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How to... Leave a party graciously

Arriving at the party is the easy part. When you are ready to leave, exercise tact and always thank the host or hostess before you depart

From How To Do Just About Everything in the Office, in association with eHow (Collins, £9.99)

Steps

1. Wait until the host is not in conversation or caught in the middle of cooking or serving duties.
2. Express your gratitude for the invitation, and compliment the host on one particular aspect of the party.
3. Make a tentative reference to the next time you will see each other. For example, saying 'We should get together for drinks soon' takes the emphasis off your departure.
4. Acknowledge everyone in the room, if possible. If the party is too large to permit this, express a parting gesture to those guests with whom you spent time talking.
5. Make your parting words short and sweet in an attempt to let everyone else get back to the festivities.

Tips
Avoid long and effusive apologies. Others will look upon your departure negatively if you insist on apologising for it.
If the party invitation included an ending time, don't stay too long after the time indicated.

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