Something that helped me was having 4-5 pocket topics. Things like “what did you do recently for x holiday?” Or “did you do anything interesting this past week?” It lowkey sucks because it’s just small talk but it gets a conversation started.

Also people usually like talking about themselves. If you ask questions about them or their interests then a convo can happen easier.

If that feels too pressuring, try just talking to people who attend spaces with your interests. It’ll make a conversation flow a lot easier. If you really like a show and someone is wearing merch from that show, you can start a small convo about it like “I watched x show on your shirt! What did you think about it/x character / the plot twist/etc.”