Originally Posted by JinnKai

I think everyone enjoys talking about themselves. That's how I start a conversation, typically:

Topical Question
Acknowledge
Question
Acknowledge
Question
Relate to their answer in agreeable fashion
<Converse>

Usually, if I make it to the "Relate" line I can tell if the person is very interesting at all. I don't do this conciously, but in decomposing previous conversations this is what I arrived at. The trickiest part is remembering to (a) ask questions and (b) making that first question topical. If you start the conversation with something like "How are you?" it's a lot harder to do than if you start with a question or comment regarding something you, they, or both of you are doing.