Title's a bit misleading, I mean while speaking to girls. I (22m) do very well initially attracting girls. They all show high IOIs and I'm very rarely the first to initiate physical contact, but for some reason my mind just goes blank when I try to lead a conversation.

It's not like I have a boring life- I go to fun art galleries, go hiking/mountain climbing with friends, speak multiple languages (6!), workout a lot, I work in the arts for a living and in general I'd say I have more hobbies than the average person. But I've been told I'm boring a couple times while speaking to a girl. I can usually get them to talk about themselves a fair bit but just surface level shit. I know social skills are a skill and that's something I'd like to improve. I've seen the interest in a girl gradually fade while we were speaking (she had approached me) and that was just depressing, but I'm young and eager to learn.

I have also decided to go straight edge recently, and even though I'm not looking for a relationship even if I'm around women I want us to enjoy each other's company. I don't want to rely on substances to help me with something I'm not good at. I am very confident in myself, but I've never had a healthy social life since I was a kid, and that's something I'm working on changing.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'd like to be more engaging and exciting to be around. I don't really talk about my hobbies much because sometimes I do feel I come off kinda pretentious, but is that something I should do more of?