What to do when you fall into an awkward silence during a phone call.

This post was inspired by a recent Facebook status update. It's due to the comments that I got that made me decide to share.

It was one of those days where curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know what other people did when they fell into awkward silences during phone calls because I happened to have been through a few. What do you do? How do you get out of it?

I gave my friends a couple of options to find out if at all we use the same methods to get out of those awkward moments. Judging from the response I got, I am an Angel!

The first three are the options that I listed as some of the things I have done and the rest that follow are the responses from my friends.

Rush the other person off the phone so you can hang up. This is where you talk fast and rushed acting like your busy doing something. This makes the other person think that your mind is elsewhere and they'll end the call.

Switch topics to something interesting; I usually do this for someone I like. Sometimes conversations get a little hard if you're into each other. You don't know each other well enough to know what to or not to talk about. So I choose some fun topic so we exchange ideas and thoughts. A friend actually said she uses this method and ends up spilling family secrets.

Hang up then proceed to switch your phone off for an hour; Majority of my friends said they do this. I don't know if y'all have ever been into very bad conversations that made you go to the extreme. I do this when there is no hope for the conversation and frankly when the interest is not there. You don't tell the other party good bye. Just press the NO button then proceed to switch off for the hour. This is to discourage persistency.

Avoid picking calls from someone you have nothing in common with; We all have those people we see but never talk with because we have nothing in common worthy of talking about. Like when you meet someone you went to school with, then they ask for your number with or without the intention to call. What do you talk about when they decide to call? Isn't that just an awkward silence in the making? Some people get offended if they call you several times and you never pick their calls. Does it never occur to them that there is nothing to talk about?

Pretend to Lose network; Y'all should know the antiques that go with 'pretending' to lose network. I absolutely had a huge laugh over this. Majority have pretended to lose network by shouting 'hello?' 'hello?' 'hello?' into the phone to the other person. The idea is for the other person to know that phone reception is poor for the person they are calling hence they say, 'Oh… Network is poor?' then they proceed to hang up.

Leave the conversation going without the phone on your ear; I have done this but to guys who stalk me. First of all they never tell you who gave them your number yet they expect you to talk to them when they call. The person who suggested this one said she picked the call and then dropped the phone back in her bag whilst the other person continued with the call. Who loves the sound of their own voice than people who never realize that there are no replies or odd noises from the person they are talking to?

Pick the call from a persistent person and pretend to have been woken up by the call; I have done this several times and it works, all you have to do is make your voice sound husky. So, when the other person asks if you've been sleeping, agree immediately. This will make them end the call sooner rather than later.

Speak in tongue; I don't know how you go about this because the idea of actually speaking in tongues is insane! The only people I've heard speak in tongue are the Saved ones, during their fellowship services. I guess someone who is experienced with this can handle it well.

There my friends, is how you get out of awkward silences.

xxxShanahxxx