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Perhaps some future system of categories will
enable us to understand how to skip playfully
from frame to frame -- each frame a style of understanding the present condition. Perhaps life
could then be lived somewhat like the children's game of hopskotch? The I Ching could even
be seen as providing one such map interrelating frames -- couild one but understand it as a
whole. The art of the game would be to avoid undue attachment to any frame -- and to gain a
sense of what it means to move. Is it in this way that we would discover the nature of
velopment? |
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I feel the edge of something. The depth of what I don't know, the
deepness
of my own underdevelopment is where I speak from. iDocument my
exploration and dissection of it. On the right are the projects I am working
on currently. On the left are those individuals who are closest to me as
iExplore this cutting edge.
The problem is not one of being this or that in man, but rather one of
becoming human, of a universal becoming animal: not to take oneself for a
beast, but to undo the human organization of the body, to cut across such
and such a zone of intensity in the body, everyone of us discovering the
zones which are really his, and the groups, the populations, the species
which inhabit me. The branches are four frames that I am using as scalpel
and anesthetic, while this map is my operating table. |
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Construct Program
A Construct program generates an artificial
Matrix-like space in which related programs can be
loaded and operated. It provides the framework on which other Matrix- based programs
function. Two of these, Loading Programs and Training
Programs, are described separately on
this page. |
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Loading Program (PL
7)
A loading program is a specialized Construct program which
is instrumental to a successful run
in the Matrix. With it, a Resistance group can prepare for their foray by loading weapons, gear,
clothing...anything they might possibly need during their time in the Matrix.
Despite the seemingly-boundless potential of
such a program, there is one significant limit to
what it can create: Only items for which it has a digital model can be generated. Thus, an item
can't be created in the Construct if it has no 'real world' counterpart in the Matrix campaign
setting. (At the GM's option, characters with the Computer Science-program skill might be
able to overcome this limitation, given enough time and ambitious research.)
It's important to note that existing items of
higher progress levels can be generated in the
Construct and brought into the Matrix. However, if such an item (or a special ability) is
observed by a mundane character in the Matrix, it draws the attention of an Agent very quickly.
For this reason most wise heroes leave their high-tech toys at home when they make a foray
into the Matrix. |
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Training Programs (PL
7)Training programs vary widely in design and purpose.
One may
generate a sparring chamber within the Construct that serves as an arena for martial arts
training; another may create the illusion of a bustling city street to teach a character how to be
vigilant concerning Agents and their abilities. Training programs convey a bonus to any Teach
skill checks related to their purpose, based on their quality: (- 1/-2/-3). |
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Enhance Programs
Enhance programs in the Matrix campaign setting
operate in a significantly different fashion
from the standard ALTERNITYrules:
1) A character equipped with a Matrix Interface Jack has
no need of a Reflex device in order to
make use of enhance programs. They rely on the user's own neural pathways to provide their
benefit.
2) Enhance programs are run from a dedicated
Matrix computer and apply their benefit to a
character via his Matrix Interface
Jack . The skills generated by these programs
are written
directly onto a character's brain.
3) The use of skills aquired through enhance
programs does not cause damage of any kind to
the user, whether used in or out of the Matrix. However, they can cause minor stun damage to
the reciever at the time they are 'uploaded' into his or her brain. Have the player make a
Resolve-Mental resolve skill check after each time period that passes during the uploading
process (see number 5, below), with stun damage determined by the result of the roll. Any
success results in no damage. Failure causes 1d6 stun points of damage. A critical failure
causes the character to be knocked unconscious with the loss of all stun points.
4) Instead of the step bonuses that they provide
in the standard ALTERNITYrules,
enhance
programs of the Matrix setting provide skill ranks instead, according to the following chart:
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Program Quality:
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Skill Rank:
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Marginal
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Broad Skill Only
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Ordinary
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Ranks 1, 2, 3, or
4
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Good
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Ranks 5, 6, 7, or
8
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Amazing
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Ranks 9, 10, 11,
or 12
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An enhance program requires a number of storage
memory slots equal to the rank it conveys.
Marginal quality programs require one slot of storage memory.
