Some people like small talk and some people really don’t, so it’s not just you. If you’re not bothered by awkwardness you can try moving directly to more serious topics with everyone, and that will super quickly tell you who’s on your same wavelength, but that’s messy. Otherwise it tends to be a little dance. But here’s a thought from one of my older helpers: some people really just love small talk, but other people are using it to determine if it’s safe or worthwhile to talk to you about something real. If you rush through that stuff you will miss out on a lot of great people.