It is often said that time is money; even if you disagree with this, you surely feel that time is an important asset. Regardless of whether someone believes time to be money or leisure or fun, one thing remains constant: time is important. And even though it might seem funny to figure out how to “end conversations quickly,” it is also true that you sometimes find yourself in conversations you would prefer to keep short. Regardless of whether these conversations occur with a coworker, a neighbor, or a stranger, you will have more of your “time” if you know how to keep these conversations short.
Be polite: Summoning every ounce of politeness you can muster is the best thing you can do when aiming to end a conversation quickly. If you try to end a conversation in a rude or abrupt manner, you may actually end up finding that the conversation drags on even longer! If, on the other hand, you are polite and friendly, it becomes much easier to graciously end the conversation, as your counterpart can leave the conversation feeling fulfilled.
Recognize what people want to talk about: Of course, conversation is supposed to be a back-and-forth exchange between two people, but most people actually only want to talk about one thing: their own self. Allow the other person to tell you all the things they want to tell you as quickly as possible by turning every question they ask back to them, and in this way they will feel fulfilled with the conversation much more quickly.
Know how to graciously finish: Too many people make the mistake of making excuses when they are trying to leave a conversation, and these excuses feel like exactly that: excuses! Instead, you should always end the conversation in the same, short, simple way: tell the person that you enjoyed talking with them, and say that you look forward to catching up with them again in the future.
If you follow these tips, you will be able to consistently keep conversations short when you need to; and what’s more, you will do so in such a way that your conversational counterpart always feels fulfilled!