5) Enhance programs take a variable amount of
time to download into a character's mind,
depending on the level of skill they convey. Treat the process of using an enhance program as a
Complex skill check rolled by the operator. (Use either Knowledge-computer operation or
Computer science-programming.) Each skill check advances the process only one stage,
regardless of the level of success achieved, and the time required for each skill check is outlined
below:
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Skill Rank:
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Upload Time:
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Broad Skill only
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One phase
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Rank 1
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One round
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Rank 2
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30 seconds
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Rank 3
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1 minute
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Rank 4
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15 minutes
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Rank 5
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30 minutes
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Rank 6
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1 hour
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Rank 7
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2 hours
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Rank 8
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3 hours
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Rank 9
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4 hours
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Rank 10
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5 hours
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Rank 11
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6 hours
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Rank 12
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7 hours
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The process of uploading these skills can be
halted at any time, and resumed where it left off. If
the operator achieves a failure on a given skill check, the specified time has elapsed, but the
skill rank has not been gained. A critical failure on the part of the operator causes the character
to lose one rank of the skill instead of gaining one during that period of time.
6) Skills aquired artificially through the use
of enhance programs are 'semi- permanent.' They
remain etched into the character's mind indefinately, but can fade unexpectedly under stressful
use. If the hero experiences a critical failure using a skill aquired or improved through an
enhance program, he or she must make an immediate Resolve-mental resolve skill check to
determine how many ranks of the skill are lost: Critical Failure: All ranks of this skill and its
broad skill are lost. Failure: All ranks of this specialty skill are lost. Ordinary Success: 2d4
ranks of the skill are lost. Good Success: 1d4 ranks of the skill are lost. Amazing Success: No
skill ranks are lost. Skill ranks purchased with achievement points are not subject to this
penalty. (See number 9, below.)
7) Within the Matrix, physical skills (or other
skills) aquired through enhance programs carry no
additional penalty due to their specal nature. In the 'real world,' however, a character suffers a
3-step penalty to the use of enhanced physical skills until they are aquired the 'hard' way. Once
a skill rank is purchased with achievement points, it is no longer subject to this penalty. (See
number 9, below.)
8) Once learned, a skill can not be intentionally
deleted.
9) A skill rank or broad skill aquired through
the use of enhance programs can be "reinforced"
by spending half the number of achievement points the skill would have normally cost, rounded
up. Ever after, the skill is considered to have been aquired naturally. |
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The Ten Oxherding Pictures
From Manual of Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki
By Shubun (15th Century)
1. Undisciplined
With his horns fiercely projected in the air the beast snorts,
Madly running over the mountain paths, farther and farther he goes astray!
A dark cloud is spread across the entrance of the valley,
And who knows how much of the fine fresh herb is trampled under his wild hoofs!
2. Discipline Begun
I am in possession of a straw rope, and I pass it through his nose,
For once he makes a frantic attempt to run away, but he is severely whipped and whipped;
The beast resists the training with all the power there is in a nature wild and ungoverned,
But the rustic oxherd never relaxes his pulling tether and ever-ready whip.
3. In Harness
Gradually getting into harness the beast is now content to be led by the nose,
Crossing the stream, walking along the mountain path, he follows every step of the leader;
The leader holds the rope tightly in his hand never letting it go,
All day long he is on the alert almost unconscious of what fatigue is.
4. Faced Round
After long days of training the result begins to tell and the beast is faced round,
A nature so wild and ungoverned is finally broken, he has become gentler;
But the tender has not yet given him his full confidence,
He still keeps his straw rope with which the ox is now tied to a tree.
5. Tamed
Under the green willow tree and by the ancient mountain stream,
The ox is set at liberty to pursue his own pleasures;
At the eventide when a grey mist descends on the pasture,
The boy wends his homeward way with the animal quietly following.
6. Unimpeded
On the verdant field the beast contentedly lies idling his time away,
No whip is needed now, nor any kind of restraint;
The boy too sits leisurely under the pine tree,
Playing a tune of peace, overflowing with joy.
7. Laissez Faire
The spring stream in the evening sun flows languidly along the willow-lined bank,
In the hazy atmosphere the meadow grass is seen growing thick;
When hungry he grazes, when thirsty he quaffs, as time sweetly slides,
While the boy on the rock dozes for hours not noticing anything that goes on about him.
8. All Forgotten
The beast all in white now is surrounded by the white clouds,
The man is perfectly at his case and care- free, so is his companion;
The white clouds penetrated by the moon- light cast their white shadows below,
The white clouds and the bright moon-light- each following its course of movement.
