a heads-up to everyone you regularly communicate with. Tell your friends, family, teachers, and/or coworkers about your day of silence a couple of days in advance. This will prevent any confusion on their end and hopefully keep everyone from getting frustrated. If you’re doing this as a kind of challenge, letting other people know you’re going to do a day of silence will help you stay accountable to yourself, too.
Get permission from your teachers or boss ahead of time. Your vow of silence may interfere with your ability to participate in class or work. Talk to your teachers or managers ahead of time about your vow of silence and ask if they're okay with it. Try to come up with a game plan to ensure that you'll still be a productive student and/or employee that day. Seriously reconsider your vow of silence if your supervisor or teacher disapproves. Finding a new way to support a cause or develop calmness isn't as bad as a failing participation grade or upsetting your employer. If you work and your job involves customer service or answering the phone, do your day of silence on an off-day.
Hand out fliers or hang up posters if you have a cause. If you're remaining silent to support a movement or spread awareness, hang up posters or pass out fliers on the big day. This will help provide context for your demonstration and help inform everyone about why they should care. You could even carry a poster with you throughout the day if you want to stand out from the crowd.
Wear clothing to demonstrate your support for the cause. You can also purchase and wear informative merchandise such as t-shirts, stickers, buttons, and more on the day that you’re remaining silent. This can help serve as a constant reminder to help people understand why you aren't speaking. For example, you might wear rainbow gear for the LGBTQ+ day of silence, or wear clothing that’s bright blue and yellow to support Ukraine.
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