If the conversation only works when you’re talking, it’s a speech with a hostage.

Some conversations are actually one person performing while another waits politely for an exit. The clue is what happens when you stop: if it dies, nobody else was ever in it. Usually this comes from nerves rather than ego, because silence feels like your responsibility to fill. The other person leaves with nothing of their own said.

Try going quiet on purpose halfway through and see whether the conversation survives. If it does not, ask a question about them and then hold your answer back.