9. The Solitary Moon
Nowhere is the beast, and the oxherd is master of his time,
He is a solitary cloud wafting lightly along the mountain peaks;
Clapping his hands he sings joyfully in the moon-light,
But remember a last wall is still left barring his homeward walk.
10. Both Vanished
Both the man and the animal have disappeared, no traces are left,
The bright moon-light is empty and shadowless with all the ten-thousand objects in it;
If anyone should ask the meaning of this,
Behold the lilies of the field and its fresh sweet-scented verdure. |
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The Zen Ox-Herding Pictures
By Ruben Habito
Today we begin a new series of teishos or dharma
presentations that I would like to offer as a
series. For our subject matter I would like to address what in the Zen tradition is called "The
Ten Oxherding Pictures." This is a set of ten calligraphic works that portray the different stages
in the journey to the realization of the truth, or the realization of the true self.
Today I will give a general introduction, summarizing
each of the ten so that we have a broad
picture. I'd like to begin by recalling that a teisho, a Japanese term that we are employing, is not
to be construed as a lecture or as an intellectual explanation. As the Chinese/Japanese
characters imply, it is an offering (tei), that is recited (sho), in the context of Zen practice. It
is
meant to highlight one of the four cardinal precepts of Zen, namely, "pointing directly to the
human mind." The four cardinal principles of Zen are:
1)
it does not rely on words or letters;
2)
it is a special transmission outside of scriptures;
3)
it points directly to the human mind, or to the core of our being;
4)
it opens our eyes to see our true nature thus enabling us to become an awakened one.
And I'd like to refer you to the book, Healing
Breath, in the second and third chapters, which
also give some further background explanation.
The teisho deals mainly with the third; namely,
it points directly to our human mind, that is, the
concrete situation where each practitioner is. So its intent is really to address each individual, at
the heart. Ideally speaking, it should be offered one to one. But since we are here together as a
group, we offer it as such, rather than repeating the same things over and over in one-to-one
meetings (dokusan). The hope is that although there are different stages in the journey for each
one, there will be at least a set of offerings that could be nourishing or that could serve as a
pointer for each of the practitioners here present.
A talk in the Zen context, which we also call
a dharma talk, is given with that pre-supposition
that it is a communication from heart to heart, in the process of awakening to the truth, in the
process of discovering the dharma. The term dharma, which is now employed in English also, is
sometimes translated as truth, sometimes translated as "that which is" or sometimes it is
translated as "the way." But just to look at the etymology, "dharma" comes from
the sanskrit
"dhr." This verb dhr means "to hold" or "to sustain," and the noun form
becomes dharma, which
means, "that which sustains everything as it is" or "that which makes everything in this
universe
what it is." So we can translate this word dharma as "the truth of things," or "that
which makes
everything just what it is." So we look at each and everyone of us here today and we can see
that we are the body of that dharma: the dharma is all of us. We are all part of this whole
interconnected set of phenomena which we call the universe. That is what a dharma talk is all
about: things, just as they are. We try to enrich people's lives to let everyone see that we are all
intertwined, and we are trying to open our eyes to the dharma in us, or the dharma as us.
Please don't take it as simply a set of mental or intellectual explanations. That is why we
discourage note-taking. That is because it is not meant for the mind or the intellect alone, but
instead it points directly at one's human core. Each one is invited to listen in a way that one
keeps asking the question that motivates each one to practice: "Who am I?" "What is reality?"
That is the underlying dynamism that we would like to keep in mind as we listen to a teisho.
And so, I begin. These teishos are not meant
for public or general distribution but are directed
to those of us who are practicing in the context described. They are not something to be
listened to out of curiosity or just to learn new ideas, but precisely as an offering to point to
where you are in your practice.
We will look at the ten oxherding pictures precisely
to help us mirror where we are in our
practice. As we do so, in one or other of these stages, we may have a sense of recognition-
"That's it! That's what I am!" And with such a recognition, we are enabled to go on deeper
and
therefore to understand that next step we need to take, precisely based on our realization of
where we are.
But one other preliminary point in looking at
these ten oxherding pictures is to realize that they
are "stages" not in the sense that the latter stages are superior to the earlier stages. We
see them
precisely as an invitation to take a full circle. They are invitations to us to see where we are in
the circle. But this should not lead us to think, "Ah, I'm better than that one because I am in
number six and that other person is just in number three!" So we are not to see it in a way that
bolsters our ego. On the other hand, we need not demean ourself and say, "Oh, I'm only in
number two, whereas others may be in number six or number seven." And so on. We are
invited to see it as a full circle, where we are in a community together, and we are finding our
place in this community in a unique and irreplaceable way.
