#055 Talking With Food In Your Mouth

Growing up, I didn't spend an abundance of time with my immediate family as a whole, but the time we typically spent together was at mealtime. If there was anything I learned from my mother about table etiquette, it was this: never talk with food in your mouth.

While I realize that I often blog about inefficiencies and time wasting (especially when it comes to hearing/listening), communication is something that must not be rushed while eating. It is very common in our society to socialize during meals, and I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with this. However, it is completely inappropriate to take a large bite of food and then proceed to start a conversation. Not only is it inappropriate, but it's really difficult to try to make out the words you're trying to say with a mouth full of food! I will likely ask you to repeat yourself anyway, making the process inefficient and totally annoying. I would rather just wait until you're done.

If you and I were sitting down to a meal, and we were carrying on a conversation prior to the meal being served, I would absolutely expect the scene to carry out as follows:

Me: "How was work today?" Take a bite; chew.
You: finish chewing; "It totally sucked; Mike is such an asshole." Take a bite; chew.
Me: finish chewing; "Oh yeah? What happened?" Take another bite; chew.
You: finish chewing; "He’s just a whiny bitch, that's all." Take another bite; chew.
(etc.)

Don't try to combine any of the above chewing / talking combinations. Doing so will only frustrate and enrage the other person (provided that person has manners and uses proper etiquette on a regular basis!).

Also, if I ask you a question while you're eating, I fully expect you to wait to answer my question until after you've cleared all of the food from your mouth. I won't get impatient that you're not answering me; I can clearly see that you’re eating!