Douglas Allison helpfully wonders about the causes and cures of silence in small group discussions. Especially, he warns leaders against speaking themselves just to fill an awkward silence:
Small group leaders can tend to believe that something is going wrong if the conversation is not flowing. Silences can be awkward. Wrong answers can seem to beg for correction. But small group leaders do well not to correct every error or to fill every silence.
He goes on to address some of the potential causes for silence, reflecting on what a leader can do about it.
Even if it is unintentional on the leader’s part, the silence could be due to him. In any case, the leader does not help the group by filling the silence with words. In that case, the leader is not building relationships in the small group but compensating for the lack of it.
The best kind of silence in a small group is one in which all or the majority of the students are thinking hard about what to say. It is the kind of silence that is filled with thinking rather than attempting to read one another. It is a kind of silence in which students are actively processing what was said and eagerly developing ideas in response. It is the kind of silence that is called pregnant.
If you are part of a small group Bible study, these keen musings are worthy of your curious reflection.
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