DEAR MISS MANNERS: During a casual conversation with a co-worker in the break room, another colleague entered in a hurry. We often share friendly banter about a sports team, and a significant event had occurred with the team the night before.
Wanting to make a quick comment to the second co-worker, I excused myself from the first. However, what I thought would be a brief exchange turned into a longer conversation about sports and unrelated work matters, inadvertently leaving the first co-worker out of the conversation.
I did return to them after my conversation ended, offering a sincere apology, which they graciously accepted. I certainly could have chosen not to interrupt my initial conversation in the first place, but was there anything else I could have done to be less rude in this situation?
GENTLE READER: Yes, but let Miss Manners know when she has your attention.
It appears that you were the initiator at every stage, so there were plenty of options. You could, as you said, have continued the first conversation. You could have limited the second conversation, as initially intended. When the second conversation ran long, you could have apologized and ended it. You could have ended both conversations and started a third.
Or, now, here’s a thought: You could have apologized to everyone and gone back to work.