Escaping a Mouthful

I met someone at an event who had just filled up their plate with food. He proceeded to introduce himself to me with his mouth full. At one point I'm sure I felt a bit of food fly out of his mouth when he laughed at something I said. How would I politely get myself out of a situation like this?

That horrible moment when you feel a crumb from the mouth of someone you just met, hit the side of your face.

I know it well. Yuk!

It happens. People eat things, People say things. Sometimes they spray things.

At close proximity events, we can sometimes find ourselves in a food filled firing line or on the receiving end of a blast of food breath.

First things first, if you find yourself talking to someone whose eating, take a step back, there is no need to stand so close to someone unless there is a lot of noise, in which case the volume can be your reason to move to a quieter area or make your exit.

Depending on the nature of your personality and how much you want to get to know the other person, there are a couple of things you can do.

Make a point of wiping the offending projectile from your clothing or face, you can even hand a napkin to them and make a joke of it. Say something like "I think you need this more than I do :) "

If they are really chomping away, there is nothing wrong in saying "I'll let you enjoy your food, lets catch up again in a while" or "I've just seen someone I need to speak to over there. I'm going to grab them before they leave, see you in a while"

If you see someone you know walking past, you can grab them and introduce them, an additional person will widen your circle and distance you from projectiles.

Failing that, strategically positioning yourself to stand beside your gastronomic companion instead of in front will get you out of range.

If all else fails, and you really need to speak to this person. Perhaps you can turn to them and say "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Can you spray that again?"