This article considers the possibilities of using silence as a rhetorical technique of indirect pedagogical influence. The definition of pedagogical silence as the absence of speech actions in a communicatively binding situation in order to influence the interlocutor (student) is proposed. An attempt is made to determine the speech intension (intention) and the main types of meaningful teacher's silence, as well as the conditions necessary for the effective use of this technique. Suggestions are made about the prospects of studying silence and teaching this technique.