This may sound odd, but my biggest improvement in ability to have casual conversation with anybody came after a few months of beginner improv classes (at Second

This may sound odd, but my biggest improvement in ability to have casual conversation with anybody came after a few months of beginner improv classes (at Second City). I'm not sure if it was being forced to quickly say _something_, or just being made more comfortable in awkward situations, but those classes did wonders for my long sought-after transformation from "weird conversationalist" to "normal guy".