I’ve been friends with this friend for around 3 years. Sometimes conversation comes easy, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Sometimes it feels as if i am initiating and leading all the conversations between us. I’m not the best at talking, and our conversation tends to fall short quickly.

We share a mutual friend that we both often talk to. When myself and this mutual friend talk, my friend mostly does not try to join in on the conversation. It’s hard to reach out when this friend never seems to seek out conversation. I’m not sure if they simply don’t want to talk or if they do but are not comfortable joining the conversation.

What should I do? Should I make more effort to try and include them in the conversation (something that im not very good at) or leave them alone (assuming that’s in their best interest?)