Hi Scott,

Most people (including women) are pretty friendly when you show a
casual interest in them -- so you might try to think of some questions
in advance that you can ask the women you are interested in. Find out
more about them, what they like to do, etc. They'll probably ask you
some questions in return, so you should also be ready to disclose some
information about yourself. You don't need to be incredibly witty (in
my opinion), just sincere and genuine. Treat the women as you would
want a potential friend to treat you.

You also might try to challenge your negative automatic thoughts. For
example, do you really have NOTHING to say to the women? Or do you
worry that the things you might say will appear stupid/boring/...? If
you can figure out exactly what thoughts are getting in your way,
that's a big step in the right direction. Ask yourself whether these
thoughts are truly rational. You may discover that negative,
irrational thinking patterns are keeping you from experimenting. The
good news is that these thinking patterns can be changed with practice.
If you want more help challenging your thoughts, you can always send
another post to the forum.

good luck!