Well, Gandalf. Those are the things I like to talk about.

Let me tell, you I have been there, and learned a lot from it. I used to be very socially awkward. Now I am confident, and can talk to anyone. It was a long process, and it took a lot of years. What helped me out:

-acting: any type of public performance will give you confidence

-reading books on communication: You Just Don't Understand was a good one.

-acknowledge individual poor social habits, then taking deliberate steps to break them.
the ones I personally struggled with a lot were these:

1. Talking when nobody's listening. I used to get overly excited when someone would talk to me, I would verbally vomit on them on one topic for 10 minutes. If they were bored, I would keep going until I was done. I learned to look for signs of boredom: (looking away, yawning, glazed look in the eye, shifting) then I would just ask them a question about themselves, or if I felt they were being rude, I just shut my mouth mid-sentence and say nothing.

2. Interrupting Ironically, sometimes it's the shy ones that interrupt the most. Also I used to have this vague feeling of intellectual superiority. Interrupting, though rude, is natural part of conversation. If you interrupt, only do it to ask the other person a question, for clarification or a detail of a story. Only interrupt to change a subject if it is making someone in the room uncomfortable.

3. Recycling old topics. I am a deep thinker, so I would think quietly on a topic for 10 minutes, then I would bring it up, even though the conversation had already changed subject 5 or 6 times. Now I just drop it.

4. Talking to people that didn't like me.
 Why would someone not like me? I have no clue. Maybe I remind them of the guy they found banging their older sister on the hood of their car last weekend. I have what I call a "familiar face." (People always think they know me from somewhere.) But, sometimes, you are going to feel awkward because the other person is trying to make you feel that way because they are just an asshole. In that case, talk to someone else, or just find an excuse to completely leave. I have found it's usually a tall fat guy that hates me, or a short little fucker.

5. Not wanting to acknowledge that a lot of people are idiots. At least in my country, there are a lot of fucking idiots. My old roommate was a dull bulb. He is a very nice guy, and a good person, but he just isn't too bright. I pretty much just talked to him about chicks, getting drunk, and work... that's about it. And I lived with him for a year. Some people are what I call "3Topics". They just have three topics they talk about. Example: Football, beer, chicks. It is pointless to talk to them about anything else because that is all they talk about, and they are morons.

6. Poor posture. This is something I struggle with, and have been for 15 years. But, good posture helps a lot.

7. Eye contact. I used to look at the ground a lot when I talked to people, because I was thinking. Look at their face, and look away sometimes naturally.

8. Speaking from my nose. A friend of mine in high school used to make fun of my nasally voice, but I did not know I had a nasally voice. I thought he was just joking and making it up. It wasn't until I was 27 when a friend of mine said, "You have a nasally voice, dude." Of course I got defensive, "No I don't that's just how it sounds." Well, I learned from him it is not natural, and I learned how to talk from my gut. Also, I would constrict my throat when talking due to anxiety which makes your voice higher. I found I have a mellow masculine baritone voice when I relax and speak from my diaphragm, instead of my throat.

9. Appearance, I slowly gave myself a makeover. Shaved my unibrow and moustache, started working out, wore a little more trendy clothes. I spent extra to have a nicer haircut. I got contacts. Watch What Not To Wear or Ten Years Younger on The Learning Channel, and you will learn a lot.

10. Smell. I always keep deodorant in my car glove box or in my backpack, just in case. I also pay more for a name brand cologne.

I am not saying you have any of these problems, but if you do, some of these solutions might help.

Maybe when you feel like you "run out of things to say" the person isn't interested in that topic, or maybe they want to talk about themselves for a bit, or maybe you guys just don't vibe. So, try changing the subject, ask them about themselves, or find a way to excuse yourself. If you are at a party, excuse yourself to get a drink, food, go to the bathroom, smoke or something.

Gandalf, I have read quite a few of your posts, and you are an interesting person. Just remember that you are cool. If someone seems bored by you, more likely than not, they are just a boring person, and not worth your time.