It depends. If you want a book, I recently re-read "How to win friends and influence people" and it is quite good :-) The basic seems, you listen to the other

It depends. If you want a book, I recently re-read "How to win friends and influence people" and it is quite good :-) The basic seems, you listen to the other person, and indulge in their interest? In practical terms, I have started dancing, and in the dance hall, small-talk often happens. I.m.o. most important is to read the room, and not be too personal? I.e. if I am going to the bar to get a drink, and I hear somebody discussing i.e. how they returned from Italy where they managed to find a really good local restaurants, and it doesn't sound like a private conversation, and we might know each-other in passing, I might walk closer and ask about that. If they give me a why-are-you-talking-to-me? look, I apologize for interrupting and retreat to somebody I know better :P If they respond in kind we might have like a 3 minute conversation about good Italian restaurants, and then we maybe go dancing, or they break-of the conversation, or I break of the conversation. The thing I am learning is to distinguish whether me starting/interupting a conversation will more likely lead to a conversation than just awkward silence ahead of time... I am slowly getting better at that :D