No passive talkers, please

What are you trying to accomplish? What results are you looking to achieve? 

Lead with this to immediately focus your conversations...

And then wait...any silence? It certainly is golden in this situation. 

Or are they already yapping away about case studies that will take care of everything for you? 

Look for active listeners. Not passive talkers. 

And be wary of any "professional" who spends more time yapping about what they can do versus what you need.