I'm looking for help becoming a better conversationalist. It seems that most of my conversations either die out into silence because I don't have a response to their statement, or turn into an interview-type conversation with me asking questions that I'm only asking to continue the convo.

I understand conversation threading and can come up with questions related to whatever was just said, but then the conversation seems to slide into an interview with me asking questions and the other person just answering with short answers.

Any advice on books to read, other sources, or just advice in general, to become a more engaging conversationalist and/or better story-teller?

edit I wanted to add that in groups, I am able to maintain my part of the conversation easily and am good at cracking jokes and keeping everyone involved. My problem is with one-on-one interactions, where I have always struggled.