When Should You End a Conversation?
To recognize when to end a conversation requires skillfulness. Know that not all conversations are interesting and useful to both the interacting parties. To withdraw from such dialogues that are irrelevant saves you not just the time but it saves your face in front of others too.
Ending a conversation becomes all the more important when the conversation is growing stale or when it is turning dull. To pull back from a conversation may not be necessarily rude; it just depends upon how you prepare yourself to help you recall from such situations. Most people know how to start a conversation but conversational skills are on a real boost when you have also learned, how to skillfully foresee when to end conversations.
Doing it graciously is the next demanding task so that the other parties do not get frustrated. Everyone wants that people must enjoy interacting with them, for which one should probably put a halt when required.
During many instances, the speaker may need to end a conversation sooner than expected. A study conducted by Harvard Research revealed that about more than 67 percent of people wanted to get out of a discussion but they could not do so because of politeness.
Therefore, it is easy to figure out the fact that a large number of people stay long inside a conversation without being able to interpret, how long it takes to end the meeting.
During this time, the listener may not be interrupted for the fear of not hurting the other person’s feelings. On the other hand, there are conversations that seem to end prematurely, leaving the listener urging for more. So, here is a study that gives more insights into such situations and how to conduct them when in such a position.
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The Harvard Experiment
The two experiments were headed by Adam Mastroianni, who is also a student in psychology at Harvard. In the first experiment, 252 strangers were paired up for conversations for up to 45 minutes. In the other experiment, 806 volunteers were asked about their recent interactions with close ones. The conversations from both experiments showed that more than two-thirds of participants thought that the conversation got longer than their desire.
While some wanted conversations to continue, only 2 percent of conversations ended when both sides wanted. So, such conversational disappointments are customary, the majority of the time. Whether they spoke to a stranger or a lover, the outcome was the same.
This dysfunction is a consequence of a common “coordination problem” and that is because people do not express their intention when they want to terminate the discussion. Yet, ending conversations smartly without hurting others is one social art that may require complex moves.
Many discussions are carried out longer simply to avoid offense.
Importantly, the research also suggests that in two-thirds of conversations(among strangers/ loved ones) one person wants to step out early. At times both people also want to stop but do not interrupt, thinking that it may offend the other party.
Findings from the Research
- Most people are too bad at anticipating if the other party to the conversation still wants the discussion to continue or not?
- The conversations get stretched too long, if not for both the participants, it is overextended at least for one.
For entrepreneurs and business leaders, this is relevant information. Business is more about meeting different people and establishing relationships for smoother business and business processes. If people like indulging in conversations with you, it is a business asset. An example is how the people in different businesses want to engage their potential customers, investors, employees into conversations to develop relationships and business outcomes.
The managers ought to quickly take charge of the communications and conversations to manage reorganizations. To maximize the impact of business meetings, the conversations need to be actively designed. Set up a discussion, manage them rigorously, and closing them efficiently ensures clarity in the next steps.
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When to End a Conversation
To be proficient in comprehending when and how to end a conversation, remember just a few things;
- Since the person you are speaking to, may not tell you if he wants the conversation to end soon, stop trying to oblige and continue only when you feel that conversation is interesting and enjoyable. Conversations need to be skillful and the participants need to pick up many cues, immediately and respond.
- It is always better to end a meeting sooner. Because no one can ever be perfect at attempting to know if the other end wants to go on or not; better leave them wanting for another round. The first time you sense, that this could be one right time to leave, go ahead and do so.
- Leaving a discussion sooner can also sound rude, so do not ever pull out from the middle of someone’s story. Look for some polite tactics when you are ready to end.
- Meeting, while a walking strand, is one approach favored by Steve Jobs. This is a good way to a great conversation. While walking around, one is not just getting out of a sedentary sitting arrangement but he is also getting exercise and fresh air. Apart from this, when one gets back to the starting point, the conversation can be presumably ended there and no one feels offended in such a scenario.
- Similarly, calling someone for a meeting over a cup of tea or coffee is another good example of a thoughtful and precise meeting. The conversation automatically seems to end when all the participants’ conversations end.
The final thought here is that it is always good to consider stopping a meeting a little earlier than you do. Come to an end gracefully in a way that the other person probably won’t mind. If the conversation went well between two people try to plan another conversation in the future so that both of you look forward to it.
Keep looking for verbal and non-verbal cues and leave different endpoints to make the conversations apt. While people may have had an entertaining encounter but being in a coordination failure may ruin the interest and importance of the dialogue.
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