Brilliant!!!
Bye-bye.
Well that’ll end a conversation for sure
"Let me get back to my rat-killin … "
Often used in the South. Not that they’re actually killin’ rats, it’s just that there’s stuff to do.
“It was great talking to you, and we’ll talk again soon” is a phrase I sometimes use to end a call. In addition, if someone is a really big talker you could say that you have to go to a meeting soon, and politely end the call.
I think a work situation is an excellent situation to use the line “Well, I need to get back to work” or “the slave pit” or “murdering electrons” or whatever you wish to use. It’s a work call, you’re supposed to be working, you just accomplished the reason for the call, now you have to go to whatever it is that you’re supposed to be doing. You called to get info, now you have to take that info and do something. Or you called to get someone else to do something, they’ve either done it, or they have to go do it. Either way, it’s “We no longer have anything to discuss. I’m going to do something else, and you can too.” But with a pretty facade.
One that can be annoying is the “I’m taking up all your time” or “I’d better let you go”. What if I’m enjoying standing there with you? What if I’m not done but you’re trying to give me the brush off? That just leaves open the “Oh no, don’t go” response. Don’t use it as a passive agressive goodbye. Claim the initiative. “I need to …” rather than “I’m bothering you”. Unless you really are the one bothering them.
Really? That just seems weird to me. See below.
Yes. I get that sometimes when speaking informally off the cuff, you start saying phrases and they kinda mangle together to express the sentiment. They’re not fully constructed sentences before you start speaking, so sometimes awkward things come out. But that is an awkward phrase. “Have a good rest of” is not … elegant. Smooth. Harmonius. It’s awkward. It trundles along rather than gliding smoothly.
Either say “Have a good afternoon/evening/day”, or say “Enjoy the rest of your day” or “I hope the rest of your day is pleasant” or something. But don’t “a good rest of”.
[Quick look at watch] … Wow! It’s beer o’clock already. I’m late for an appointment. Gotta go.
On the phone with friends/family, I say I have to pee (which is generally true).
On the phone with a customer, I tell them what we have agreed the next step/resolution is and if it’s their job I say ‘Keep me posted. Goodbye.’ If it’s mine I will tell them how I will get back to them and when and goodbye.
Face to face, I generally will keep talking to people for a long time. When they are annoying/boring me, I use the bathroom excuse.
(I have a very tiny bladder. I pee like every 30 minutes. Everyone knows this.)
Heh. My brother used to poke an invisible place in the air and say, “End Conversatoin,” as if he were choosing an option in a computer RPG. It worked well.
Today was parent conferences for me, and it’s mostly me talking about kids from my notes. At the end I say, “Well, that was everything I wanted to talk about. Do you have any questions or concerns?” Once those (if any) are resolved, I thank them for coming, reiterate how happy I am to have their child in my class (which happiness is of course a professional obligation, but I’m lucky to have kids that make it easy), and wish them a good weekend.
SlLENCE!!
Have a good one. This can apply to anything, mean anything, and be taken anyway.
Prepare conversation closings in advance. Things like,
“Well, I’m glad we had this chance to talk. I’ll talk to you later. Thanks again.”
Even if nothing was resolved you can say, “Well, in any case, I’m glad we had this talk. I appreciate your _____ (e.g., time, point of view, input). Thank you. Talk to you later.”
In other words, ask yourself what YOU would like to hear, if the other person were ending the call. (The old Golden Rule)
If I’m sitting down, I stand up; if I’m standing up, I sit down (each move with some appropriate words).
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The original poster and the Chilean blob both say that they end the conversation with ‘see you on Tuesday’. A word of caution: in my country (England) ‘C U Next Tuesday’ is a very well understood euphemism for a part of the female anatomy, or an obnoxious person, as in ‘I’ve just met her ,boyfriend, and, between you and me, I think he’s a complete C U Next Tuesday.’ It is also used passive aggressively to someone’s face. So, to end a conversation with ‘C U Next Tuesday’ and then walk off impatiently is liable to cause offence here!
Sorry about my country’s sense of humour.
“Shut the fuck up!” often works.
Oops, I’m furloughed, bye.
“It was a pleasure for you to talk with me.”