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The Fortune 500 Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question to: “What’s the most important question to ask job candidates in an interview and why?” is written by Val DiFebo, CEO of Deutsch New York.

There is no one question a candidate can answer that will seal the deal and show me how they will approach a job. It’s how they answer a series of questions; how they tell the story of their own career experience and the questions they ask in return that show me what someone will bring to the table.

One way I like to start off with is to ask candidates: “Tell me your story.” I don’t like to read their resume and just infer a story – I want to hear someone lay out and share their own narrative with me: what they love; how they’ve tackled challenges with an out-of-the-box approach; what’s led them to sit at my desk and ask for this job. I’m hoping to uncover their sense of curiosity, their passion – two non-negotiable qualities at a company like ours.

By the time someone has reached my office, their skill set is not the question. They have already established themselves as a candidate with the talent and experience necessary to do the job – I’m not looking to see if they can handle a role; I’m looking to see how they will handle it: do they approach every challenge with the same linear thinking, using mainstream methods time after time? Or are they rolling with the punches, letting outside influences pique their curiosity and drive them to unearth fresh solutions to every hurdle they face?

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It’s advice you’ve likely heard on numerous occasions: you need to be able to network, make connections, and build relationships in order to land a job offer. But how does one make a good impression? How can we all navigate small talk and other networking conversations successfully?

There are lots of things that you can do – and a few things that you should definitely avoid. You’ve heard that communication skills are crucial to finding a job and being successful in the workplace. There is a lot of advice out there on how to be an effective. And a large part of communicating well is knowing when to talk and when to listen.

One of the biggest mistakes a person can make in an interview or networking setting is to talk too much. If the first impression you make seems to indicate that you’re the sort of person who talks incessantly, no one is going to like the idea of sitting in meetings with you on a regular basis making them far less likely to hire you.

Your ability to talk enough, but not too much, in these initial conversations (including interviews) can make or break your chances of establishing a positive connection.

The following article discusses the importance of communicating well and how to know when you’re starting to become a little too chatty:

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