I always watched people
taking a lot of time when they were leaving a social function, both formal and
informal. They've stated their desire to leave, but at the very last second,
they launch into another round of conversation or another nibble of the food or
a sip of the drink. Some people even resume conversation after they've shaken hands and
are heading to the door.
I used to believe that
delaying your leave of a function is a sign of courtesy to the host, but the
negative effects often outweigh the benefits. I've watched my parents argue
countless times because one person would take a long time in taking their leave
of a function, while the other waited furiously in the car. I bet this happens
to a lot of other couples as well, and this habit could cause a weak marriage
to collapse.
I've seen people missing
their homeward transport because they were still talking or eating even though
they were supposed to wait at the bus stop 30 minutes ago. Then they had to
inconvenience other people into picking them up or begging the host for a place
to stay the night. That's definitely not a good example of guest etiquette.
People who have a lot of
functions to attend in a day cannot afford to dillydally in leaving, yet a lot
of people do this exact thing and end up not attending the last or farthest functions.
This tarnishes their social reputation; yet they wonder why people aren't
coming to their functions. At worst, delaying your leave of a function
can kill you; if you need to spend hours driving back home after attending a
function, delaying your leave will result in you driving in a tired state and
increases the risk of traffic collision.
Finally, delaying your
departure from a function is a waste of your time. The way I see it, you
should leave on time today so you can socialize again tomorrow.
Brent and Kate McKay over
at the Art of Manliness wrote a very exceptional post on how to leave aroom like a man. However, I believe that women should read the post too and
learn how to exit a room without dillydallying as I've seen a lot of women do
just that. Hopefully the reader, man or woman, will gain something out of it.
Thanks for reading
Botak
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