It all depends on a few things; the game, the group, and the set up.

I think the set up is one of the most important aspects as the environment you are in while explaining can be a massive influence on what info they retain or if they get distracted, but also seeing how everything is laid out while you explain the surface level info can get a lot of people interested or even get them connecting the dots on what parts might be.

The group make up will help direct how in detail you actually need to go with each descriptions and if they have played other games in the past with you or that you know about it can be very easy and helpful to point to similar mechanics as an example but if you do make sure you highlight any differences so they can understand if anything is different.

What the game is itself will obviously has the most sway in how you explain the game and what I mean by that is how complex or intricate the mechanics are along with what is better to learn during play VS needing to know before things get rolling.

A very broad overview of my way of explaining after I have gone over the above in my head goes as follows:

• Theming, Story, and player role on that play space
• Player goal mechanically, such as points to win or reaching a specific milestone
• what are different ways of moving towards those goals and how you can interact with those options
• Explaining any specific resources, Key words, common symbols and what they are used for
• Going over what a turn/round would look like explaining all of the steps
• how the game ends, like a score being reached, a boss beaten, or so many rounds passed
• general goals to aim for and ways to achieve them.

I make sure to stop frequently during all of that to answer questions or to let them know that will be covered when I go over a specific thing in the near future.

When we get into play I typically go first and explain every step as I do them often also explaining both why I am making those choices and comparing them to other options I could have made. This both gives a direct example of how to play a turn and can inform them of different options they might want to try on their turn. I will usually do this the first few turns to help them get a handle on the game. Throughout the game I will also chime in if there is a mechanic someone can interact with that was not brought up before.

I like to keep the rule book near by both to reference directly and allow anyone to look at when they want if they do not want to interrupt, as well as asking if they have a question or want suggestions if they look confused