Is Your Presentation Style Too Formal for U.S. Audiences?

Dr. Elke Framson
11 minutes ago
3 min read

You may feel that you’re coming across as polished and professional. Your U.S. audience, however, sees you as stiff and distant. There’s a cultural mismatch — and as a result, your message fails to land. In this post, I share five signs that your presentation style is too formal.

A woman's suit jacket and the words "too formal" above it.

Why Is Too Much Formality a Problem in the U.S.?

Better too formal than too informal — as an international professional, you may be tempted to play it safe. And it’s understandable why: You are more likely to alienate your listeners with excessive informality than formality. But if you want to connect with people and get your ideas heard, playing it safe is not good enough. Here’s why:

Formality can create distance between you and your audience. Even though you intend to be respectful, people may find you aloof and unfriendly. This makes it hard to build relationships and trust.

Too much formality can also weaken the impact of your message. Formal presentations often focus on facts and numbers. They primarily appeal to rational thinking. The absence of personal elements and emotions can make you less relatable, persuasive, and memorable.

How Can You Tell Your Presentation Is Too Formal?

Here are five signs of excessive formality.

1. Stiff Opening

You start with formal greetings and introduce yourself with titles and credentials to demonstrate your expertise.
You read your title slide word-for-word.
There’s nothing exciting or surprising to captivate your audience in the early moments of your presentation.

2. Written Language

Written language includes long complex structures, formal transition phrases, and elevated, even academic, vocabulary. Many of your sentences are in passive voice.
Instead of using the direct pronouns “you” or “we” you use impersonal forms such as “one”.
You may also speak without contractions (“I am” instead of “I’m”).

3. Data-Heavy Content

You offer a high level of complexity and go into great detail.
Your slides are dense with text blocks, graphs, and tables, and your bullet points have complete sentences.
You don’t incorporate stories but stick to facts and numbers.

4. Constrained Delivery

You stay behind the podium or conference desk, reading from your notes or the screen instead of moving around.
You don’t smile, keep a serious face throughout the presentation, and avoid interactions with the audience.
Your voice doesn't change in pitch or energy. You also avoid showing too much excitement or humor.

5. Q&A Approach

You wait until the very end to allow questions — and you may secretly hope that none will come.
You see questions as a challenge rather than a way to engage in a conversation.
You end Q&A as quickly as possible.

As an international professional, you are shaped by your own culture's communication style. Your presentation style may also end up being too formal, simply because you’re not sure about the right tone and how to achieve it.

What Americans Expect: Professional-Conversational Style

Americans expect an engaging and interactive presentation style. They like a presenter who is responsive to their cues and pulls them in.

Don’t try to impress your U.S. audience with complex content and academic vocabulary. To connect with them and gain their respect and trust, you must come across as competent but accessible, confident but relatable. It’s essential that you demonstrate your expertise through clear and concise explanations not formal credentials.

Part of being professionally conversational is revealing a little bit about yourself. Americans often want to know about the person behind the content. This can be challenging for international professionals who are not used to weaving stories into workplace presentations. The key here is to share without oversharing.

Naturally, there is a spectrum of what’s appropriate.

Presentations to the board of directors, investor pitches, or first-time meetings with important clients call for more formality. Certain industries, such as finance or law, also tend to be more formal. More casual situations include internal team meetings or follow-up presentations to existing clients. Tech and creative industries are more informal. Audience age and regional differences can also play a role.

When presenting in the U.S., avoid the far-end poles of the spectrum: very formal and very informal. Presentations are neither lectures from a podium nor chats with friends at the bar. They are intelligent conversations with colleagues or partners. Professional-conversational is the sweet spot between too formal and too casual.

Understanding the nuances can be challenging. Reach out to me if you need help refining your presentation style for the U.S. I would love to share my experience and expertise with you. Contact me for a free 20-minute consultation on your goals!