The Dog Who Came in From The Cold comment

When told that certain monks use a sort of sign language to communicate, Caroline responded thusly.

“Why?” It struck Caroline as odd that one would eschew one form of communication only to resort to another: what did it matter how one communicated if the end result was the same – the message was conveyed?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/corduroymansionsbyalexandermcca/ chapter 7

I think because when you talk or listen (or see, but that's another matter), you drop a type of energy level. I don't know if this may be what some call chi.
I can feel this when I speak, especially the first time in a while, like in the morning. It's similar, but different for listening.
It feels like when descending into an emotional state. It's a classic argument for silence and logic and eschewing of emotions to gain some higher state. This of the Vulcans from Star Trek, for example, or monks, priests, etc. Or guys