1. In a speech analysis apparatus for recognizing at least one keyword in an audio signal, a method for recognizing silence in the incoming audio signal comprising the steps of: generating at least first and second target templates, each template representing, as a sequence of frequency spectrum representing parameters, an alternate description of silence in said incoming audio signal, comparing said incoming audio signal with each of said first and second target templates, generating a first and a second numerical measure representing the result of said comparisons respectively, and deciding, based at least upon said numerical measures, whether silence has been detected.