Have you ever experienced a situation when you are in a hurry but your guests just do not want to go away from your office or home? They keep talking and talking about different topics, but your time is running. You have so much work to do, but you can’t do it because you have visitors. What should you do?
The problem is that when your visitor is sitting on a chair or a sofa then he is less likely to leave. If he is sitting on a comfortable sofa then he may forget himself sitting in pleasure. Usually he does not want to waste your time, but he just does not notice how fast the time flies.
If you get your visitor stand up then he is much more likely to leave. Getting him to move his butt wakes him up and he probably understands that he has been visiting you for too long. But how can you get him up from the sofa? You are not going to lift him up. You want to do it in the polite way.
If you are sitting too, then stand up. Often your guest will copy your move sub-consciously. If he stands up then it is easier to send him away. You may conclude your conversation with the phrases like “Before you are going to leave, I will ask you..." or "Next time you come by I will bring you..." In most of the cases your visitor will leave then.
But what if this method will not help? In that case you should not just stand up yourself, but you have move to some other location. You may go to your desk or drawer or copy machine. It shows your visitor that you are busy.
If it still will not help then you may just say that you have no time for him anymore as you have to start doing this or that. It does not have to be an appointment or meeting to attend for you. You can just say that you will start working on a project now or whatever you are going to start doing next.
If the previous measures have not helped then this will guarantee success with 99% probability. If your guest will be still not leaving, then start doing your work and ignore him. Now he will definitely go away.
Try these tactics next time you will encounter a troublesome visitor. Do not let him waste your valuable time.
Kristjan-Olari Leping is a speed reading and time management trainer and associate professor of economics at the University of Tartu, Estonia. I will share my experiences with you and will teach you how to read faster. Visit my website and learn 7 speed reading techniques for free .