Once in the habit of asking more open-ended questions, you may find there are more moments of silence during your conversations, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s probably a good thing because that means the person you’re talking to is thinking about their response – which was the intent of asking the open-ended question in the first place. Giving them a few moments to think probably means you’ll get more useful information which may eliminate the need for follow-up questions. Your initial reaction to silence may be to fill that void with dialogue, but resist the urge unless you feel your question might have been misunderstood or needs to be clarified. Let’s watch an interaction to see how our WIC co-worker handles silence.
WIC: So tell me how you feel so far about your weight changes in this pregnancy?
Participant: My weight changes?
WIC: Sure, you know, what you’ve gained, what you would like to gain, and anything that’s on your mind, really.
Participant: Hmmm…
WIC: No worries, take your time.
Participant: Well… I think I’ve gained a little too much already. My doctor said I should aim for 20 to 25 pounds but I’ve already gained 12 with 22 weeks still to go.
WIC: Go on, tell me more.
Participant: Well, my last pregnancy I only gained14 the entire nine months, so I’ve been trying really hard to eat regularly so that I don’t have another underweight baby like my first child…