I was in a conversation with a girl yesterday, and at one point there was a lull in the conversation. Almost immediately, she began playing with her phone because she couldn't handle the silence. I could have reopened the conversation, but the phone thing bugged me and I wanted to experiment, so instead I froze her out.

I made sure to be calm and just look around naturally as if nothing was amiss. She was seated next to me, and I didn't just look away from her, I looked in her direction, across her as well. This was amazingly powerful... I could feel the tension building in her, and I'd release it by looking the other way for a while, then look in her direction and build it again. Eventually it got too much for her and she had to leave. She looked back and kind of squeaked "see you later," which I acknowledged by looking her in the eyes and giving her a smirk.

Now, she is a kind of shy girl; I know her from one of my classes. It was obvious to me that she couldn't think of anything to say. I'm just wondering where the line is between holding a strong frame and forcing her to reopen the conversation; is it better or worse to help the girl out when she's clearly struggling?