How my friend used silence to get paid what he deserved — and what you can learn from it

Let me tell you a story about a colleague of mine — a sharp, experienced marketing director at a growing company.
Smart guy. Always delivers. Respected by the founders.

One day, the business owners invite him to a meeting.

Nothing formal — just a “quick chat.”

They tell him:
“We’ve been thinking… You’re really good at what you do. And we’d love for you to take over our SMM. But, you know, not just oversee it — actually run it. Hands-on. Just for now.”

It sounded like a compliment.
But there was one obvious thing missing: any mention of additional pay.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

He didn’t argue.
Didn’t get defensive.
Didn’t start negotiating.

He simply smiled and said,
“Hmm, interesting…”

And then?

He said nothing else.

No “Sure, happy to help.”
No “Let me think about it.”
Just a calm pause.

They moved on, assuming he was on board.
But he never started doing the work.

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A few days later, they came back:
“Hey, why haven’t you jumped into the SMM stuff yet?”

He said,
“Well, we never actually agreed I would.”

More silence. More discomfort.
He didn’t push. Just stood his ground — quietly.

They tried again. Same answer. Same calm tone.

And then, finally — it clicked.

They came back to him with a different tone:
“What if we paid you extra for it?”

That’s when he said yes.
With a clear agreement. And with a solid raise.

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This story stuck with me because it reminded me of something most people forget in the workplace:

You don’t always need to fight to be valued.
Sometimes, you just need to not say yes too quickly.

That space — that pause — signals something powerful.

It says:
I’m not desperate.
I respect my time.
And I won’t take on more just because you assume I will.

And in a world where everyone rushes to please, silence stands out.

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The next time someone tries to “expand your role” without expanding your paycheck, don’t overexplain.
Don’t rush to justify.
Don’t try to squeeze value into their expectations.

Just… pause.

Let the silence do its job.

You might be surprised how fast it changes the conversation.

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Have you ever used silence to shift a work dynamic?
Share your story — I’d love to hear how it played out.

And if you want to learn how to sell anything — even just an idea — to anyone, read my article about it.