This is a really old yet detailed post by someone else:
reality-method-art-of-conversation-vt10214.html
If you can, try to make open-ended statements more often, like what Juggler describes in his book. This is to offset from asking too many questions and making it seem like an interrogation. A good thing to keep in mind is the general flow of a continuous conversation goes:
Question-Statement-Question-Statement... etc
It doesn't have to be set this way of course; you can have more statements or more questions, but you should be wary that you arent overwhelming the conversation by talking too much about yourself or asking too much about her. (One thing you should remember though is Juggler's 90/10 rule, that when you open up a conversation with a stranger, you should expect to do 90% of the talking, cause why should she supply a 50-50 conversation with a complete stranger? You also have to calibrate; for instance, on a Day 2, if all you do is talk about yourself, you may come off as arrogant or never have an opportunity for her to emotionally invest in the interaction).
As for making statements or questions, I follow a general outline for these that make statements more than just, "Yeah, I like apples too." The idea is to create interest and relate emotionally to everthing, so:
Introduce-Interest-Involve
You introduce a topic:
"I was watching the food network the other day and on Iron Chef one of them tried to do a flambe cake "
You create interest and share a story about it:
"I remember once when for another Freddy's birthday party (DHV), my ex and I tried to make a flambe cake. But we ended up blah blah blah...[Make sure you put plenty of detail here, exaggeration and humor, and especially relate to feelings]
You involve her:
"Hey, I know all chicks love to bake things, and you dont look like an exception. (EV) What's the craziest thing you've ever made?"
Or you can make assumptions here with some C/F stuff
"I see from your laugh you're smiling about a similar story - You haven't burned down one of your friend's kitchens too have you? Otherwise I don't think I'd allow you to come the next time I feel like having a bake-off"
You can apply this to almost any story, and create much more flowing and involving conversations. Just be sure that all the while you're vibing (ESPECIALLY), teasing, kinoing, etc.
Yet I have some trouble with maintaining group conversations, especially since I'm not someone who carries a pocketful of DHV stories. I know it's essential to lead the conversation and control and direct the vibe, yet what do you do when not everyone has something in common? I mean this more in a sense of not just at the bar, but at group social events too.