While some individuals have difficulty recognizing the appropriate cues to end a conversation, fortunately, there are several tactful strategies to gracefully extricate oneself from such situations without resorting to abruptness or rudeness.
A user took it to the forum, and asked “What’s the best way to wrap up a conversation with someone who will not stop talking?”. Here are the top responses.
HURRY
“Just say ‘sorry to cut you off but I actually gotta run! I’ll talk to you later!’, and walk away immediately”, said one user.
SUDDEN GASP
“Suddenly gasp, yell “My soufflé!”, and dash out of the room”, said one user.
“Say ‘My spinach puffs!’, and leave the room”, said another user.
WALK TOWARDS THE DOOR
“Continue the conversation but start walking toward the door. They should follow you without thinking…then just escort them out the door and voila.
I do this all the time to contractors that come in my shop and have a thousand stories.”, said one user.
SAY WELP
“Slap your knees and say ‘welp’”, said one user.
WALK AWAY
“I had a classmate with autism and when he felt like the conversation was finished he would just walk away. Didn’t matter if you were still talking directly to him. I have an immense amount of respect for that guy.”, said one user.
“When my son was a toddler and we’d put him on the phone with Grandma, he’d talk to her for a few minutes and then say, “I’m done talking to you now” and hand the phone back. I had nothing but respect for him”, said another user.
BE THE ICEBREAKER
“I say something like ‘I am going to let you go now’, or ‘I’ll let you get back to your day’ or if I know a task they’re working on or if they’re eating etc.”, said one user.
RUN
“Point and act like there’s something behind them and when they look away run as fast as you can.”, said one user.
THE PHONE’S BATTERY DIED
“If I’m talking on the phone, I simply hang up and turn my phone off for 7 minutes. Later I say it died.”, said one user.
“The trick is to hang up while YOU are talking, making it seem like you were disconnected”, said another user.
EMERGENCY
“Frantically say you’re sorry you really have to go.”, said one user.
FAKE A CALL
“I don’t know if it’s still around, but there was an android app at one time that would ring your phone in 10 or 30 seconds or something if you pressed the volume button a few times quickly, even if the phone was asleep.
Reach into your pocket, adjust the volume, continue your conversation for a bit, then excuse yourself to take the ‘phone call’”, said one user.
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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.