So with that in mind I would like to first of
all make a comment about the circle that is common
to all of the ten oxherding pictures. The circle, as we may know from our understanding of the
Zen tradition, is a representation of our true self. And it is written in Chinese or Japanese
calligraphy in a way that is not exactly mathematically perfect, that is, in a way that every point
is equidistant from the center. Instead, it is written given all the contours of the human hand who
wrote it. That itself, with all the contours, is supposed to be the manifestation of perfection, not
the mathematically correct figure where every point in the circle is equidistant from the center.
The circle is drawn by a human hand, with a brush, and is perfect just as it is. And one other
feature of this circle that you will note if you really look at genuine Zen work closely is that it
is
not a closed circle. There is always a slight opening somewhere and that indicates that it is not
something that is contained in itself, but opens out to space, to infinity.
With that in the background, we can look at
the circle, as an invitation for us to ask, "Who am
I?" and "How can I discover that true self as represented by a circle in me in a way that
I can
see myself also as open in that dimension of infinite?" And if you take the cue from the circle
it
also represents...nothing. Precisely because there is nothing in it, it is also perfect and complete,
just as it is. So these two elements-fully empty and yet totally replete-just as it is-is the picture
of our true self. The first picture depicts a little child who is supposed to be perplexed, or is
searching for something. "In the beginning, suddenly emerged from confusion." Another
description of this same first picture of a child just beginning to open its eyes and wonder about
things is the "the awakening of the fact." So it is the first stage in the awakening process
asking
the question: "What's this all about?"
This is already a very significant step. Before
the first stage there is already a kind of
awakening, namely, a mind that begins asking questions. One becomes aware that one is
perplexed in asking "Who am I?" "How can I live my life in a way that is truly meaningful?"
or
"What is the meaning of all this?" Before arriving at this stage, perhaps we have been asleep
many years, taking things in life for granted. We were once a child, then a teenager, and then
we move on to adulthood, just following the normal stages and routines of human living. We
may have gotten married and have started a family, and so on, then suddenly, at some point in
our lives, we begin to ask the big questions. It may come when we are thirty or forty or even
fifty. Or, it may come for some of us at an earlier age. The child in the picture represents that
stage that now begins to awaken and ask, "What is this all about?" So the asking of the
question leads us to seek some form of practice that will enable us to pursue those questions. I
will describe this more fully in the next talk.
The second stage is described as "finding
the ox's traces." Now one gets a sense of where one
may go in pursuing that question and is inspired to go on further. The ox here is a symbol of the
true self in the same way that the circle also is the true self. And so now one sees traces, like
hoof prints: "Oh, there must be something that makes this life worth living, so let me see what
it
is." One begins asking more questions and may begin reading some books, going to talks on
spirituality, and so on. Or one may go to a religious center, or join a group to pursue some kind
of practice that will deepen our sense of awareness and goad us on in our search.
The third stage is the sighting of the ox. Perhaps
we may not yet see the whole ox, but we may
glimpse its tail, or some part of the ox, that makes us sure that the ox is certainly there. But yet
we haven't seen it fully yet. The glimpse just whets our appetite, and leads us to go further. In
the Zen tradition, this third stage is known as the initial opening, or kensho experience. This is
the initial experience of awakening to the true self. We may have only a brief glimpse-but at
least we know that it is there. Now we know, not just from hearsay or from others who have
seen it, or not just from deducing it from the tracks we may have seen or the ox manure we
may have smelled along the way. But having directly seen it, we know that it is there and so we
are given a new impetus to follow it. And so for those of us who may have had a new
experience like this, so suddenly, coming to us like this, we may say, "Now I've got it! Now, I
have this kensho and so I'm fully in the Zen light!"
Well, I've got news for you: that is just the
beginning of it. The sighting of it may still relapse into
a memory and therefore, well, if it becomes just an ego trip ("Now that I've seen it."), you
may
think you can claim yourself as an enlightened person and that will mitigate against the journey
itself. So, that's why in our center we do not make such a big fuss about that initial experience.
It is like an initial sighting that should simply draw us on to look further.
