But what if you don't have much interest in the other party? Most people are not interesting to me.
I highly recommend Dale Carnegie's classic How To Win Friends and Influence People. The title turns people off, but it is a classic "people person" book.
Just don't do it with a sneer on your face or contempt in your voice.
Either way, you should be able to enjoy talking about the human condition, friends, and experiences you've had. These are quite universal.
The cool thing is when you get somebody to really open up about their interests like this, you sometimes discover it really is interesting, after all.