Communicative functions: Interacting with others

Using formulaic expressions

Ending a conversation (pre-closing, closing)

When we interact with others, we are building a relationship with them. There are different kinds of relationships, for example, a relationship between friends, a relationship between a customer and a sales person, a relationship between family members. The way we end a conversation depends on this relationship.

Here is a simple closing at the end of a short shopping interaction. The closing is an expression of thanks:

		Can I have these please?
		Yes of course. This one is ten dollars and fifty for this. Sixty all together. Thank you
		Thank you

Here is the closing of a conversation between a child and her friend's mother. The speakers use expressions such as See you then and Bye to close the conversation:

	I'll see you then
	See you then. OK then bye
	Bye

If we close a conversation too quickly, other speakers may think we are impolite or angry. For this reason we often close a conversation in three stages. 

Pre-closing	STAGE 1	We say we have to go now:
	STAGE 2	We give a reason:
Closing	STAGE 3	We say goodbye:

When the relationship between the speakers is informal we close a conversation with expressions such as the following:

Bye
See you
See you later
I'll see you then
So long

When the relationship between the speakers is formal we usually close the conversation using the complete expression Goodbye. 

For more information about closing a conversation, see:

Text types: Texts for social interaction: Overview: Greetings and closings