The fourth stage is now the catching of the
ox. After having sighted it we go closer to it and are
maybe even able to lasso it and as the picture in one version shows, the little child holds a rope
around the ox's neck. Now, we have the ox closer at hand. But still the ox is unwieldy and it
can still run away from us. It is still not under control. We have a rope that can enable us to
keep it in tow. But still we have to continue to exert effort to enable it to stay there and not to
run away from us.
The fifth stage, then, is one in which the ox
has been tamed somewhat, and we are able to live
in peace with it. It even follows us, and we are leading the ox along the path. We are now a
little more accustomed to practice, and are now beginning to experience a sense of peace, a
sense of joy. An inner satisfaction begins to make itself felt in our daily life, manifesting itself
in
our way of being more compassionate and being more thoughtful of others, and so on. And we
begin to receive the fruits of the practice with less and less effort on our part.
The sixth stage is riding the ox home. We are
now able to feel that we are on our way home.
We can ride the ox and it doesn't try to jump and throw us away like a bucking bronco
anymore. It is now fully one with us, and we are comfortable riding the ox. But still, there is
more to come.
The seventh stage talks about the ox forgotten:
leaving the child to simply sit there and meditate
deeply. So now, even the ox is gone. At this stage one is no longer thinking about oneself, no
longer having to pursue words like "dharma" or "enlightenment" and so on. We are
home and
we don't need to think about looking for something else. We are comfortable where we are.
At the eighth stage, both the boy and the ox
are forgotten. There is an empty circle represented
here. There is no longer any ox, that is, no longer any sense of conceptualizing "truth" or
"dharma" or "true self" or whatever. There is also no subject (I, me, mine) attempting
to
conceptualize or verbalize those terms. Both the subject and object are gone. In the seventh
stage, the concept of truth, God, holiness, dharma and so on have disappeared, and you're
simply living life in its pure simplicity. The eighth is a stage where even thoughts about yourself
are no longer there. In some versions, of the oxherding pictures, this eighth stage is given as the
last stage. The ten stage version, however, has a subtlety that we are also invited to consider.
The ninth stage is described as a return to
the forest. Now, after having forgotten both the
object and the subject, what appears? There's a bamboo shoot, there is a plum blossom, a
rock beside a gently flowing stream. Further than that we don't see. Just the realization of the
way things are, as they are, in their naturalness. It is simply realizing that plum blossoms are
there, and they are just what they are. All the things in life accepted, taken just for what they
are.
But the tenth stage is the fullness and completion
of the full ten stages. And what does this
depict? Here we see the child again, in playful mirth. In India the statues of the Buddha are
usually emaciated, giving a sense of asceticism and world-renunciation, of transcendence. In
China, however, the pictures of the Buddha are always associated with mirth and laughter and
gaiety. So he is depicted as a very roly-poly person, always laughing and happy. And so the
Chinese diety of happiness and mirth came to be identified with the figure of the Buddha. So
this tenth stage is experiencing that sense of joy and mirth and playfulness in one's daily life, no
matter what. Another depiction of this stage is the return to the market place. We are back in
the concrete struggles of our daily life. And yet, we are now able to live them, live right in the
midst of them, with a sense of playfulness. We transcend our struggles not by escaping them,
but by plunging ourselves right into them with a new sense of freedom and a sense of humor
and a sense of acceptance.
We will develop each of these stages with greater
detail later. I have here tried to offer a
summary of the ten oxherding pictures in a way that may help us realize there are different
stages along the way, and that we need not get stuck on any particular stage saying, "There
now I am complete." But we can truly say, "It is good to be, every step along the way."
We
keep coming back full circle: it is always the child in us that is the one who draws us to all this.
So what we are invited to do is-keep returning to that child in us, that is truly the one who can
partake of the gifts of being. And as we can see from the title of the book written by the
Japanese Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, that is the place that we are
always invited to return, that is, come back full circle to where we have been all along. There is
no sense putting on airs, thinking, "Now I've advanced along the path." Yet again, we need
not
downplay our practice, thinking, "I still have a long way to go." We can realize both aspects,
but yet we also realize that it is a circle that we are invited to simply plunge ourselves into and
open our eyes to. As we do so, we know that at every step along the path, there is a fullness
that we can experience. And yet, it is a fullness that doesn't let us stop there, but motivates us
to take the next step, from fullness to fullness-through a continual process of emptying.
