[larrywright]

The thing you have to remember is that most people love to talk about themselves. This isn't a bad thing, it's just human nature. You can leverage this, however, for small talk. Ask the other person about themselves, and they will often talk for hours. You can keep it going by just asking follow up questions: "Oh, you went to College X? What made you choose that over Y?"

The trick with this is to not come off like you're writing a novel. The line between interested and creepy is pretty fine. The best advice I can give you here would be to avoid getting /too/ personal. Keep it general.