How can I liven up a dull conversation?

Answer 1: Learn how to prod and probe well.

You prod and probe to see where possible areas of interest lie and then you follow through and open up those areas. Some people are boring if left to themselves but in the hands of a skilled conversationalist these people  become more interesting than they had ever imagined possible.

There is a need to be pro-active rather than passively reactive. It is not a matter of sitting back and saying, ‘Amuse me.’ It is more a matter of working jointly to see what can be made of a limited knowledge base. (How to Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward de Bono, p 178)