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'The heart of dialogue is a simple but profound
capacity to listen...not only to others but also to
ourselves and our own reactions... We often pay great attention to what goes on in us, when
what is actually required is a kind of disciplined self- forgetting...you must create a space in
which listening can occur.'
Good listening requires that we slow down, that
we learn to recognise and manage how we are
listening now, which is often from within our memories, a 'net of thought that I cast on a
particular situation'. (There is a section on 'the ladder of inference', the process by which we
jump immediately from limited observed facts to wide conclusions based on internally held
memories, biases and assumptions - and then act as if the whole conclusion were based on
fact). It also requires that we learn to look for evidence that disconfirms or challenges our
preexisting point of view, not simply for confirmation. Finally, and perhaps most difficult for
organisations, it requires that we slow down, an anathema to those who are hooked on quick
and 'efficient' decision making
one should only speak when one has something
worthwhile to say.
When silence communicates
Though technologies serve to connect us when
we're not physically co-present, they spend a
great deal of time, we hope, being silent. Now this silence can mean something, or not,
depending on a number of factors. Thus even a silent phone can have us pacing with
anticipation.
One of the most important parts of any conversation
is the silence. Silence can serve many
functions in a conversation and how you manage it determines your level of sophistication. Here
are some points to keep in mind about silence in communication.
1. Allowing silence in a conversation puts pressure on the other person.
It's conventional in the US not to allow any sort of extended silence in a conversation.
Therefore, to allow one puts pressure on the other person to "fill air time". Some interviewers,
for instance, use this technique to see what will happen. Often the person will "spill" -
saying
exactly the thing they didn't want to say.
2. Silence can indicate hostility.
Withdrawing, "stonewalling," and pouting in silence are ways some people handle anger.
Such a
silence can be pulsating with bad feelings and elicit anger on the part of the other person.
3. Silence can indicate disagreement.
While it's almost never an indication of indifference, silence can indicate that the other person
is
having negative emotions. When we experience anger, fear, or embarrassment, our thinking
brain shuts down. We sit there fuming, unable to speak; enraged and unable to find words;
afraid and scared speechless. Some people are "flooded" with these emotions, and unable to
respond.
4. Silence can indicate profoundness, such as awe or horror.
Sometimes when we're listening to someone else, we hear something that leaves us speechless
because it really goes beyond words. Listening to someone talk about a dreadful trauma
they've endured, or a beautiful, almost-sacred interaction with another human being, or a
description of an awesome natural event such as a sunset or a volcano eruption are examples.
Somehow when we listen to such things, the ordinary "Oh" and "Wow" and "That's
awesome"
don't seem enough, and so we fall silent.
5. Silence can indicate respect.
In some cultures more than others, silence indicates respect. A young person may be expected
to approach an older person or a person in authority and remain silent until recognized,
acknowledged and spoken to.
6. Silence can indicate contemplation.
The more introverted your communication partner, the more likely they will think before they
speak. Extraverts discover what they're thinking and how they feel by talking. Introverts figure
it all out inside their own head and heart before giving voice to it.
7. Silence can be intentional rudeness.
Because of the nature of normal conversation in the US, allowing an extended silence can be
perceived as rudeness. It can also be meant that way. Refusing to reply to the other person is a
way of ignoring them.
8. Silence can be the creation of a listening space.
When you are profoundly listening to someone, you create an open space for them to talk into
that's almost palpable. Good listeners know how to do this, and it can be learned. It's an
openness that you transmit through nonverbal means.
9. Silence can be an indication of empathy.
When we're really tuning in to how the other person feels, we're listening more to the tone of
their voice, cadence and speed rather than the actual words, so reply with words may not be
the most appropriate response. Sometimes sounds are more attuned ... a murmur, a sigh,
sucking in the breath in shock, soothing sounds, clucking (tsk tsk), or shaking the head and
going uh, uh, uh.
10. How you manage silence in conversation is an important part of emotional
intelligence.
Excellent communicators can allow silence when it's effective or called for; can avoid being
pressured into "spilling" when silence is used manipulatively; offer silence as a gift or
sign of
respect; interpret the silence of others appropriately; understand how other cultures use silence;
mindfully regulate the use of silence; and are comfortable with silence and understand its many
uses.
