Take a Silent Pause When Asking a Difficult Question.
Whether it’s for an interview or just a conversation with a friend, people sometimes ask really weird, difficult questions. It’s easy to blurt out what you regret later. Instead, learn to be silent before answering.
Silence doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. We talked about how pause in a conversation allows someone else to take the lead and get to know you. Another time silence is okay? When someone catches you off guard with a question. The art of masculinity explains:
An impulsive response is unlikely to be the best response, and later on you will beat yourself up while pondering what you would like to say. So, the most important thing you can do to improve your answers to difficult questions is to buy yourself time to find the answers. Even a few extra nanoseconds give your brain the ability to process a little more and extract the information you want and the right words …
They also suggest repeating the question before you provide an answer. Yes, both of these methods show that you are really thinking about the question and rummaging through your head to find the answer. But if it’s a difficult question, the other person needs to understand.
To find out more, read the full article on the Art of Manliness website.
Thinking on Your Feet: How to Answer Tough Questions | The art of masculinity