This has come up a few times recently and I’m starting to notice a pattern. I don’t really struggle starting conversations. Small talk, casual chats at work, random comments in line, all fine. The problem seems to be knowing how to exit without it feeling weird.
The moment that made it click happened this week. I ran into someone I know casually and we started chatting. It was a nice conversation, nothing awkward or forced. But after a few minutes, it felt done in my head. I didn’t have anything else to add, but there wasn’t a natural stopping point either. I stood there nodding, half listening, half trying to think of a polite way out. I even glanced at myprize hoping it would give me an excuse, which felt rude, so I didn’t use it. Eventually the conversation just sort of fizzled and we both said okay yeah anyway and walked off. Afterward I kept replaying it, not because anything bad happened, but because I felt unsure. Was I abrupt. Did I overstay. Should I have wrapped it up sooner. It made me realize how much social energy I spend worrying about the ending of interactions.
I’m curious if this is something people actually practice or if everyone just wings it and hopes for the best. If you’re good at cleanly ending conversations without it feeling forced, how did you figure that out?