I have to make small talk at work allot. And if i have to talk for a longer period of time with a person i do t know well i adopt a kind of false sense of excitement. Like ill behave super positive while talking like I'm excited about what they are talking about so i can keep deferring to them with questions like i want to know more about their opinions are or their thoughts on things. I don't know if this will work for two whole weeks with a person. But it definitely works for small talk with strangers with me