Four seconds of silence

In an interview, let participants do the bulk of talking. The last thing you want to do is to cut them off. Instead, become comfortable with awkward silences. Not only will it ensure that the participants say everything they want to say, but it can also prompt them to think more and elicit even more information.

Research shows that English speakers feel uncomfortable with silence longer than 4 seconds in a conversation.^[1] Humans, as social creatures, tend to try to fill the silence to form connections.

If your participant stops talking, don't feel awkward and try to fill the space. Start counting in your head and give the participant 5-10 seconds to respond. At this precise moment, you're forcing someone to think beyond their gut reaction and dig deeper for something to say.