A guy at Gen Con in Indy taught me to just let people watch a full turn before explaining the rules
I used to be the guy who rattled off every rule in a big speech before the first card got played, and it always killed the table. Two summers back at Gen Con in Indianapolis this older dude sat down for a game of Ticket to Ride with us and just quietly took his first turn while everyone watched. He said new players learn faster by seeing one real move than by hearing ten minutes of me talking, and he was right. Now I just deal the cards, play my turn out loud, and let the questions come on their own. Anyone else change how they teach games after watching somebody else do it better?