Making small talk more interesting

[energizer bunny]

I'm not much of a talker, big or small. I do a lot more than i say.

[downbeatplumb]

This has been a challenge to me for a long time. It's difficult for me to fake being interested in the way some people like to have introductory small talk. One person started talking to me by just saying the name of the city I live in and "huh?". Do you prefer the stock small talk questions about family and work?

That's very interesting.
Tell me more.

[paulpablo]

Small talk is either just a way to get to big talk or a way to pass small amounts of time.

I'm really discriminatory about my enthusiasm for small talk, attractive young females who I already know or at least know I will see again get the most enthusiasm, old unattractive females who are just talking in passing get the least.  But in general I don't like most passing small talk, it doesn't matter who it's with.  
If it's a conversation that's only going to last less than 2 minutes or around that mark, and I'm not going to see that person again in any meaningful way I'd rather just day dream to myself or look at my phone to pass that time.

I don't do football (soccer) small talk usually, which is a big deal in a working class environment, in the sense that there's going to be a few conversations per day you can't join in with and a few people you'll never got on with. But going back to the discrimination thing, if an attractive young female is telling me something about football it's very interesting. 

Those are pretty much the two people that's best to avoid in the long term, the old family women and the football guys.  There's guys in my work that I've never heard having a convo, expressing an emotion or telling a story that didn't involve them watching football. With anyone else I'm pretty good at escalating small talk to big talk.

[ignoramus]

PP. What if it's the other way round?

guy at work: Shit PP is coming, quick, talk about soccer so he can piss off!