**5. Conclusion**

This chapter discussed the power of silence in conversation by bringing an overview of the classification of silence, its function in communication, and how it is (mis)interpreted in various contexts. The result of this discussion shows that silence is ambiguous and its interpretation varies even within similar contexts. In many of the situations cited above silence was used as rejection, order, warning or defiance which are apparently unpleasant in human interactions. Use of verbal means to express such negative acts might increase the unpleasantness in the social interaction. The most suitable alternative could be the use of silence in order to reduce the pain of using verbal communication. Silence could, of course, be a 'reliever' of social tension that might occur in many human interactions, and an effective tool of sending a powerful message. Future studies may consider how silence accompanied with other non-verbal acts such as a grin or a smirk contributes to the interpretation of the silence act.
