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Have you been at some group social event with someone who doesn't seem to pick up on natural cues that the "night is over?"
Cues like conversations dying, people yawning, attention drifting, venue emptying out. This person will kind of keep talking and exhibiting sort of a general resistance to leaving but not in any specific way.
I entertain in my home frequently. People will stay for breakfast if you let them. If I want everyone out by a certain time I start winding things down 45 minutes beforehand. Tidying up, turning down the music, that sort of thing.
If you're out with someone that doesn't take hints very well then a direct "its time to go home" will usually do it.
Maybe a sign of the times. If folks don't have some piece of electronics in their face, they lose attention and motivation.
Could also be poor listening and "presence" skills. Some only really listen to and pay attention to themselves, despite their best efforts to seem engaged.
Maybe some people are on the boring side?
Maybe people are especially tired on a Friday night, after the rat race, work week, and petty work/life battles?
Maybe there needs to be more stimuli? Music / more music / more lively music, more mood and varying conversation and topics? Meet in different areas / change it up? Serve spicy foods, coffee, tea, Monster drinks? (LOL at that last one)
I tend to be an early nighter these days, but when I host, I want my guests to stay generally. My house sitter, who is a good friend, ended up staying an extra 24 hours at my house after I got back from a trip. I was working in my office and she was on my couch watching movies and I'd come up on my breaks to chat and have a cup of tea with her.
But when my parties in my hometown went late, the dogs would stick around in the thick of it, hoping for food and scritches. They would exhaust themselves eventually, and when they retreated to their shared crate, whoever was left would generally take that as the cue to head home. We used to joke all the time that the party wasn't over until the dogs said it was.
But really if these people are such good friends that they feel comfortable wearing out their welcome, you should feel comfortable saying "Guys, I gotta clean up and go to bed. Thanks for coming over - it was great to see you! How about we go out for lunch next weekend?" or something like that.
Have you seen this in a non-home setting? Like you're with a group of friends out at, say a restaurant or bar and it's like everyone is standing around after last call or after the check is long gone and there's not really specific conversation going on, and there's nothing that's being waited for, just sort of an inability to take the step of saying goodbye and leaving.
It's like I want to scream, "OK, we're done here!" or else get someone to take the lead and decide what we're doing next. I often take the lead just to break the group out of the malaise.
I entertain in my home frequently. People will stay for breakfast if you let them. If I want everyone out by a certain time I start winding things down 45 minutes beforehand. Tidying up, turning down the music, that sort of thing.
If you're out with someone that doesn't take hints very well then a direct "its time to go home" will usually do it.
Yes...some really don't notice hints...
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