Business Presentations U.S Talk Topics Questions Answers Time

U.S. business presentations are usually very direct and "to the point" - that is, they don't waste time with things that are not key to the topic. This means that you will not find a lot of theoretical or philosophical information in an American business presentation. They are simple and "straightforward" (not complicated or elaborate). A common expression in U.S. business communication is "less is more" - that is, talking a long time in a presentation is not necessarily better than keeping the presentation brief.

U.S. businesspeople expect presentations to be limited to the key points or ideas you are trying to communicate. They also expect presentations to be "slick" (very professional looking, like a good TV commercial) and well-practiced. Typically, business presentations (and other types of presentations, such as in school) begin by giving a map or guide to people listening. The presentation begins with a list of the topics that you are going to talk about, usually listed on a piece of paper you give to your audience or on a PowerPoint presentation. This is part of the "direct" approach that U.S. business presentations follow.

There is an old expression about giving presentations in English, which includes three steps:

Tell them what you are going to tell them

Tell them

Tell them what you told them

This means that you begin your talk with a quick overview or list of the topics you will talk about. Next, you talk about those topics and give more information about each one. Finally, you do a review or summary of what your main points were.