Have A ‘Conversation Exit Strategy’ To Keep It From Lasting Too Long

Have A ‘Conversation Exit Strategy’ To Keep It From Lasting Too Long

Christmas season means parties, and that means party etiquette. Getting through those conversations is often tough, but ending those conversations can be just as difficult. Designer Jessica Hische suggests you walk into those conversations with an exit strategy ready to go.

Photo by Clément

One of the worst party situations is when you know the conversation needs to end but you’re not sure how to make that happen. Hische has a few different excuses to get out of those too-long conversations:

Discarding Stuff: There will always be something that you have on your person that you suddenly need to get rid of, be it a coat, a bag, a piece of trash in your pocket, or the soiled napkin from party snacks. You can easily use this as a walk-away excuse.

Getting a Drink: You’re probably thinking that this excuse can only be implemented a couple of times without looking like an alcoholic, but there’s always a reason to head to the bar, be it for a fresh drink, a refill, or a glass of water.

Fresh Air: Sometimes you just need a breather.

Something’s Come Up: That smart phone you have in your pocket is just full of excuses for exiting a conversation. It’s a universal truth that the work day doesn’t end at 5pm anymore, and sometimes you just have to go take care of shit for a little bit.

Friends: It’s a party. Parties are for catching up with a ton of people, so you can absolutely use other friends in the room as a reason for ending a current conversation.

The idea here is that you want to read those conversations, watch for signs the conversation is coming to an end, and then get out of there as quickly as possible. If you need a few examples from the tips above, or you need a few more tricks for getting through those holiday parties, head over to Jessica Hische’s post.

Non-Creepy Networking: Party Etiquette [Jessica Hische]


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