USA
Doing Business
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Business Meetings
Meetings are generally informal and relaxed.
Participation is expected. A quiet person may be viewed as not being prepared or as having nothing important to contribute.
The agenda is set by the leader, who guides the pace and content of discussions. Agendas are often distributed before a meeting.
Meetings generally start with little or no small talk.
There will be a fixed beginning and ending time and the focus will remain on completing the agenda.
Participants are expected to make their comments brief and to-the-point.
Americans may be blunt when countering ideas that others put forward, and interruptions may be common in an animated discussion.
Expect Americans to ask many questions; they are not ashamed to admit what they do not know.
When Americans say "Yes" or "No" they mean it. "Maybe" means "It might happen"; it does not mean "No".
Meetings will usually end with a summary and a plan of action for the participants to execute. A meeting is only considered successful if a set of actionable items or decisions are agreed upon.
