Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser

Level: Advanced

1
  Warmer

a. How often do you need to engage in small talk or chit-chat during the day? Consider your
typical day and make a note of each situation. For example:

• at the bakery, on the way to work

• on the train / bus

• when I enter the office

b. Compare and briefly talk about your lists.

2
  Key words

a. Write the correct word(s) from the wordpool next to the definitions below. Then find and
highlight them in the article to read them in context.

alleviate ambience chatty chit-chat counsellor

craft ditch divulge draining needy
opt in rapport salon uptick vibes

1. get rid of someone or something that you no longer like or need

2. friendly conversation about things that are not very important

3. demanding attention or emotional support

4. decide to do something or take advantage of something that is offered

5. an increase in number

6. a place where you can have your hair cut and styled

7. the character of a place or the feeling you have about it

8. when something uses so much of someone’s energy or strength etc that they feel very tired or
weak

9. a relationship in which people like, understand, and respect each other.

10. a general feeling that you get from a person or place

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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced
11. make something less serious or severe

12. someone whose job is to give advice and help to people with problems

13. the skill needed for a particular profession

14. enjoying talking a lot in a friendly way

15. give information about something, especially something that should be kept secret

b. Use some of the key words above to complete these sentences.

1. The hotel’s facilities include a hairdressing and a

children’s playroom.

2. Many doctors are able to develop an excellent with their patients.

3. Rosie is certainly in a mood today.

4. When you’re faced with negative and situations, try to remember

the positive things in your life.

5. The college now has a to help students with both personal and
study-related problems.

6. We decided to our old, uncomfortable sofa bed.

7. They could not any further information.

8. Afterwards, Lucy noticed a sudden in her number of followers

on Twitter.
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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced
Requests for no-talking haircuts
are becoming more common.
Now some salons even provide
pre-treatment questionnaires
about the practice
Brittney Rigby
8 May, 2022
1 “Would you like to chat to us, or would you
prefer us to keep it quiet?” A new client
questionnaire introduced Odette Barry to the
world of silent salons – hairdressers giving
people the option to ditch the chit-chat.
2 Despite being a “bit of a needy extrovert”, her
interest was piqued. From then on, she opted
in to silence every couple of appointments.
3 “I actually quite liked having the option to say
I prefer silence each time that I came in,” she
says. “It also made it more comfortable to bring
my laptop and work and not feel like I was
being rude.”
4 Hairdresser Ash Boughton runs AB Colour,
working out of the beauty co-working space
Salon Lane in Sydney’s Surry Hills. She’s
experienced a big uptick in clients requesting
a silent appointment over the past few months
and says that because of the pandemic,
“the need for calmer experiences has
become essential”.
5 “The constant talk of the pandemic really had
such a negative effect on salon ambience,
and the lack of positivity was draining for both
clients and staff,” Boughton tells Guardian
Australia. “Some people just don’t want
conversation. It’s really their time to zone out.”
6 Boughton explains that, while some clients
request silence ahead of their appointment, it’s
also up to the hairdresser to display emotional
intelligence when a client is in the chair.
7 That’s easier when interacting with a
longstanding client with whom she already has
rapport. She knows how they like their hair cut,
styled, or coloured. They trust her. “They might
say something that makes me realize they just
want to sit and work, or just close their eyes
and be still. Once the initial consultation is
done, I take my cue from them.”
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8 Redmond Cliff, a salon manager for
hairdressing group Edwards and Co, agrees:
“Hairdressers are very good at reading people’s
vibes.” He says, while hairdressing is usually a
“very chatty industry”, salons are also inclusive
spaces, which means some clients want,
and should be able, to “stay silent and relax
without talking”.
9 In fact, despite her extroversion, staying silent
in the salon chair alleviated guilt for Barry.
Since a hairdressing appointment doubles
as a therapy session for many, she can feel
uncomfortable about “unloading everything on
a hairdresser, who has to be not just a talented
hairdresser but also a counsellor for everyone
who comes in”.
10 As Boughton notes, it also gives the stylist
the chance to “focus on our art”, because
hairdressing is “a craft that needs precision and
patience”. She says it isn’t strange at all for
hairdressers to dial the small talk up or down
as they switch between clients. Sometimes,
some peace and quiet is just as beneficial for
the hairdresser. “It really works both ways.”
11 Barry suggests thinking about how you’ll
occupy your time if you’re veering away from
a chat. For her, it’s podcasts, a book or work
emails. “You have to have something to do
to make it not awkward, because just sitting
there staring at yourself in the mirror can be a
reasonably off-putting experience.”
12 Barry’s husband, who she describes as an
introvert, has also experienced a silent haircut.
But knowing he could be quiet if he wanted to
made him feel more chatty.
13 Boughton said that’s not an uncommon
experience. “I find it interesting that some
clients say, ‘I’m all talked out; I’m really looking
forward to some quiet time,’ and then proceed
to tell you their life story over the next 45
minutes or every intimate detail of their most
recent drama.
14 “We really do hear it all, but a good hairdresser
keeps everything in the vault.” The next salon
visit, then, is a choice: stay quiet or divulge
secrets, knowing they’ll be kept in the cone of
silence, too.
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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced

