When one of your guests is going to embarrass herself...?

Question

at your dinner party, like she is determined to tell a painfully long and boring story despite all the attempts to distract her.

You know the situation, when everyone is staring at that guest in disbelief and she is talking and talking, and then nobody knows what to say when she is finally finished? What you as a host usually do? Do you try to prevent it, or do you let your guest make a fool of herself?

Answer 1

as  the  host you  really  can only let them  talk, you cant  really  butt in or  make  the  person  look  foolish  without  risking  your  reputation as  a gracious  host.

if  you  know  the  subject  matter  is  inappropriate you  are  allowed  to  change the  subject,  but  thats all  really.

if you  are  desperate  you  might say  something  like  " Oh I think  youre  wasting your  breath  with  this group, they  arent  really a ( sporting, business, enviromental, religious etc ) crowd"

your  other  guests  wont  mind and  it  saves  face a little bit

Answer 2

You say, "Well yes, that was very interesting...and then what happened...wait dear, we need to take the roast pig out of the oven...could you just hold for a moment I can't wait to hear what you have to say?"

Then bring the pig head with the apple in its mouth out.

Time it just right.

Answer 3

Oh geez, my mother does that ALL THE TIME! I give her "the look", but most of the time I actually have to stop her mid sentence and whisper to her that this is neither the time or place to be so inappropriate.

Answer 4

You just described my mother in law.

Let her go, then when she is finished, cheerfully change the subject.  My brother simply marvels at how well I can steer the attention away from an unpleasant event -- like my mother in law.  You can gracefully succeed with this tactic by smiling and simply saying, a little louder than your usual voice, "Excuse me for changing the subject, but did you hear about ....?"

Works every time, and puts all your guests at ease.

Answer 5

Well, I think I would let her tell the story, and then when she was finished, try and make some sort of relevant comment about it.  I would them promptly move on to another topic!

Is it possible you dislike the story more than everyone else (perhaps b/c you've heard it before) does?  If your guest is enojying herself and trying to add to conversation, just let her.

Take Care :)