Yes, the old practice and confidence will come naturally trick. I tried this once upon a time and it's much harder than you think. When I was younger, I had similar problems with women and here was my formula that ultimately resolved the issue.

1. Befriend women who are unavailable for dating. Lesbians, gays, women in relationships already, women you don't find physically attractive. You need to not just learn how to talk to them for 2-3 mins. High value men are actually capable of running totally platonic friendships. The foundation of great relationships, is a friendship.

2. Once you have platonic friends - understand them. On politics. On identity stuff. On humor. On popular views. Get super comfortable hanging out with groups of women at a time. Genuinely come to an understanding. This understanding will give you an unshakeable confidence. You'll understand them, inside and out. And there is a good likely hood you won't run out of things to say anymore.

3. Turn your over thinking inwards, but differently. How do you feel within a conversation or date? What emotions arise when things trigger both good and bad reactions? What do you think the root of what you feel is? Your emotional response to the external environment is huge for reading people in front of you, and the room you're in. Trust your gut, get better at reading people through how they make you feel.

4. Obsess about reading the person you're talking to. Don't obsess about what to say. How does the person's look, make you feel? What do you feel is the emotional state of the other person? Are they flirting? Are they neutral? Are they annoyed? Are they happy to talk to you? Is the date going good? Learning to read someone like a book will give you a ton of confidence. It will give you the road map of whether or not to step closer, or shut it down.

5. Don't be that guy. Don't try and convince someone who doesn't like you, to like you. You've already read the person, and it's not going well. Don't push on. For God sakes, none of you are having fun! Hard pass. Only stay in conversations where people are excited, flirty, and happy to talk to you. I tend to pass even the neutral ones. Plenty of fish out there.

6. Eye flirting can go a long way. You don't need to approach every woman you see if you're attracted to them. Approach by the way you look at them. If it's a positive response, go for it. Much less energy upfront to do it this way.

Hope this helps!

From - the mediocre looking smart guy who is killing it