By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer
One of the most common phrases I hear regularly — and am also guilty of saying when bumping into peers throughout campus — is, “We should get lunch sometime.”
I know people say it out of common courtesy, and I don’t expect people to stop using it after reading this article, but let’s be honest with each other. We all know that maybe one out of those 10 times of saying this phrase to someone, you will actually text that person to go get lunch.
It happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I bumped into two people I knew from last semester and had a normal, casual conversation with them. As the end of the talk was approaching, I could feel it, and I was fighting myself not to say it, but the words just left my mouth, and the projection sounded too awkward and forced.
In my defense, this wasn’t the first time I, or they, had said this when we bumped into each other. However, we were all very familiar with the situation, so it hurt even more for me to say this knowing well enough it was never going to happen.
This is the moment I decided that I was never going to use the phrase again, unless I actually meant it.
I encourage people to practice this in their daily encounters. I have found many different ways to end conversations without having to lie to the other person or cringe at myself while walking away.
Here are 10 ways to end conversations that are much better than a lie most people are familiar with.
- “Goodbye.”
- “It was nice seeing you.”
- “Have a good one.”
- “Kind regards.”
- “Take care.”
- “Stay safe.”
- “Have the day you deserve.”
- “Good luck out there.”
- “Make good decisions.”
- “Toodles.”
With this in mind, I do sincerely hope that “we should get lunch sometime” is not often used to end conversations. As college students, we have acquired a large vocabulary to use in the best possible ways. We must find better ways to approach these encounters without leading into false ideas or awkward silence.