The Sound of Silence ... Use Pauses for Powerful
Presentations
by Chris King
When we are presenting, and especially when we are new to speaking
in front of
audiences, we often speed ahead — afraid of leaving blank spaces. Successful
sales people know the power of silence. As presenters, if we learn to use silence
and pauses to our advantage, we will not only reach our listeners more effectively,
they will also understand and remember our messages more readily.
Begin with silence. It takes “guts” to stand in
front of an audience after being
introduced without saying something immediately, but this can prove to be one of
the strongest ways to get their attention and to create rapport. Lee Glickstein, a well
known speaking coach and speaker from Mill Valley, California, suggests that we
start our presentations by standing quietly, making eye contact with audience
members, letting them make contact with us, and then once everyone is
comfortable and waiting with anticipation, start with a dynamic story. You will be
amazed at the level of attention this produces.
Pause to develop relationship between you and your listeners.
During a
pause, the speaker is more like a listener. This is a time when both are listening
and the speaker can take note of the audience’s quality of listening. We might
realize that as the presenter we need to change course and tell a story or possibly
ask for questions. If, however, we don’t take a moment to evaluate reactions and
interest, we might just forge ahead without maintaining the audience’s attention.
Pause with purpose. There are many times throughout a presentation
a pause
can add emphasis and/or give the listener a chance to ponder, or even laugh.
When we have just made an important point, a startling or unusual statement, or a
call for action, participants need a moment to take notes, think about what we just
said, or catch up. Even though we can hear words faster than anyone can speak,
we do need time to think about what was said and then form our own ideas. If, as
presenters, we give participants enough time, they will be much more likely to buy
into what we are presenting than if we just keep on moving fast forward with the
information that is so familiar to us. I have also heard speakers who make a
humorous statement and then don’t let the audience members have time to “get it”
and laugh. People need time to laugh. And laughter is important because it bonds
the audience and speaker.
Transition with pauses. As a speaker with content, you have
many different
points to make. But if you jump too quickly from one point to another, you will leave
your listeners behind or confused. When this happens, they will oftentimes “tune out”
and you have lost them for the rest of your presentation. A well-placed pause will
help you and them prepare for the next portion of your presentation. I suggest
picking transitional sentences as carefully as your openings and closings, and then
taking a moment of silence for the ideas in these sentences to take hold before you
launch into the new point.
Pause for a show of confidence. The confident pause is an earmark
of the
accomplished speaker. The courage to stop the flow of words is an act of trust in
the power of your presence, your nonverbal communication, and your relationship to
your listeners.
Intonation and Voice
A message can be added
to the words we are using in a spoken sentence by using an
intonation in our voice. This will let the receiver know what way the message needs to be
interpreted.
For instance a question
such as "why have you not told me this before now?"
can be
communicated in a variety of ways by using different intonations. In this way we can add
expressions such as anger, disappointment or happiness to the actual words. When talking on
the phone we can not make use of body signals like gestures, facial expression and touch. The
receiver can not see our body language and therefore we often compensate for that by putting
more emphasis on the way we use the intonations in our voice.
Ahs, hums, hesitations
and pauses
Our conversations are full
of ahs, hums, hesitations and pauses. These guide our
conversations and provide spaces for us to think and feel. They occur more when the subject is
difficult or emotional or when we feel unsure of ourselves. If a public speaker addresses the
audience for the first time, it will be noticeable that his/her speech gets more and more fluent
as she/he speaks longer. This occurs only if there are no negative body language signals from
the audience. This gives the speaker confidence, and by becoming more confident his/her
speech will become more fluent. A good speaker will pay attention to the body language
signals from the audience and if possible adjust the speech accordingly -or adjust the way
he/she delivers it.
Hearing emotions in a voice
It is possible to hear
emotions in a voice. Our voice will tremble if we are feeling emotional and
still need to/ want to continue talking. The tremble can indicate various emotions and can be
interpreted differently by men and women, as well as by each individual. It is important to keep
in mind that the situation, as well as gender and culture, can play a role in determining those
differences. Some people use noisy actions such as clearing a throat or coughing when they
find themselves in a tense situation. Spontaneous coughing and throat clearing occurs a lot
more at official occasions when there is a request for silence! The whole range of emotions and
ways to express them is not only closely related to the intonations in our voice and body
language but also to our breathing. For example, think of when we sigh, laugh or cry.
