A really helpful piece of advice from the brilliant Joanna Goddard - I have actually put this into practice recently and it works!
http://cupofjo.com/2015/02/a-trick-for-avoiding-small-talk-2/

BOOK 143: QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T STOP TALKING: SUSAN CAIN

Cain argues that modern Western culture misunderstands and undervalues the traits and capabilities of introverted people, leading to "a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness."

Notable individuals described by Cain as introverts, or whose notability is based on introverted personality characteristics:

Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Marcel Proust, Frédéric Chopin, Charles Darwin, Steve Wozniak, Mother Teresa, Gandhi

Steven Spielberg, J.K. Rowling, Charles Schulz, Bill Gates

Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul

Dale Carnegie, Albert Einstein, Dr. Seuss

Warren Buffett, Al Gore, Larry Page

Charles Schwab

David Letterman, Barbara Walters

Isaac Newton

Pablo Picasso ("Without great solitude, no serious work is possible”)

W. B. Yeats, J. M. Barrie, George Orwell

"Seekers"—Moses, Jesus, Buddha

Johnny Carson, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin

The Wall Street Journal's Philip Delves Broughton reviewed Quiet as "an earnest and enlightening 300-page inquiry into introversion and its uses," described examples of the research and investigations Cain undertook, and closed by stating "Ms. Cain's rich, intelligent book will probably have broad appeal."