Maybe look for a speed-dating event in your area. I recently participated in one, and it was great fun. You spoke to each person about five minutes, then moved on. In the end you gave the organizers a list of the people you wanted the contact information of, and for each person you'd marked, you got the information if they'd also marked you.

At first, I was at loss at what the heck I was supposed to be saying in order for us to get familiar in five minutes. But although the event only lasted for maybe an hour or so, I thought that by the end of the event, I'd already gotten considerably better at it.