The idea: ask about their childhood or their past. The comment reads:

This tip that OP has offered is actually amazing and works wonderfully for conversational flow. I deal with a lot of very formal, pretentious, highly educated people who act so stiff it's like it's their job (which it often is). Ask them questions like, "Did you always enjoy X, even when you were a kid? What else did you do for fun back in the day in your hometown?" They will open up.

People love to talk about themselves, especially the pretentious ones. And the big point here is that EVERYONE is actually just a big kid at heart. They'll talk your ear off about their childhood games, how their interests evolved, and random stories about their upbringing. People would rather talk about the fun parts of their life, so don't worry about whether they had a rough childhood or not as they'll often only share the fun stuff.

This also is a good tip for talking to people of higher authority. For example, if you are a college student at a conference full of doctors, and are introduced to a well dressed surgeon with a trophy wife and an air of authority, ask him how he likes his job. Then ask him if he has always wanted to be a doctor; if he ever played doctor when he was a kid; tell him you used to play the patient to get a kiss from the cute girl; ask him if he ever did that or what kind of silly things he used to do to meet cute girls; say how your little cousin or something is always playing doctor and wants to be one when he grows up etc. This also leads to questions about their hometown (another thing people generally love to talk about, for better or for worse) and so on.

TLDR: When talking about their childhood, people will be much, much more open and authentic with you, and it's amazing how it actually eliminates any social power dynamics at play. It puts everybody in the conversation on the same level. EVERYONE is really just a big kid, and they love being reminded of that.

I know I love talking about the highlights of my past, even when people don't prompt me for it. I noticed that I tend to work it into conversations without consciously meaning to. I'm sure other people, including HB10s, will do the same, especially if you prompt them.

Let me know what you all think.