How do I leave a conversation at a work event without seeming rude At Work

There is a formula and it works because it is a known ritual, not because it is clever. Close the loop, state where you are going, go.

Close the loop means say something that marks the conversation as complete rather than interrupted. Good talking to you, or, I am glad you mentioned the boat because I have been thinking about learning to sail. Then the reason, which can be almost anything as long as it is a movement: I am going to grab a drink, I promised I would say hello to someone before they leave, I want to catch the person over there about a thing.

Then the part people skip. Actually leave. Do not hover. The awkwardness people fear is entirely produced by saying the exit line and then standing there for another four minutes.

Strongest version if you like the person: walk them to someone else and introduce them. Nobody has ever been offended by being handed a new conversation.

Worth saying plainly: nobody remembers your exit. They remember the conversation, and mostly they remember whether they enjoyed it. The exit line is a piece of social punctuation, like saying no worries. You are auditing yours because you were there for it, and they were not paying attention to it at all.

Physical excuses beat social ones because they are unarguable. The bar, the food table, the toilet, a phone that needs charging. And go to the place you said you were going, at least for thirty seconds, because being spotted somewhere else immediately is the only version of this that actually reads as rude.

Set a limit before you arrive. I decide I will talk to four people and I let that make the decision for me rather than reading the moment. Takes the judgement out of it.