Hey guys. From the age of 15-20 I was with a girl, and I'm not the kinda guy to go cheat on my girlfriend (unlike a lot of my friends) so I never tried chatting up other girls while I was out, so I'm kinda new to this. Everyone always told me she was a solid 9, and the "hottest girlfriend" out of all the guys in my group etc. (and we were the "cool kids", some had models as girlfriends and all were good looking), and she was the most amazing person, so I was perfectly happy with her.

Then we went to uni, and half way through the year I broke up with her due to us living over 5 hours away from eachother.

I've always been told I was around an 8, but I always thought this was just people being nice, as when I was pretty young and my family still had a bit of money I was sent to a private school, where I was a bit of an outcast as I wasn't a stuck-up rich kid. This gave me serious confidence issues. I also have really bad social skills. Since I left the private school I was always popular, but I have no idea why as I feel like being in a conversation with me must be like pulling teeth. I'm quiet most of the time and never know what to say.

Most people who know me think I'm a pretty confident person, as when I do talk I am loud, opinionated and funny. But despite this, every sentence seems to end in an awkward silence where I don't really know what to say for a while.

I've been going out 1-2 nights a week since I was 15, and at uni this has only increased, so I have plenty of opportunities for meeting new girls. I've even been approached a few times by 7-9s saying "I think you're really attractive, come talk to me" or something like that.

However, I've never been one for moderation, so most of the time when i'm out i've drunk 700ml+ of spirits as pre drinks plus more inside the club. Because of this, and my really bad conversational skills I mentioned earlier, I've blown it every time. The only time I've made progress with girls is inside the club while dancing and not using my mouth.

I've recently started to decrease my drinking and to feel a bit better about myself. I've realised maybe when people tell me I'm good looking they actually mean it and aren't just being nice. But I still suck at talking to people.

How can I learn? I have lots of friends but when I think back to it, I have no idea what we ever actually talk about. The main reason I don't really approach girls these days is because of this. I just know I'll start talking to them, and every sentence will end in an awkward silence, and it will just fizzle out.

Sorry for the huge post/life story, but I just wanted to vent at the same time as asking my question. Can anyone help me out?

Tl;Dr : IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN LEARN TO TALK TO PEOPLE LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING?