Comment by sublinear

Silence can be used to assert dominance. That's why I referenced "the rules" people might be familiar with in a school setting.

Maybe I can paint a clearer picture in your head if I asked you to imagine how silence would be used during an interrogation or by the main character of an action movie?

Silence used to be a very popular choice by previous generations of extroverts and it wasn't "relaxing". It created the very same tension that compels people to make small talk (and fools of themselves) nowadays.