The commentary on "awkward silence" is interesting.  Personally, I think it's kind of impossible to have an awkward silence; never do I find silence to be an uncomfortable thing, especially if there's the "comforting" sound of keyboard typing as background noise.  "Thinking" noise, as it may be.<p>Maybe the main differentiating factor between geeks and non-geeks (as the author calls them) is ability to deal with silence.  Most geeks I get along with best tend to listen with their eyes and speak with their hands.