Dear Jacquelyn,

What do you do when a friend has time to kill and keeps you on the phone for an extended period of time? How do you end the conversation politely without sounding rude?

Dear Reader,

In a perfect world, the caller would ask you if it’s a good time to talk.

This would allow you the opportunity to either take the call or reschedule for a later time.

Simply letting the caller know from the beginning that you have time to talk or not would prevent this uncomfortable scenario.

So, the caller didn’t ask if it’s a good time. Now what?

You’re caught on the phone with a long-winded friend. Naturally, you don’t want to upset someone and have the friend think there’s something you need to take care of that’s more important than him or her.

There are ways to employ some subtle techniques to end the call without departing from basic etiquette.

Say, “Thank you.” Thanking your caller is a great prelude to saying, “Goodbye.”

It is an effective social queue for closing a conversation. A “thank-you closing” allows you to respectfully validate the other person’s time and input, but also indicate that the dialogue is now complete.

Find the phrasing that works best for your situation. Here is an example: “It’s been great catching up with you. Thanks for calling.”

Another option to try when you sense that the call is going on and on, you could simply say, “I don’t want to keep you. I’m going to let you get back to whatever you were doing.”

Despite your best efforts to handle everything on your to-do list with grace, there are times when we simply can’t linger on the phone.

It’s in those moments that a phone call comes in from someone who just wants to ramble. Don’t worry, with a little help, you can sign off gracefully.

Ending a call needs to be done the right way. It’s all about being as polite as possible to the caller.

Respectfully Yours,

Jacquelyn

Have a question? Email: jacquelyn@ptd.net. Jacquelyn Youst is owner of the Pennsylvania Academy of Protocol, specializing in etiquette training.

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&Copy;2022 Jacquelyn Youst