My question is less about gaming and more about interacting with people in general. I've realize recently that my social skills are very underdeveloped, and I've decided to work on that area of myself above all others. I'm just trying to be a friendly, receptive guy. I'm trying to get in more conversations, have more meaningful or fun conversations, and develop more friendships.

Invariably, a lot of conversations I have end up being about the weather. Now, I live in Michigan and the weather's actually a pretty big deal here. We've been having flash floods the last few days, 40 degree days in May where it's 90 degrees the next day. Michigan definitely has some weather that's worth talking about, and it definitely effects the lives of everyone around here. Truly, I think it's the great commonality the bonds everyone here together, and as such it is a wonderful conversation crutch.

But I use weather as an example of "automatic" conversation. The kinds of conversations that can go on without your brain operating at all. Those "Hi. How are you doing?"-type conversations that we have in passing. Most of the time, you don't really care how they're doing. Even if we did, we still wouldn't get anything more than "great. How are you?" which we then reply with the equally meaningless "doing good."

Ever taken a foreign language? "Hi how are you" is usually the first thing you learn. It always sounds real silly, too, like no one would ever say that. But they do. All the time. So do we. It's pretty much universal to ask someone how they're doing, even though we almost never get a meaningful response.

How do I move away from that? Do I need to? Is it fine to use these conversational crutches as long as I continue to develop conversations into more meaningful ones? I actually ask because many of these types of conversations never develop into meaningful ones at all. But, on the other token, I think by having these types of conversations I develop and aire of approachability, which is my goal. However, if I break the norm and start iniating conversations in more interesting ways, it will make me more interesting as a person. Does anyone have any suggestions or ways that they have broken away from "automatic" conversations?