English version comes after Japanese.
アメリカ・カナダでは効果的だと思います。初対面の相手と挨拶してすぐのちょっとぎこちないとき、目に入る範囲から何か1つ褒めるといいです。例えば「I like your shirt. It looks good on you」みたいな感じ。話を広げられそうな物が見つかればなお良し。日本だと「いえいえ、そんな」って話終わっちゃったりしますけど、「Thank you. This is my favorite shirt.」とか素直に受けてくれます。
Japanese people aren't used to receiving or giving a compliment. If you did, you made them even more shy and stop talking because they don't know how to respond. End of conversation. I would recommend that you find a common topic to break the ice first. Once you get to know each other, then maybe you can start giving compliments.