Q&A for How to Politely End a Conversation

Come up with a few "ender" statements ahead of time that can wrap up the chat if things get slow. These statements may vary depending on how close you are with the other person.

Be polite and say something polite and cordial. You might say, "I’ve appreciated our time together. Thanks for sharing the stories about your business travels. I’ll keep those lessons in mind on my travels. It’s been great visiting with you."

Stop answering. Say you are going to stop talking now, and focus on relaxing and deep breathing. Tell him/her not to be offended if you don't answer because you are heading into REM.

Ignore the person, walk away, get a friend to save you from the situation, or just kill them with kindness.

Tell them that they have already mentioned the question once, and that you are thinking of your answer.

Politely make an excuse that you have to go somewhere else. Spend some time somewhere else, and he will most likely forget the situation.

Don't be too hung up on what people think you should and shouldn't do. By all means note the warnings and be careful but don't be so stuck to needing their approval that you end up living your life so safely that you do very little at all. People often don't want other people to do things because they can't imagine themselves doing it (lack of imagination), they're too worried for you (overly protective) or they are just plain jealous (their own broken dreams). Explain that you've thought it all through, you know it's the right thing to do, you've heard and appreciated their advice but you've got to go now to get it done. Be out there doing it already!

Say something nice to end the conversation like, "Thanks for talking with me," and then just leave. But make sure you don't do that while they're STILL talking, and try not to be rude.

Ignore the comment, and walk away. This will send a powerful message to them that you're not bothered by it.

Politely tell them that you have to end the conversation. Or just make up an excuse to leave. For example: "Sorry small child, If I don't leave now the magical portal to pony land will close and I won't be able to return to my home."

Tell the people that you are having the conversation with that you need a moment, ask to be excused and exit the conversation.

Just try to politely change topic to what you want to talk about, while still talking about their subject, but slowly leaning into what you want to talk about.

If he is rude, just tell him nicely, "Can you please stop talking like that? I want to be your friend, and I hate getting into fights with you."

Usually, sending a positive, clear response does the trick. "Hey, thanks for all the messages, I appreciate it. You seem like a nice person, and I'd like to get to know you better, but I do feel you're sending me a bit too many messages, so let's take it easy. Let's hang out together sometime next week?" Be firm, but polite and positive. At least as a first step. If they still keep it up after that, it's time to be more strict. "Look, I asked you to not send me so many texts, you're making me feel awkward."

Simply say "thanks for talking to me. Bye!"

Ignoring them and/or being polite is always an option. Kill them with kindness. If you're always nice to someone, they'll eventually realize they're not going to get anywhere by being mean to you. If the situation gets really out of control, you should really tell someone.

It depends on the topic of your conversation. If the person or the conversation is making you uncomfortable because they're saying something offensive or they're making inappropriate comments, be direct and firm. If you just don't like the conversation, it's better to just ease your way out of it by changing the subject or saying you have to go.

Follow the instructions listed in the article above.

The best thing to do is apologize. If you really need to get out of the conversation, make up an excuse. Tell them that you need to be somewhere or you have something important to do.

Have you tried asking them politely? If someone told you to shut up, you probably wouldn't appreciate it. Ask them nicely to please be quiet instead of telling them to shut up.

Just invent some excuse like, "Well, I have to go eat dinner now," or, "I have to get going, I'm meeting a friend."

There are polite ways to do this. Say something like "OK, we've finished [his topic], now let's talk about [your topic]." You really can just outright say this because you're friends. Of course, you can also just straight up tell him: "Look, I feel we're always talking about your interests, but never mine. Let's talk about mine now."

This is what politeness is for. Feel free to say "Good morning, how are you?" with kindness and taking an actual interest in how she is; be the first to say it when you meet. But end it there, and don't share how you are. Phase out, don't listen when she speaks, don't interact with her and don't keep any conversation going. You don't have to ignore her, nor avoid her, just be nothing more than polite and short.

Start wearing ear buds around the house, or just give one word responses in conversation and then go back into your room. The ear buds are great because you can just say, "Sorry, I'm listening to a podcast," or something and you won't appear too rude.

You could just politely ask them if they could lower their voice. If they don't, point out to them that other people don't want to listen to their loud voices and that they're being inconsiderate.

Say please and thank you, use a calm tone of voice, and don't whine or beg.

Someone who is worth your time will respect you enough to stop talking about things that make you uncomfortable or upset, especially after you've asked them to do so. So you need to make it clear. Simply tell them you'd rather not discuss that topic.

Just say you're in a bad mood and dont feel like talking. Works most of the time.

Of course not. It is very rude to say "shut up" to someone and you shouldn't do it.

Try not to get upset. Take deep breaths and listen to what the person is saying. Say you’re sorry and that you won’t do it again.