[QuantumG]

I don't know where you live, but most large cities have an Improv Comedy scene that includes courses, weekly meetups and workshops. You will learn:

* How to talk like you have something to say

* How to leave space for others to talk

* Helping the conversation move along

* Saying stuff that is interesting but not necessarily true without being deceptive

* Be funny now and then (YMMV)

[tysam_and]

I enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook. Not a ton I remember from it, but it seemed helpful to me, and the biggest takeaway is that a conversation is building something that you two are working on together (and the implied lesson beyond that that I got is that it is bigger than either of you, oftentimes).

https://www.amazon.com/Improv-Your-Conversations-Banter-Tech...

I should probably try more with improv, it seems fun (albeti scary), but a good way to basically 'hit the gym' for some social skills. If I can cross some of those barriers, maybe the others won't be too terribly hard!

For me, what helped a lot was backpacking a social trail like the Appalachian Trail. Every stranger basically talks, you get to know people REAAAALLLL fast, and people that don't talk oftentimes actively avoid it and are seen as a bit weird. People on the trail I was on were seemingly totally fine with me being autistic and trans, it's a pretty accepting place. <3 :'))))