Something that I love: when during an interview or conversation, someone asks, "Are you familiar with xx?" (xx can be a game, a person, a situation, a movie, a book, etc.)

It is a conversation opener, instead of a conversation closer. ->

In response, I can say:

Yes, and here are my thoughts.
No, please tell me more!"
A little, but I'd love to hear more.
A little, but xx isn't really for me.

It gives the other person a guideline on ways to interact about xx. ->

Examples of conversation closers:
-When someone starts explaining xx to you even though you're already familiar with or know a lot about xx.
-When someone starts talks about xx, assuming you know as much as they do when maybe you've never even heard of xx. ->

Empathy leads to good conversations:

-Is this person familiar with what I'm talking about, or should I explain it?
-Do they know even more than I do (always possible!) and should I listen instead?
-Are they interested enough in it to talk about it with me? ->

(This post brought to you by a recent interview, in which the person interviewing me did it perfectly. I got to say, "Yes, I know about that game," and we chatted about it. And then I got to say, "No, I don't know that author. Tell me more" and I learned about a new-to-me author!