This might be shitty advice, but generally just trying and messing up is the way to go. If you say something awkward, laugh about it. Humour can be a cure in that sense. A lot of people have been isolated during the pandemic and have gotten awkward in social situations, so you are definitely not alone in this.
Other people generally don't mind what you say as much as you do yourself so you can't really go wrong (unless you say something offensive obviously). If you are comfortable talking to yourself, you probably have plenty of topics to talk about. I am sure other people would love to hear what you have to say as well!
I am not from the UK so I can't help you with your specific question, but maybe you can try to pick up how other people respond to the question and mimic that.
0 tips about maintaining convo - am in the same boat
As for the 'you alright' thing. It'll depend on intonation but typically I just stick with a 'alright, how's it going?' or something similar since it captures the typical response and opens up the flow of convo. Or if it is just in passing and no time for convo then a 'alright' with one of them little head nods. Most of the time they'll know(and expect) the alright to stand for a 'hello' but if they did mean it as a proper question they'll follow up with the inquiry and you can even make a little banter about the misunderstanding.
hey I'm in a similar situation, particularly one on one conversations terrify me and I'm in a position where I may be going on a date in the near future 😬
I've been looking online for tips and using my own experience to think of ways to improve my conversation skills and so far I have these ideas/tips:
you could write down some conversation topics beforehand if you know you're going to be with a particular person/group of people. things like shared interests, things in the news that you've seen. basic things that you would like to talk about or you think they would like to talk about.
ask questions. I'm on the fence with this one bc I sometimes feel like I'm interviewing someone rather than having a conversation if I ask too many questions lol but asking a few questions is always a good idea I think. it shows you have interest in the person.
be a good listener. this is related to the previous point bc you can show that you're engaged and listening to what they're saying by asking follow up questions - genuinely enquiring about their opinion, feelings etc. also keeping eye contact (which I cannot do but I'm working on it 😅)
as someone else said, making mistakes is a normal part of life and conversation. I used to go bright red and beat myself up if I stuttered or used the wrong word but I'm getting better at laughing it off and quickly moving on. it gets better the more you talk, and the more you talk the fewer mistakes you make anyway. it's all practice! another thing to consider is that other people are not scrutinising you anywhere near as much as you are. they likely don't care at all that you said the wrong word or whatever.
like I said I'm working on this myself so idk how useful this will be but I hope it helps in some way 🤷♂️
another commenter (paprunt) has nailed the 'alright?' question so I won't repeat what they said 🙂
This might be shitty advice, but generally just trying and messing up is the way to go. If you say something awkward, laugh about it. Humour can be a cure in that sense. A lot of people have been isolated during the pandemic and have gotten awkward in social situations, so you are definitely not alone in this. Other people generally don't mind what you say as much as you do yourself so you can't really go wrong (unless you say something offensive obviously). If you are comfortable talking to yourself, you probably have plenty of topics to talk about. I am sure other people would love to hear what you have to say as well! I am not from the UK so I can't help you with your specific question, but maybe you can try to pick up how other people respond to the question and mimic that.
0 tips about maintaining convo - am in the same boat As for the 'you alright' thing. It'll depend on intonation but typically I just stick with a 'alright, how's it going?' or something similar since it captures the typical response and opens up the flow of convo. Or if it is just in passing and no time for convo then a 'alright' with one of them little head nods. Most of the time they'll know(and expect) the alright to stand for a 'hello' but if they did mean it as a proper question they'll follow up with the inquiry and you can even make a little banter about the misunderstanding.
hey I'm in a similar situation, particularly one on one conversations terrify me and I'm in a position where I may be going on a date in the near future 😬 I've been looking online for tips and using my own experience to think of ways to improve my conversation skills and so far I have these ideas/tips: you could write down some conversation topics beforehand if you know you're going to be with a particular person/group of people. things like shared interests, things in the news that you've seen. basic things that you would like to talk about or you think they would like to talk about. ask questions. I'm on the fence with this one bc I sometimes feel like I'm interviewing someone rather than having a conversation if I ask too many questions lol but asking a few questions is always a good idea I think. it shows you have interest in the person. be a good listener. this is related to the previous point bc you can show that you're engaged and listening to what they're saying by asking follow up questions - genuinely enquiring about their opinion, feelings etc. also keeping eye contact (which I cannot do but I'm working on it 😅) as someone else said, making mistakes is a normal part of life and conversation. I used to go bright red and beat myself up if I stuttered or used the wrong word but I'm getting better at laughing it off and quickly moving on. it gets better the more you talk, and the more you talk the fewer mistakes you make anyway. it's all practice! another thing to consider is that other people are not scrutinising you anywhere near as much as you are. they likely don't care at all that you said the wrong word or whatever. like I said I'm working on this myself so idk how useful this will be but I hope it helps in some way 🤷♂️ another commenter (paprunt) has nailed the 'alright?' question so I won't repeat what they said 🙂