How to Politely Exit a Conversation, According to Sarah Ferguson

She continued, "If you're in British Downton Abbey, you get to a point when you say, 'One second, could you hold that thought because I’ve just got to go and see Fred over there because I’ve got to give him a message.' And by the time that the person you’re talking to has gone onto the next subject, they’ve forgotten that you were coming back to tell something about Fred."

As for situations where you're pulled into a conversation that you'd rather not engage in, Fergie suggests "throwing the ball" to someone else. She said, “If someone asks you a tricky question that you don’t want to answer, say, ‘Oh that’s so interesting, I’ll tell you what, I’m going to throw that question to Matilda. Matilda, what do you think about that question?’ And you’ve thrown the ball again.”