How to have a conversation with a woman, current experience

I'm an introvert by nature, so this the topic of how to effectively converse with women is something I think about and read about. Tonight I had a relatively good experience just talking to women at a Salsa club. This is after more than one year of making an effort to develop these skills. I now tend to look at them and ask myself what the story is behind them. You can't ask that directly, but you can ask a question that's more about the current situation, and then move step by step based on her cues to learning more about her whole story. The more comfortable the woman is, the more information she gives you at each step. And, I always prefer to ask open ended rather than yes or no questions. Each piece of information she mentions is a launch point for a whole new chunk of information. So, there's really a lot of stuff to talk about. I've also learned to talk to some women as friends, whether there's any physical attraction or not, as this establishes me (to everyone in the venue) as a person who interacts. Women characterize your personality not just by how you talk to them, but by how you talk to everybody.

To go to a public gathering, meet new people, and enjoy the conversations without much conscious effort - this is an ideal state. I remember a time when I would say pretty much nothing when put in an environment like this. Now it seems that I can begin to glipse at what it would be to really just have fun with people, however I'm not totally there yet. I like the Salsa venues because they give you something to do other than just talking - dancing, which is a great ice breaker - however ultimately the deep connections come out of the talking.