Couple of thoughts on this:
--Listening, smiling, making eye contact are far more important than "conversation skills."
--Speak 20% listen 80%.
--Invite awkward silence during conversations.
--They are ALL weirdos to some degree (love them anyway).
--During early courtship phase dates should be cheap, local, and convenient (i.e.no long distance travel).
I agree. The tip on inviting silence during a conversation is something that is relevant to me. I've noticed constantly talking is just exhausting for both parties, and its something that I feel like dating coaches don't talk about enough. Silence can often times be golden, as the old saying goes.
And yeah, they're all weirdo's to some degree, as am I, but my point is that there just may be no chemistry, or she may be socially awkward. If you go on a date where you're locked into interacting with them and you don't give yourself an easy exit opportunity, things can get very unpleasant fast. This is why you're last bullet is important and relevant to the OP's original question. You don't want to do too much driving on a first date.
Eye contact, listening, etc. are pretty much all aspects of being a good conversationalist IMO.
In any case, Cheap, local, and convenient are good heuristics when planning first dates.