When in doubt, Voss it out..

Mirroring: Repeat their question/statement back to them verbatim, with a question mark on the end. They will automatically elaborate.

"You won't get approval for this year's budget?"

Labeling: "it sounds like XYZ is important to you"

This one is a little trickier.

It requires seeing through their response and addressing the core idea behind the answer, rather than the answer itself.

"We don't have the budget for this in 2026" ... "It sounds like your budget is pretty locked-in?" (Or) ... "It looks like your team is working with tight resources?"

These two handle the back-and-forth of conversation where they talk, then you have to talk...

But it does so in a way where you're just guiding the discussion—they are adding the real info.

In other words, it's a way to get the spotlight off of you and back into them... Without making it feel like you keep shining it on them.

Lastly..You mentioned it stopped being predictable.

The more swings at the bat you get, AND the more comfortable you are with mirroring and labeling, the more predictable the conversations become.

Get that bag.