Americans (and people from other countries), what do you expect from foreigners during conversations?

Long story short: my classmate and I were waiting for our turn to present our research report while watching other researchers do their job. One group of researchers presented about “how to communicate effectively with Americans”. They claimed that based on their research results, American who visit my country are more interested in “social news” and “culture of the country” than “personal information”. And they are more engaged in conversations if the speakers are “sociable, talkative and knowledgeable”.

So just curious, imagine you are visiting a different country and you come across a native inhabitant, what do you expect from them when you talk to them, from the topic to the way they talk?

This question is for Americans, but I’m also curious of opinion from people outside America too.