Come on man, what have you learned in your 98 years of life? You must be a slow learner. =P
Either she's really into you and you make her nervous and doesn't know how to get over her butterflyes and is wishing you would understand this and not hold it against her, but really digs you; or, she is really not interested, or was, but then didn't feel it, or your convo styles are just not initially compatible.
I suggest you make sure you become a better communicator/interviewer, not in the sense where you pop a bunch of questions, but in a way where you get her to open up, and build from that. YOu will know you are good when she starts answering and you build a thread, then it quickly becomes another conversational thread, and another, and you feel you can always go back and resume a previous one; at that point you've connected and could talk about a number of things.
As prometheus stated, you cannot skip steps. I would only attempt escalation when she's being responsive, for example, right after she is laughing or has touched you in an affectionate way, as in touchign your arm, shoulder, or responding to a tease.