I generally consider myself a lousy conversationalist. I'm usually too shy to attempt to initiate a conversation, and even when I'm not, I often can't think of how to open one. I'm a lot better at inserting myself into already-running discussions through interjections (of course, that brings up the problem of getting a word in without interrupting someone else). And if someone directly addresses me, asks me a question, or otherwise admits me into the conversation themselves, that helps too.

At any rate, once I
do start talking, there's the issue of my frequent tendency to trip over my own tongue,

: forget what I was about to say,

and/or forget what I was talking about entirely.

And if I can overcome all that without looking like the village idiot, I usually have trouble closing the conversation, because I have difficulty telling when the other person wants to stop talking unless they say so, but am afraid I will appear rude if I terminate the discussion myself.
That's what I love about this thread. Little to no conversational aptitude required! (Though if the other participants are making posts in a similar vein, I’m usually not one to change the subject.)
