General Interview Technique feedback

[mrmalco]

I spent 10 years as a documentary producer/interviewer. There are some basic rules for getting the interviewee to respond and they all come down to the following ...
Ask a short blunt question, then be silent.
There is a huge temptation for interviewers to fill up the silence by qualifying/adding-subsidiaries-to their questions. This can be from discomfort at the silence; an urge to be conciliatory; a desire to show knowledge; a desire to over-craft the question ... The general rule here is: Don't - just leave the question sitting. If nothing emerges move on to another short specific question.
A word to the wise.

[Anchor]

Same can be true when conducting job interviews.

[Wood]

*please delete this post*

[Lost Soul]

Here's an additional technique. Let the speaker speak, then cant your head slightly. This suggests to the speaker that you may not believe them and prompts them to continue speaking so as to explain themselves further.