How many times have you met somebody at a social gathering and ran into the most awkward of situations like “Food in the Teeth”? Other than running into a one-night stand within 1 week of the encounter at an event full of clients and business associates, there are very few more awkward situations.
.
What do you do? What do you say? Do you stare at the teeth? Do you keep direct eye contact as to not be rude, when they finally figure out they have had food in their teeth the whole time while at this function? They will hate you and everybody else that they spoke with that did not bring attention to the defect.
HOW TO APPROACH: It is my firm opinion that when encountered with “Food in the Teeth” or FITT for short, your best way to handle the situation is with dead set honesty. “Oh nice to meet you, there is something in your teeth” or “Wow, heard alot about you, but never heard about all the food in your teeth, what is that salad? was it good? it looks amazing!” or better yet “Great to meet you, my wife has told me so much about your work with the homeless, are you saving that piece of food in your teeth for your next food drive?”
All these option are 100% appropriate when running into the ever awkward FITT. So when you encounter FITT at your holiday business function or your next client appreciation dinner, be direct, be forward. The person will thank you for it profusely.
Just think! if you don’t tell them, how many meet and greets will they have to go through with FITT.
Brian Griffin 