I feel your pain comrade. As trite as it sounds, this is definitely something you get better at with practice. Like others here have said, throw in filler words and reactions to show that you're engaged and listening. And consciously practicing what @KiaKaha said below about "active listening" has really helped me too.
Also it pains me to recommend this because its so self help-y and I can't stand that website, but this article actually helped me a lot too: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/social-briefing-7-initiate-small-talk-using-method/
I feel your pain comrade. As trite as it sounds, this is definitely something you get better at with practice. Like others here have said, throw in filler words and reactions to show that you're engaged and listening. And consciously practicing what @KiaKaha said below about "active listening" has really helped me too.
Also it pains me to recommend this because its so self help-y and I can't stand that website, but this article actually helped me a lot too: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/social-briefing-7-initiate-small-talk-using-method/