I need 'emotional intelligence' - that's what they call it.

So I'm pretty sure all of you have noticed this already, but in my writing I really need to figure out how to make people relate to each other as people, and not just when they're embodying certain positions. How do I do this without being random or stupid? Also, and I feel this is related, how do I make friends with the people at work, whom I'm only going to see for a month? Not deep friends, just "that's a nice person" kind of friends. Why is it that I can speak to an academic crowd about the ethical future of genetics while wearing a purple pirate coat, but I have a hard time saying "hi" to the other workers passing me moment by moment as I cook french fries?