Most people cannot sit in real silence for more than a few seconds, and Larry built a close around that fact. After the pen goes down, the instinct is to keep talking, add one more reason, fill the quiet. Larry’s claim is that every word you add after the ask gives the other person a new reason to say no.
So he stops completely and holds what he calls the listening position: no phone, no fidgeting, just attention on them. Silence reads as pressure to the other person even though nobody is actually saying anything. They eventually move to break it, and the fastest way to break it is to pick up the pen and initial the line.
Talk first and you hand them an exit ramp, something like a promise to think it over or check with someone else. The silence has to be genuine, because a fake pause with your eyes darting around gives away that you are performing.
This is why the SuperModel posture matters before the silence even starts, you need to already look calm. Larry says the longest silences in his career came right before the biggest yeses.
Practice the silence somewhere low stakes first, because the first time you try it live it will feel unbearable. Whoever speaks next after the ask is usually the one who loses ground.
Details: Watch Larry hold the silence
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