When Silence Speaks Volumes

The art of taking cues is older than management schools, strategy books, perhaps even older than written language. Long before even people spoke of communication skills, there we those who understood without words.

There is a story of Krishnadevaraya and Appaji. The kind and his minister were once roaming in disguise through the streets, wanting to understand how ordinary people lived. As the passed a small house, the aroma of boiling soup drifted into the street. The king slightly raised his eyebrow, just half a centimeter. No words were spoken. But Appaji understood.

He said, "Oh King, the soup lacks salt; that is why the aroma is different. If a woman cooks without sensing the aroma, it means her husband is not at home. This street is not where traders live, so he has not gone for business. There are no wards now, she has not gone for battle. It can only mean he has deserted his wife, and she lives in distress".

The king said nothing. He simply nodded.

The next day, Appaji brought a man to the royal court - the husband who had abandoned his wife. With a stern warning from the minister, the man agreed to return home. The woman, unable to control her tears, thanked the kind and wondered how he had understood her suffering. Appaji simply said, "The king knows everything and protects everyone". A leader is only as strong as the person who comprehends what he does not say.

In modern organizations, we call this 'alignment with the boss'. The greatest leaders in history often had an intuitive second-in-command who read their minds, anticipate decisions, and act before instructions were given. It is a symbiotic partnership - silent, efficient, and powerful.

Our history is full of such silent conversations.

Between 8th and 10th centuries, when Zoroastrians fled Persia (Iran) to escape persecution, they landed in Sanjan in Gujarat. Their leader, the grand old mother of the clan, wanted to seek permission from the local ruler, Jadi Rana, to settle in his land. She sent him a beautifully decorated vessel - empty. The king understood. He filled the vessel to the brim with milk and sent it back - a silent message that his land is already full. The leader understood the cue. She added sugar to the milk and send the vessel back again. The message was elegant and clear. "We will dissolve, and sweeten, like sugar in the milk."

The king opened the gates, and that is how the Parsis came to India.

Taking cues is the ability to see what others miss and what they do not say.

Thiruvalluvar understood the importance of this long ago. In the chapter on understanding unspoken intentions, (Kuripparidhal) he writes in Kural 708:

"Mugamnokki Nirkka Amayum; Agamnokki Utra Dhunarvaarp Perin"

"If a leader is blessed with a person who understands his mind by reading his face, he needs to just give a look - everything will be done"

This is true in relationships too.

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Please note - I have only retyped an existing article published by Times of India. The above article is written by Bharathi Baskar and I take no credit for this article. My love and interest for Thiruvalluvar's writings is making me repost for more individuals to read.