My thinking is tangential, my obsessive analysis led me to this conclusion. I say this because I do not let people walk away until I release them. So when "people start leaving" I need to try harder.
I like to play "conversational entrapment" (I make up terms, it's my quotability factor), I find it interesting how long you can keep someone in conversation after they say their goodbyes. It is to the point now, that the other person says "OK I am leaving" and I am like "cool, I have to leave too, I am going to..." Hah!! and I have trapped you again.
The real trick is to bait them with their conversational trigger, then sit back, listen, and smirk. Once they notice the trap (people i talk to notice, but i still get them every time, lol),
"aargh, STOP it"
"stop what?"
"u know, u r doing that on purpose"
"am I?"
"I am leaving for real this time"
"where r u going?"
"I told you, you know I have to ..."
*smirk*
It's a skill, the ability to talk about basically nothing for long periods of time. Most conversations are about nothing, the purpose more so communion rather than communication.