I can definitely relate to that with people I don’t know or don’t have much in common with. I’m bad at small talk. I can come off as stand-off ish as well. It takes me a long time and effort to get past that barrier and have real and meaningful conversations. It’s totally different for me with friends and people I have a lot in common with though. It’s no problem at all. I’ll still stutter but I find I don’t really care.