Reflection for Unit 6: Leave-Taking (on 20th February 2013)

In my opinion, there is a slight difference of leave-taking in formal and informal situation. In formal situation basically there are 4 stages of leave-taking: saying that you have to leave; summarising; expressing appreciation and thanks; and making plans to follow-up. On the other hand, for informal situation you can just say that you are leaving and say that you hope to meet again.

However there are times when you don’t have anything to say so I think the easiest way is to just give them a very big sincere smile. This happens to me quite a lot here and I also give them a slight nod to show my respect.

For me, one of the difficult situations is when you have to leave after visiting a sick person. I would asked myself whether is it the right time for me to leave, should I stay a little longer, and should I tell why I have to leave. Fortunately, the sick person will always understand when his visitors had to leave.