Grant Cook

Use a simple four-part exit - appreciation, brief reason, future pointer, goodbye. In practice that sounds like, Thanks for the chat. I need to get dinner going and I promised my roommate I'd swap the laundry by 7, but let's catch up another time. Have a good night. Other clean versions: I'm going to head out and finish a couple work things before bedtime. Great talking with you. or I've got about two minutes left, then I have to start cooking. One last thought and I'll let you go. In a small town where you see the same people, routine reasons land well because they are believable and repeatable. Pair the words with an exit signal: take a half step back, angle your body toward your door or the elevator, and put your keys or tote over your shoulder as you speak. Concrete example from my hallway: I set a 7:15 oven timer and when it goes off I say and That's my reminder. I'm going to throw dinner in and clean up. Good to see you, and I'll wave tomorrow. Pitfalls I've hit are asking a new question while leaving, which reopens the conversation, and overexplaining the reason, which invites negotiation. Keep it short and use I statements rather than blaming them. If you know your stamina is low, front-load a boundary at the start with something like, I've only got five minutes, then I have to start dinner, which makes the close feel natural when you use it later.

I accidentally joined a ceramics class thinking it was a plant swap and still left with three numbers and a lopsided bowl. Weeknight classes and Saturday volunteer gigs are golden because everyone's on repeat mode. Start with I'm new and terrible at this, want to be my practice buddy? Then boom, coffee next week and a story about the bowl.