After coaching lots of people on this (myself included), I’ve boiled it down to four simple questions that will get you close to most people in a matter of minutes. For this to work, you need to open up yourself and reveal your own answers to these questions along the way. A free two-way flow creates good trust, knowledge of the other and a basis for friendship or beyond. Try it out on some strangers and tell me how it went. But remember, be direct, blunt even – no beating around the bush:
- If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?
- What are your 5 strongest sides?
- What are your 2 weakest sides?
- What have you done in life that has given you the worst conscience?
Get answers to these and share your own and you will both know if you have a potential friend right there.
Geir Isene - uncut 
I do not understand pretty well the number five. May it mean, you will ask for the worst overts committed by some stranger persons in just a matter of minutes?.
Anyway, for me, a big smile and an appropiate acknowledgement does wonders :-D. I guess that a comm course focusing on teaching how to give appropiate acks would do wonders.