How to ask for the ‘silent treatment’

Take comfort in the request’s popularity: “The language of a silent experience is common knowledge within
our industry now,” Boughton says.

Let your confidence dictate your communication choice: Boughton urges clients not to feel strange about it
at all. You can call to book an appointment and ask on the phone, choose silence on a questionnaire, or send a
message to your salon in advance if you’re uncomfortable voicing it.

Be honest: Cliff from Edwards and Co makes the point that “it’s not what you ask, it’s how you ask it”. So ask
directly but kindly.

Don’t feel guilty: “Don’t feel pressured into random chit-chat if you’re not in the right headspace,” Boughton
says. “We all want everyone to have the best experience possible. It might seem unusual to a client asking for
the first time, but, at times, it’s greatly appreciated by us, too.”

© Guardian News and Media 2022

First published in The Guardian, 08/05/2022

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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced

3
  Understanding the article

a. Answer the questions with detailed information from the article.

1. How does Odette Barry describe herself and her husband?

2. Which of them decided to try a silent haircut, and how did the experience change the way they
approach hair appointments?

3. What sort of acceptance of silent appointments do hairdressers say they have seen from clients?

4. How has the pandemic affected the general mood in hairdressing and beauty salons?

5. How can a hairdresser know that their client does not want to engage in small talk during
their appointment?

6. What benefits does a silent appointment have for the stylist or hairdresser?

7. What tips are given to clients to help them avoid feeling uncomfortable because they are not
talking to their stylist?

8. If your salon doesn’t specifically offer silent appointments, which is the best way to request one?

4
  Key language

a. Find phrases that fit with the meanings.

1. make someone want to know more about something or someone (paragraph 2)

2. stop paying attention and relax (paragraph 5)

3. behave in the same way as someone else because you think that is the right thing to do
(paragraph 7)

4. reduce or increase the intensity of something (paragraph 10)

5. trying to move away or avoid something (paragraph 11)

6. not pass on any secrets (paragraph 14)

7. be in a receptive state of mind, or in the mood, to do something (‘How to ask’ box)

b. Next, use the phrases to talk about the article.

c. Then use each one in sentences or short anecdotes of your own that are not related to
the article.
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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced

5
  Discussion

a. Which of these comments can you identify with? Expand your answers with details and
your opinions.

I like listening in to other people’s conversations when I have an appointment somewhere.

I find it difficult to make small talk with people whose native language is different from my own.

I dislike being asked about sports and my holidays.

I ask my hairdresser about their family and weekend so that I don’t have to talk about mine.

I once stopped going to a hairdresser to avoid their chit-chat.

b. Discuss the following questions.

• In which other everyday situations would you appreciate having the opportunity to remain
silent and not have to make or listen to small talk?

