The Exit Line
Leave any conversation cleanly, without the awkward hovering.
Most people stay in a conversation long past the end because leaving needs a sentence they have not prepared. The last two minutes then undo the previous twenty.
The awkwardness comes from not knowing whether leaving is a rejection. A line that names something good, says you are going, and offers a next step clears that up in one move. Because you prepared it, you can say it warmly instead of visibly hunting for words.
Close the loop first
Refer to something specific they said. It marks the conversation as finished rather than cut short.
Say you are going, without inventing a reason
That you are getting a drink, or saying hello to someone. Made-up urgency is obvious and unnecessary.
Offer a next step if you want one
A message, an introduction, a follow-up. Only if you mean it. An offer you do not keep costs more than no offer.
Then actually go
Hanging around after the exit line is where all the awkwardness comes from. Say it and move.
Go deeper
What the paid version adds to this one.
Versions for one-to-one, groups and video calls, which work differently
How to leave a conversation you actually want to continue later
How to leave when the other person is not finished, without damage
Six settings filmed, including the ones that stay uncomfortable