I was quiet for a long time and I was thought of as being uptight or closed off to people. It's only in the last year or two that I've come out of my shell. Small talk is a huge thing and what I've found is if you go into a conversation confidently it will really help with your fluency. Even if I stutter I talk to people, I'll make small talk about anything because the more you talk to an individual person the more you'll become comfortable around them and conversations will become easier.