Striking up a conversation?

To everyone out there, how do you keep a conversation flowing? I have a bit of an issue when it comes to speaking with people. I've never been much of a conversationalist so speaking to new people fills me with some anxiety. I can be sarcastic, rude, and kind of idiotic when I'm speaking with my close friends and family. I don't feel like I should that way when meet new people as it would be a turn off. So, in an attempt to make myself seem more like a normal person I tone myself down to the point that I'm like a robot, which kills the conversation anyways. So how do I maintain the conversation without toning myself down and keeping the other person interested?

Musicorn thinks that's the way it works but I'll let you know right now She might be right She feeds me bread and drugs She my bestie Go best friend!

Yes drugs https://media.tenor.com/images/3316025213eb737248d200a6fab9c6e3/tenor.gif

I can sometimes get a chat really flowing and sometimes not, but what I do is get the other person talking, so I start asking in to what they like and let them talk about that for a while, ask some questions about it, seem interrested in the topic and just listen, from that point onward it normally just flows