How to cope with awkward silence

Those of us with social anxiety fear the dreaded awkward silence. How do we fill the horrible void?

One way is to endlessly talk about the weather. But a better option might be to become a little more comfortable with silence. After all, it is not your job to hold up a flagging conversation. There is at least one other person involved. It is time to stop thinking of it as your job to be the life and the soul of the party.