While I should be working (and I was, but it wasn't going well, so I stopped), I am visiting around the internets. I was over at Spark's, and she had a post about interviewees. It reminded me of something that confuses me every once in a while: chewing gum etiquette.
A quick recap of the relevant part of her post: One interviewee was chewing gum, and that is bad manners.
I am a gum chewer. I make a point of not chewing gum in professional settings (meetings, interviews, teaching) or when I meet someone new. I do chew it fairly regularly though, and, just as when I eat, chew it with my mouth shut. I used to forget to get rid of my gum a lot when I would teach right after lunch, and one of my older students commented on it in her evaluation instead of just mentioning it to me. I have never forgotten since I read that evaluation!
I actually do not really understand how it is bad manners to chew gum. I would not chew it in the situations I mentioned above, because it is distracting and can make you difficult to understand. I guess in those cases, I think it would be like eating food out of your purse during an interview, and that would be weird. Chewing with your mouth open, gum or food, is always bad manners.
Some people will say to use breath mints, but I find that they only work for about as long as they are in your mouth. Plus, my teeth always feel nasty afterward, even if they are sugar-free. I will chew gum after my morning cup of coffee or lunch to clean my teeth and freshen my breath. I suppose I could be better about brushing my teeth after lunch. Realistically I would not start carrying a tooth brush around with me outside of work just to avoid chewing gum.
Any input? I do think that chewing in a professional or new situation, or chewing gum with your mouth open, are all bad ideas. But when is chewing gum okay?
6 comments:
I've never been much of a gum chewer, but will do so before anything where I might worry about my breath. I don't know when the inappropriate times to chew was taught to me, but somehow I learned it.
I think your analogy is a good one: if it would be inappropriate to eat in a particular situation, it's also a good idea not to chew gum. I just don't like being distracted by a nasty wad of gum shifting around in someone's mouth as they talk to me. It's like talking with your mouth perpetually full, IMHO.
I don't think chewing gum in meetings or interviews works, but other than that I think it's okay.
I actually came up with (well, remembered they existed and then purchased) those listerine strips. THOSE are a good alternative to gum to help with the breath!
I'd forgotten about the listerine strips too. They were so popular for a while, and then it seemed like no one uses them anymore. But they seem like a great alternative.
I try to make a point of eating an altoid right before every lecture and lab. I was always kind of disgusted when someone would have to talk to me really close up and have stinky breath. Coffee breath is particularly gross. yuck.
But I stopped chewing gum when I got braces. So, I don't really know the etiquette. I think part of it might depend on if you are a subtle chewer vs a really vigorous chewer. I don't think it is any worse then say tapping your pencil repeatedly on a table top or some other nervous habit. But we all know how those things can be when you are the one not doing them....
I think if you're supposed to be speaking in professional capacity (which includes job interviews, talking to your coworkers, participating as a student or teacher in a class) then yeah, no gum is appropriate.
If you're just silently watching a movie or listening to a lecture, it's not so bad, perhaps?
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