How does a guy become better at initiating small talk, conversations, and approaching girls? what can he do?

i have an idea. just add me and ill help you with this.

Yes, definitely be the one to make the first move. Every single girl I know would prefer the guy to make the first move over the girl, so you're right on that level.
The first key is, of course, confidence. This is what girls look for first in a guy. What you need to do is fake it if you don't have it! Keep your head high and don't slouch. Don't mumble and don't twitch. You'll already be half way there.
The second key is that you have to approach. You can't be undecided and you can't think too much about it. I always find that my own best flirting comes out when I speak to a guy spontaneously. There's no reason why it shouldn't work on a girl too! Just catch her eye and focus on her when you walk over to her. She'll notice because she'll focus in on the little details. So even if you make your move spontaneously, you have to do it with confidence, poise, and deliberation.
The third key in conversation. So yes, ask her the normal what are you doing here, etc... If she's interested, then she'll try and prolong the conversation and make her answer interesting. You might have to do a bit of talking in the beginning, just to get her warmed up to you though. You can subtly hint that you think she's attractive by saying you came to talk to her because you saw her across the room, etc. She'll like that a lot, but don't lay it on too thick, otherwise she'll think you're just in it for the one night stand. Comment on what ever she's drinking, who she's with, etc, but make sure she knows that she's the only one you're interested in!

Small talk is something that take talent. I for one, hate small talk and try to avoid it at all cost. It's something that needs to be practiced. Seeing as it's a social event you might want to start practicing with friends, relatives or even by yourself. Then, span outward, talking to friends that are girls and eventually potential girlfriends. Talk about class work, work, Ask questions. DO NOT TALK ONLY ABOUT YOURSELF! Girls are not attracted by this. It makes you seem self righteous and conceited. granted I know guys get nervous and all they can think to talk about it themselves, you don't fall into that bad habit. It's trouble. Ask things like, "How's it going?" "Did you see that thing on the news?" " Are you taking English right now?" "I want to see that new movie. HOw about you?" Hope this helps.

have more friends who are girls and try to strike up a conversation with them like what they're interested in or daily news events or something. try making friends.

women are cross between cats and horses
cats because the more you ignore them the more they come around
horses because they move in herds and if you accidentally mess with the wrong one they will trample you
on a side note find the chick on the edge she's most likely to talk to you. If you see one you like at a party wait until she gets a drink and disengages herself form the herd then help her get a drink, horses once isolated are easier to talk to. Women also like complements that into something. aka you look really tan were you at the beach? if "no" then ask if she likes to go to the beach or rather the mountains? and so on
get her talking and she'll be fine
after awhile the group will show up,
STAND YOUR GROUND!
Introduce yourself to the girls and be host to all of them, in other words be a gentleman and when appropriate leave

the girls will love you! and the one you approached will definitely think about this meeting

or
How do you date well?
Practice!Practice!PRACTICE!

Umm well every one needs trial and error and I am not dating any one and I don’t have a problem talking at all to guys if there talking in a nice way and not trying to hook up. If you ask really personal questions at first it kind of turns us off and I hat it win they ask the same question over and over. If you have a friend that’s a girl talk to her and transfer those same principals and talk to the hoot girl next doer and try new things. GOOD LUCK!

i would suggest you just be yourself,and say whatever you think is appropriate..
practicing lines,and flirting will only take you till the first/second date-after that-you would have to talk.
i met a nice guy who is your age,who didn't flirt at all,but talked to me,and I liked him..be a simple,nice guy that you are and you will definitely find a girl who likes you :)
still-you could learn a few flirting techniques..all I am saying is that its not always necessary :)
best of luck

ok I didn't read the whole thing, but depending on the situation, just go up to a girl and make a joke about the weather or whatever is happening.. .or just comment on her outfit or something. I am a pretty awkward person and kind of get uncomfortable when guys compliment me because then I don't know what to do... so.. I don't know... hahah I hope you found this semi-helpful

ok first just walk up to her and complement her it doesn't mean your flirting ust have something to talk about

