[willhinsa]

Start with small talk! It's so valuable in establishing a baseline of "we're two humans in the same condition at heart, and the first thing I'm offering is a universally shared experience, and not talking crazy to you or starting a fight (physical or political or otherwise)"

A lot of people think it's just useless filler but it actually is so important and a valuable tool when meeting people!

Talk about the weather! I'm serious! And drop any kind of internal pretension about being too good for such an inane topic (if that applies to you). Embrace it as if you're meeting someone from a distant tribe, and you are both wary of each other, and you want to start things off on a good foot. Talking about things you know you both deal with and think about is literally perfect!