On the sidelines - when you're stuck amongst people who know each other

[StrawberryRed]

Imagine a scenario where you are with a colleague in their office. You only know them. You pop to get a coffee and they get chatting to a colleague/colleagues whilst you awkwardly wait and can't contribute to their conversation(perhaps not your department).

What do you do? I usually stand and wait like a lemon trying to look open and friendly but feel like a child stood next to the grown ups talking!

Happens to me all the time when I'm talking to a parent at the school gates and someone they know better appears. I normally end up skulking away.

Yes that's the exact type of thing I mean. When you're with someone one on one then a third party joins and you stay - thinking you will be included but then they talk about people/things you don't know so feel awkward and may eventually skulk away. There must be a better way to retain dignity (wrong word perhaps but the skulking feels awkward!).

'Right, I'll leave you guys to it, see you back at work, Bob.'

Would that do the trick? Why would you need to 'skulk'? Walking away from tedious company is the dignified and adult thing to do. Skulking is what you do when you feel like you're breaking rules and trying to keep it quiet, so... whose rules are you playing by? Yours ('I've had enough of this company, I'm going off to get on with my own thing') or theirs ('I'm meant to stay with my friend and they won't like it if I leave, so I'm going to have to sneak away')?

Sometimes I introduce myself. There's always something you can join in with, compliment them on something, ask about something, or just wait and smile like you said.

I wouldn't want to waste time and energy with someone who cold shoulders me out of a conversation. True friends wouldn't do this, read the signs and stay away, you deserve to be respected.

If they’re nice, they’ll draw you into the conversation. If they’re rude enough to not do that, it’s ok to turn and walk away. Just leave.