The DU Lounge

You'll recognize many of the techniques you posted. Back in the 70s, a friend of mine (we were both in our early 20s) had the knack of talking with anyone on any subject. He did a lot of listing and would ask followup questions. I realized back then what he was doing was similar to an interview.

I'm not much for small talk but I try to imitate him and use the same techniques. Five years ago, I attended my 50th high school reunion and I was at a table with other who weren't actively engage with everyone else. One of them was one of the popular kids back then. I asked what he'd been up to since high school and he opened up. I started asking followup questions, pretending I was interested, everyone in the group talked for the next 30 minutes about where we had been and what we had done.

Of list of techniques you posted, I'd say the two most important ones are to ask open ended questions and to listen two-thirds of the time and speak one-third of the time.