How do I prep for a face-to-face chat without freezing up?

I’m meeting a Bulgarian native in Sofia next month and I’m terrified I’ll just go silent. I’ve been reading a bit of Cyrillic, but my spoken output is non-existent. I’m thinking of using Chickytutor.com to simulate a first conversation and get feedback on my confidence, but are there specific phrases I should drill to keep the conversation moving when I inevitably panic?