How to compliment someone you know nothing about?

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I realized I never compliment people. Ever. I want to change that.

The most urgent situation is a friendly girl who sometimes talks to me. I don't just want to sit there and receive compliments myself, but also give something back. But I just don't know what to say!

I've googled around a bit and found out that you should compliment people on things they are proud of in themselves. But I know almost nothing of this person! I can't just throw out some scripted generic comment about her hairstyle or clothing either (physical appearance in that way is completely irrelevant to me), since that would most likely sound false. And it is especially difficult since we have different genders, which could lead to me coming off as "creepy" or make it seem as if I was hitting on her if I'm not careful enough.

Any suggestions?

Well, I'm not exactly an expert on this, but here were my initial thoughts:
Does she look good to you? Tell her she looks good.
Is she nice to you? Tell her she is a nice person.
If you really know absolutely nothing about her, maybe tell her she seems like an interesting person and you want to get to know her better.

I can think of a couple of tips;

Don't go over-board with the compliments; once every meeting is probably more than enough.

Compliment people on things which they have worked at to acheive e.g. her hairstyle or her jacket. If you praise someone for something that's out of their control (e.g. eye colour) it can make them feel uncomfortable, unless you are in a romantic setting.

If she's wearing a necklace or bracelet, or other jewelery, you can comment on that and ask where she got it from.