When people hold back

Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

At the neighbourhood storytelling evening, the host had left a pause after each story for questions. The pause lengthened. People looked down at their cups, and when she invited anyone to share a memory of their own, nobody spoke. She set a stack of blank slips beside the door. Before the break, several had been returned, folded in half. Rather than read them aloud, she used two of the questions to start a discussion about a made-up character. The room became noisier, though most listeners still kept their own stories to themselves.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

At the library’s first map-reading session, most of the beginners stayed behind the chairs while the volunteer traced a route on the large wall map. One woman picked up a map from the table, then put it down when the others did not move. The volunteer brought out smaller maps and asked everyone to find the same symbol. A few people leaned over the table; others followed from where they stood. By the end, three had marked a route, while several had watched without trying.

What do the responses to people’s hesitation have in common? Use evidence from both texts to support your answer.