Who else hates the loud noise of chewing gum? While this person is having fun by chewing their gum too loud, you may not be comfortable with it and it could be pretty annoying.
You may find this distracting, especially when you’re trying to focus on something essential. It might also be a disturbing noise when you’re trying to rest your head or probably you don’t just like the sound.
Meanwhile, while the person is having so much fun by chewing their gum so loud and isn’t aware of your misery.
There are some ways in which you can politely tell them to stop driving you crazy with those noises. They are techniques you can use in telling someone to enjoy chewing their gum without disturbing you.
10 Ways To Tell Someone Their Chewing Their Gum Too Loud
This is a natural pandemic that pretty much affects everyone. The person doing this could be your partner, coworker, seatmate, roommate, boyfriend, or girlfriend.
When a coworker once did that, I used my headphone because I didn’t want to say anything hurtful.
But it looked like it was her way of enjoying her work as she normally buys gum in bulk and chews all day, so I had to find a way to tell her instead of dying in silence.
The noise may be driving you crazy and you may choose to suffer in silence, but they are alternative ways to address this issue nicely and impartially.
- Make the request informal and light-hearted.
- Make eye contact
- Try humor
- Have a good relationship with the person
- Use sign language
- Try to whisper
- Ask for a private meeting
- Try to talk about your discomfort during casual discussions
- Send a simple text or write a note
- Use a headphone
Make the request informal and light-hearted
A very polite way to tell someone that they are chewing their gum is to make your request light and casual. This may be a tricky conversation, so try to pass the message by not being aggressive.
You can start by saying,
“It may seem weird but try to eat a little more quietly”
You may consider grinning at him or her as you say this to convey that the situation is informal. You can as well say this,
“I’d feel a million times more at ease if you could chew quietly right now”
You can politely explain how the smacking is affecting your ability to concentrate, this would prompt him or her to make a huge effort to stop.
Make eye contact
Making eye contact with the person is a nice way of passing your message without being rude. You might not even need to speak in this situation because your lips and eyes are speaking for you.
You can simply smile and make eye contact right when they’re chewing. This act will simply tell the person that he or she is causing more harm than good.
Sometimes, I just stare at people who are being too loud and some get the message while some may not. For more emphasis, you can go ahead to add, -Gently please or
“Please be quiet”
You must ensure you say these words with a smile to show you are trying not to be rude in any way.
Try humor
You can make a joke out of it while telling him or her. Laughing helps to ease the tension and it also shows you’re not taking the issue too seriously. The conversation may go like this;
“Can you please chew your gum quietly, Ha ha ha, remember my weird thing about loud chewing”
or you can say it this way,
“Arrrgh! I know this might sound ridiculous but I have this weird thing about gum noise, I can’t handle it. Can you do me a favor by chewing quietly when I’m around, thank you”.
These words are supposed to be said with a bit of humor and a joking manner to lighten the atmosphere, as it makes the message light and casual.
Have a good relationship
Having a good relationship with the person is a good way to make them stop chewing their gum too loud.
When you have a very good relationship with a person, you can easily correct them when they’re behaving in a way that isn’t comfortable for you.
Imagine if the person chewing the gum is your best friend or your boyfriend, you can freely tell him to spit it out and you’re sure he or she wouldn’t pick an offense with it.
When you’re on good terms with a person, it is the best opportunity to correct the person and express yourself.
You should also do that politely but he or she may not mind if you’re rude because of the relationship.
Use sign language
Use of this non-verbal form of communication is a great tool to use to tell someone they are chewing their gum too loud.
You can use hand movement, body language, facial expressions, and gestures to pass your messages without anyone noticing what is going on.
You can make eye contact with the person and at the same time shake your head, this would show your disapproval of his or her current behavior and the person may likely adjust.
You can also use your hands to demonstrate a ‘calm down’ sign. This would explain that you want the person to reduce the noise he or she is making with the gum. Using sign language may be applicable when you don’t want to talk.
Try to whisper
Whispering is you not trying to talk too loud but at the same time passing your message. It is you being polite and gentle about the situation.
You can simply whisper a few words into the person’s ear and look back at him or her smiling and that’s all. This method is best done in a working environment or a public place.
You MUST smile after the whisper because you’re requesting that someone change their behavior on your behalf.
It is even possible that you may not know the person or be too close to him or her, but by whispering a few words and smiling afterward, the person would respect your request and act accordingly.
You can simply whisper,
“Sorry, could you chew more quietly” or just say
“Could you eat a little less noisily, please”? in a low voice.
Ask for a private meeting
This can take place in a situation where it’s not just the both of you in the room and there is no way you can say it without being rude. You can request a brief quiet meeting outside. All you need to do is give him or her a private compliment.
You may simply say,
“Do you mind if I briefly visit you outside”
or
“I would like a quick conversation” or
“Please let us see in private”.
While you’re alone with him or her, you can quickly express yourself by saying,
“I’m sorry, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m very sensitive to chewing sounds. Could you keep it down, please”
Or
“I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I’m not cool with your chewing sound. Can you please keep it down, Thank you”.
The politest thing you can do is to say ‘sorry’ to demonstrate that you don’t want to bother them or interrupt their fun or “thank you” to express your gratitude if your request is taken into consideration.
Try to talk about your discomfort during casual discussions
During a casual discussion, you can bring up your discomfort with chewing gum noise. You can try to make the person understand you and try to change. For instance;
Evie: what is it that you hate the most
Jess: I detest chewing noise, especially chewing gum. Please can you keep it down whenever you’re chewing
Evie: Oh really!
Jess: Err … yeah
Evie: Sure I can do it
Jess: Great, thanks!
Send a simple text or write a note
If you have this person’s phone number, you can quickly send a text, just a simple message, or you could write a very short note and pass it to the person with a smile. This is also a way to tell someone about their loud chewing politely.
Use a headphone
A headphone is a great tool used in blocking out loud chewing gum noise. Just put on your headphone and get drowned in the music as you forget about the loud chewing gum noise.
Conclusion
Some people cannot do without chewing gum and the worst is that they may be chewing too loud.
Through, whispering, sign language, humor, eye contact, and other ways outlined in this article you could tell that person that they’re chewing their gum too loud and you’re not so comfortable with it.
In cases where you have to confront the person either privately or by whispering, ensure you do it politely because you’re asking someone to change his or her behavior for you.
