Effective Pauses

People tend to speak to fill spaces in conversations. A crisis responder can use effective pauses to encourage the person to continue speaking. A person will continue to speak in order to fill the silence and breaks in the conversation.

Using this skill the crisis responder can be effective during “highly charged” emotional outbursts. Many persons find it difficult to continue a one-sided conversation and will reduce their emotional outbursts. This may allow them to return to a productive communication with the crisis responder.