How do I start praying if I've never really prayed?

"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God" (St. John Damascene; CCC 2559). You do not need special words. You need to show up.

A simple daily plan

1. Pick a time and place. Morning before your phone, or night before bed. Same spot each day.
2. Begin with the Sign of the Cross and one minute of silence. Tell God you are here.
3. Pray the Our Father slowly. Jesus gave it to us; it contains everything (CCC 2761).
4. Talk honestly. Thank Him for something. Tell Him what worries you. Ask for what you need. Say sorry. Use your own words. He is not grading your grammar.
5. Read a little Scripture. A few verses of a Gospel. Ask: what is this saying to me today?
6. Close with a Hail Mary or a Glory Be.

Ten minutes. Every day. That is the whole secret.

When it feels dry. It will. Prayer is not about feelings; it is about faithfulness. St. Teresa of Ávila prayed through eighteen years of dryness. The Catechism says the main battle of prayer is against distraction, dryness, and the temptation to quit (CCC 2729-2733). Stay. Show up anyway. That is prayer.

Grow from there. Add a decade of the Rosary. Go to Mass on Sunday, and eventually a weekday. Try adoration: sitting silently before the Eucharist. Find a confessor. Prayer is a relationship, and relationships deepen with time spent.