I'd say it all depends on your state of mind. If you can't block out your background thoughts and focus your attention on the person you are talking to, you can only pretend to be sincerely interested in that person. People will notice that you're pretending.
I would recommend you practice on focusing your attention. Try concentrating on what your mother says for two minutes next time she talks to you... from two minutes, move up to four, etc.
Before long, you'll be having hours of sincerely interested conversations
