Your interviewer can't read your mind. Silent coding is the fastest way to fail.
What to say:
- "I'm thinking about using a hash map here because..."
- "Let me trace through this with an example..."
- "I'm stuck on this part. Let me think about edge cases..."
- "I realize there's a bug. The issue is..."
What to avoid:
- Long silences (more than seconds)
- Only talking after you're done
- Narrating every keystroke ("Now I'm typing a for loop...")
Your previous career gave you communication skills. Use them. Your interviewer wants to see how you think, not just whether you get the answer.