Silence
Silences are another important
aspect in communication. A whole web page could be written
about the role of silences in our communication. When we are silent we are also
communicating! What we communicate depends on what kind of silence it is. Mostly the
subject of the conversation plays a major role in this. Again, the time in between words provide
feeling and thinking space for people. Generally, the more emotionally loaded the subject is,
the more silences we need. To not talk, to be silent
in company when there is a lot of talking
is an art in itself. Many people tend to think that when there is a silence there is just nothing
more to say. Not true! It often means that people are trying to figure out something intuitively
about themselves or the other(s). Quite often too they are noticing something about the body
language of the other(s) and are paying attention to that.
Silence to be intimate
with others
Sometimes people need silence
to work out how intimate they want to be with others. Silences
in group conversations are difficult to handle for a lot of people. They make them nervous, or
they feel that they have to say something and can get embarrassed if they have nothing to add
at that moment. It is at moments like these that we all say strange, stupid or boring things and
later wonder why we did that - or worse, dislike ourselves for saying such stupid things! The
weather, or other standard socially acceptable superficial conversation topics, is often used to
fill up those gaps. It's always good to have a few standard comments up your sleeve in case of
acute embarrassment. People who do not like to talk about a particular topic for whatever
reason will use a silence or break in the conversation to create a distraction by changing
topics. In the therapeutic world, silences are often used to give someone the opportunity to
become more aware of themselves or what they have just said. If it is in a group, then silence
can indicate a level of comfort and intimacy as well as distrust. Again, it depends on many
other factors how the silence is interpreted. Silences can make some people feel threatened.
Of course, when there is a silence it can be threatening, as everyone becomes more aware of
his or her own body and their body language - especially if they have read this web site about
it!
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Theoretical Frameworks
Brummett, B. "Towards a Theory of silence
as a Political Strategy." Quarterly Journal of
Speech 66 (1980): 289-303. PN4071.Q3
Strategic silence occurs when people
expect talk and get none, an act which draws public
attention. Silence is relative to what might be said. Strategic silence draws the attribution of
fairly predictable meanings: mystery, uncertainty, passivity, and relinquishment. Because it
carries predictable meanings independent of contexts, political strategic silence is unlike other
forms of silence or nonverbal communication. Denial of talk, as in strategic political silence,
almost always means mystery, uncertainty, passivity, and relinquishment. Actions of silence of
Nixon and Carter are given as examples.
Bruneau, T.J. "Communicative Silences:
Forms and Functions, Journal of Communication.", 23
(1973): 17-46. P87.J86
The nature of silence is an imposition of mind,
as an independent signification ground for speech
signs, as a relationship to mental time (as opposed to artificial time), and as it relates to
sensation, perception and metaphorical movement. There are three minor forms of silence: time
silence and Slow-time silence; Interactive Silence; and Sociocultural Silence. Bruneau
establishes a basic theoretical framework concerning the relationships of silence to such
processes as sensation, perception, mentation, social interaction, and cultural communication.
Our conceptions of time, based almost exclusively on clock time, may be preventing us from
inquiring into the meaning of silence. Encoder and decoder manipulations and imposition of
silence appears to be the medium of metaphorical movement, and others have implied that
silence is the basis for metaphoric extension.
Dauenhauer, BP. Silence: The Phenomenon and
its Ontological Significance. Bloomington:
Indiana UP, 1980.
Perhaps one of the most often cited theorists
on silence, Dauenhauer posits silence as a
complex, positive phenomenon that is not simply the absence of something else (something he
credits poets to have known "throughout recorded history"). By building on Max Picard's The
World of Silence, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Marcel, Dauenhauer builds a well-
developed account of both the phenomenon of silence and its ontological significance by
assuming that silence is always connected with discourse. He describes three kinds of silence
(intervening silence, fore-and-after silence, and deep silence) which have four characteristics in
common: 1) silence is an active human performance which always appears in connection with
an utterance; (2) silence is never an act of unmitigated autonomy; (3) silence involves a yielding
following upon an awareness of finitude and awe; and (4) silence is peculiar in that its yielding
binds and joins participants. The ontological issue is not whether silence makes sense, but just
what sense does it make. What holds good for discourse holds good for all types of human
performances, including silence. Both man and world are syntheses of two irreducible, but non-
self-standing, components which are not contraries of one another. Rather, these components
are simply other than one another. Being is the interplay of the play of these two components in
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