Goodbye's aren't easy.

Our culture has some odd nuances. One is the telephone goodbye.

Now how many times do you say goodbye on a phone? As a computer geek I would expect the linear answer, once.

This isn't the case in real life:

1-> Alright.

2-> Ok.

3-> Sure.

4-> Thanks.

5-> No problem.

6-> See ya.

7-> For sure.

8-> Bye.

9-> Bye.

[end]

This is hilarious to listen to. We actually have cultural expectations not to end a phone call quickly, lest we sound rude. If we're in a rush, we start off the phone call with the goodbye. Have you ever started a call with "I have to go quickly but..."?

The friend of mine who pointed this out had a solution: "I'm hanging up now." The first time I heard this I thought "You a[click]". But I was left feeling free, ending a phone call a full 30 seconds quicker than I ever had before. I called him right back to thank him.

So try to keep track of how many times you say goodbye on your next phone call. I bet it's more than 3.