I was very very bad at talking to women at one time. LOL but not anymore, when talking to women you need to stand out from the rest of the guys. This has became very easy for me now because most men are not very creative. Most men with try to flatter a woman by commenting them on there hair eye's smile and other tacky things that they have all herd before. This screams boring! You want to become different and interesting in the eye's of the woman that you are pursuing. There are many different ways of creating interest in you whit what you say and how you say it. For example, when I am at a bar of social gathering I give the woman that I am interested in some attention but I do not give her my full attention. I still include her friends guys and girls and girls who she dose not even know in a light upbeat conversation. When I do decide to complement the woman I am interested in I will give her the first compliment, on something that she is not use to hearing. Like I like you shoes that is a very classy look or your nails must have taken forever to do. I have even commented on a woman's belt think about it how many guys have said to a woman that is a great looking belt. You can only pull this off if you are considered to have a unique style yourself, if you dress in a sloppy manor most likely you will attract woman who dress in a sloppy manor. Go back to the light upbeat conversation and let some time pass then complement a different woman on something else in front of the woman that you are interested in. What this dose is create competition! Competition is going to be you best friend in getting the woman that you want. Women do not like to think they are getting beat out by another unless that girl you are going for has low self esteem. The two will then go to greater lengths to get your attention and will make your goal much easier because they will be doing all the work from this point. After sometime passes then out of the blue look at the girl who you like smile and take your cell phone out and say " I want to get to know you, what is your number". Look directly at your phone as if you are ready for here to give the number and do not look back up until she gives it to you. After this then say I enjoyed your company tonight but I need to go and meet up with my friends or what ever. Take off from where ever you are and leave her in mystery. Text her the next day saying hi and maybe call the fallowing day after that. Trust me this will work !

If you have any other questions about meeting women one on one or different types of girls I can help you out. I am 29 years old and have been dating since I was 14 I have some experience on this topic.

I hope this helped you out some. Like I said I use to be in your position and it sucked!

The best way to talk to a woman is listen to what they are saying. They will usually talk about crap that doesn't relate to the conversation at all and you will think "why the hell is she telling me this" but it's how they make conversation. Talk to them about themselves and the convo will flow.

You current conversations probably go like this...

You: hey did you have a good day?
Girl: Yeah it wasn't bad. I went to the beach, but it wasn't as good as last summer.
You: Cool. I went to the cinema it was cool.
Girl: Ok... great...

You missed her hooks and tried to force the convo. Try this.

You: hey did you have a good day?
Girl: yeah it wasn't bad. I went to the beach, but it wasn't as good as last summer.
You: How come? What happened last summer? (using her hook to talk about what she wants)
Girl: *Cool story about what happened last summer*
Guy: Seriously? I did that last summer! Hey maybe it was the same beach! (relating to the chick)
Girl: Yeah maybe it was :O
Guy: Nah, I'd remember a nerd like you! :)

See how that flows better? Girls love to talk about themselves. If you are approaching a girl for the first time, its because you want to get to know her, not force her to know about you. Once you engage convo with a girl and relate to what she wants to talk about (she will ALWAYS guide you in the right direction) you find out stuff about her, you can relate to her about it, the conversation flows naturally.

You keep on about small talk in your question, there is no need for small talk. Small talk is something that guys with no conversation skills make. You know? The ones who don't get any? Leave small talk for them.

Practice on all the women..married...older..younger...unattractive...very attractive...white black blue green purple women ...whatever. sooner or later your going to program your mind to thinking its ok to talk to females. At least you'll get that block out of your way.

It's more of a trial-and-error process, it's an never ending way to learn, because there are so many girls out there. I normally talk to girls that I'm not interested in just fine, but when it comes to a girl that I like, then I just start to get nervous. It's kinda like practice in order to be good to talking girls, but there is no systematic way to learn how to speak to girls, because like I said, each girl is unique and different.

Just talk to them, compliment them, just talk about something neutral, not personal (classes, teachers, weather, etc.)

It can be a definite trial-and-error process - my skills at small talk were honed over much time and much practice. I didn't have my first date until I was 20 years old, so I had some catching up to do in that regard when that happened. Basically, I just made more of an effort to talk to girls, whether it was romantic flirting or strictly platonic. At the beginning it was a little tough, but over time I got more practice, and it got easier to the point where the conversation process felt smooth and effortless. So yes, some guys are just born with the "gift of gab", but it is a skill that can be learned over time also. Good luck!