Yeah, I grew up in the Midwest and even there it's super common to respond to X with a personal anecdote about X. I think it makes the conversation more person

Yeah, I grew up in the Midwest and even there it's super common to respond to X with a personal anecdote about X. I think it makes the conversation more personal. Anyone can say, "Oh cool! What songs have you learned?" Only _you_ (you know, the friend they chose to talk to) can say, "Oh, that's cool! My grandpa gave me a cool guitar that I've been meaning to learn to play." I find the best approach is to sandwich a personal anecdote between two "you" statements for the people who need a prompt to carry the conversation. For example, "That's really interesting. I've also been thinking about learning guitar. How are you liking your lessons?"