Awkward Pauses in Interviews

This recent post on how to handle awkward pauses in interviews made me laugh, but the struggle is real. What should you do when your interviewer is weird and has super long pauses? I agree with the response of the columnist, an HR advisor:

1. Sometimes interviewers are just awkward people. Or they could be giving you a stress interview. (I have sent candidates on hundreds of interviews, and both scenarios can be the case.)
2. You can use the time to share some more details on relevant experience since the interviewer is not talking anyway. (My caveat: don’t go on TOO long because then YOU will be dinged for your long potentially rambling answer, and the interviewer will not be criticized for being odd.)
3. The best thing to do is give a great answer (make sure it’s not too long or short and includes relevant information delivered with enthusiasm), then finish and smile. Sit quietly and confidently while you await the next answer. The interviewer will eventually break the silence. What would be even better is to try to engage the interviewer from the get-go and make the interview into a conversation. I recognize this goal can be futile, but it’s always worth it to try.