• What conditions (medical, physical, or situational) might increase someone’s need for peace
and quiet?

• How can we be sensitive to this?

6
  In your own words

a. Think of at least three things you could say to avoid or remove yourself from small talk or
chit-chat in each of the following situations:

• while having a massage, physiotherapy, or treatment

• in the kitchen, at a party, or other type of social event

• when sitting next to a chatty person on a flight or long train journey

• in a doctor’s waiting room

• when you’d like to end a long phone or video call

b. Do you have any other non-verbal tips on how to come across as firm but polite in these kinds
of situations?
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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced – Teacher’s notes
Key:
Article summary: Silent appointments, 1. salon 5. counsellor
without the need to engage in small talk and 2. rapport 6. ditch
chit-chat, are often appreciated by both stylist 3. chatty 7. divulge
and client. 4. draining 8. uptick

Time: 90 minutes 3. Understanding the article

Skills: Reading, speaking, writing a. Students read the questions and answer them with
information from the article.
Language focus: Vocabulary, speaking, writing
Key:
Materials needed: One copy of the
1. She says she’s a ‘needy extrovert’ and he’s
worksheet per student
an ‘introvert’.
2. They both tried it. After the first time, Odette
now opts for a silent haircut every couple of
1. Warmer appointments. Her husband found that not being
under pressure to talk actually made him more
a. Students answer the question and make notes chatty than usual.
before talking to other students and comparing 3. Ash Boughton says she’s experienced
their lists. Ask them whether they are surprised at a large increase in clients requesting a
the amount of small talk they have each day and silent appointment.
whether they would sometimes prefer not to have to 4. The lack of positivity due to the pandemic has
say anything in the situations they listed. had a negative effect on salon ambience. Both
clients and staff have felt exhausted and fed up
2. Key words with having to talk about the pandemic again
and again.
a. Students write the correct word from the wordpool 5. The client can request a silent appointment
next to the definitions on the lines provided. Then in advance or when they come in. But the
students find and highlight the words in the article to hairdresser should also possess enough
read them in context. emotional intelligence to realize that a client
does not feel like talking, for example, if they sit
Key: and close their eyes.
1. ditch 9. rapport 6. It gives them an often-appreciated break from
2. chit-chat 10. vibes having to talk and allows them to concentrate on
3. needy 11. alleviate their work.
4. opt in 12. counsellor 7. They can close their eyes, listen to something
5. uptick 13. craft through headphones, read a book, or deal with
6. salon 14. chatty work emails. Also, they should remember it’s not
7. ambience 15. divulge an unusual request.
8. draining 8. Be direct but kind in your request. Say what you
want but in a polite and empathetic way.
b. Before reading the article carefully, students
use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the
sentences to ensure that they understand and know
how the words are used in other contexts.
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 Silent salons: why people are choosing to keep quiet at the hairdresser
Level: Advanced – Teacher’s notes

4. Key language

a. Students find phrases, many of which are informal,

that fit with the meanings. They should try to come
up with the simple present basic grammatical form
of each one even if this differs slightly form the forms
used in the article. See key below.

Key:
1. pique someone’s interest
2. zone out
3. take your cue from
4. dial something up or down
5. veering away
6. keep everything in the vault
7. in the right headspace

b. Next they use them to talk about the article.

c. Then they use each of the phrases in sentences or

short anecdotes of their own that are not related to
the article.

5. Discussion

a. Students discuss the questions related to the

article and give their reasons and justifications for
each answer, referring to their own experiences
wherever possible.

Conditions such as Autism may lead people to

prefer peace and quiet. Further information about
teaching and being sensitive to the needs of autistic
people can be found here: www.onestopenglish.com/
methodology-tips-for-teachers/advancing-teaching-
autistic-students-in-esl-classroom/1000463.article

6. In your own words

a. Follow the steps on the worksheet and hold a

feedback discussion afterwards.

Can students think of other similar situations? What

experience have they had of this kind of situation?
What tactic has worked best for them?
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