Communicating with tutors: exiting conversations
time to complete: 10 minutes
Finally, we will look at some other functions that are useful when exiting a conversation with your tutor. You probably have a set time for your meeting that you have to adhere to, but sometimes you might finish earlier or run over (= take more time than planned). In either case, your tutor will indicate that the tutorial is coming or has to come to an end. Have a look below at some of the things they might say:
- Anyway, it was good to catch up with you.
- Anyway, I’m afraid that’s all the time we’ve got.
- So, let’s recap what we’ve talked about today.
- So, I’ll send you a summary of the points we covered.
- So, one last thing to do is…
- Anyway, let’s arrange our next meeting.
- We’ve got another five minutes. Is there anything else you would like to check with me?
- I’m afraid we’re running over and I’ve got another tutorial starting shortly.
So, to exit your conversation with your tutor gracefully, you can express your gratitude, indicate that you need to leave, and make closing remarks:
Indicating what you need to do / where you need to go
- If you’ll excuse me, I need to…
- I am heading to a class right now,…
- I have to get to a meeting by 3:00 p.m., but…
- Forgive me for being in a rush, but I am really late for an appointment.
- I’ve got to get to a seminar by 2:00 p.m.
- I have a class at 1:00 p.m., so please excuse me for rushing.
Adapted from Huang (2010, p.17)
Expressing gratitude
- Thank you very much for your advice/suggestions.
- I am very grateful for your advice.
- I (greatly) appreciate your guidance.
- I really appreciate the time that you have taken to..
- As always, I appreciate your expert comments and advice.
- Thank you for taking the time to read my paper and for your valuable/insightful feedback.
- Thanks so much for your helpful advice about..
- Thank you once again for taking the time to speak/meet with me today.
Adapted from Huang (2010, p.18)
Closing remarks
- Thank you again. Bye
- Thanks again. I’ll see you in class.
- I’ll see you soon. Take care.
- I’ll talk to you in a few weeks. Bye-bye.
- I’ll be in touch. Goodbye.
- See you soon. Have a good weekend.
- Talk to you later. Have a nice day.
Now, complete the following task to do some practice.
Task: Drag and drop the words to rearrange each phrase/sentence into its correct order.