This not-so-serious German article has 9 questions you could try asking instead:
https://www.bento.de/haha/smalltalk-zehn-alternativen-fuer-d...
I've tried this by prefacing it with "So I read this article about what to ask instead of small talk...", and obviously people will be intrigued and ask "So what were the questions?"
Translation of the questions:
1. What song would you pick to describe your hometown? - Like "Where are you from? Did you like it there?" but more interesting.
2. If you were a part of a car, which part would you be? - Better than animals or superheroes. If they say steering wheel, maybe they're a control freak?
3. Who would you bite first if you were a zombie?
4. Which movie title would you pick to describe yourself?
5. Muesli (cereal) and then milk in the bowl, or milk and then muesli? (The author writes if they answer milk first, they've lost control of their lives)
6. If you could read a book that tells you how the rest of your life will go, would you read it? - Is the person someone who wants to be prepared, or do they prefer the unkonown?
7. Which character of yours would you definitely want to pass down to your kids? And which do you not want to pass down? - This is basically asking "What are your strengths and weaknesses".
8. What would the perfect drug do to you? - "What would you be if not you?"
9. How and where would you get rid of a body? - You want this to be a memorable conversation, right? And it would be a starting point for your relatives to search for you.