RPGCentric » Blog Archive » You’re so GM and you don’t even know it

You’re so GM and you don’t even know it

A little background: 14 years ago, my boss looked at me and said, “Airman Law, (I was in the Air Force at the time) you’re going to teach classes.” Needless to say, I was petrified. They threw me into a course called “The Principles of Training” and, after an excruciating 8-hours of standing in front of others and trying not to throw up, I found that I actually had a knack for it. Fast forward 14 years and I’m still doing it for a living, although I’m not in the Air Force anymore, and I love every minute of my day.

So why did I tell you all this? Because I’ve seen too many GM’s who get really nervous behind the screen or players who don’t want to GM simply because they don’t like the pressure of speaking before their group. I’ve decided to give some tips on getting over your fear or, at the very least, speaking better before an audience.

1. Don’t over-prepare.

The reason this is number one is because I think it’s the most important and relatively simple. Don’t over-prepare. Let’s say I’m going to run my players through an adventure. I know my starting point (A) and my ending point (B). I know the characters involved and I know the basic storyline. But when I start to prepare so much that I know the minutiae of the plot, that’s when any little thing can throw me off, causing me to “um” and “ah” a lot and making me nervously explain what occurs next because I’m not only trying to tell the players what is happening, I’m trying to rationalize, in my head, how this is going to change the entire adventure. It’s just not worth it. Know the basics and have your notes in front of you. Then you’ll be able to just “go with the flow” easier.

2. Allow yourself to pause.

The reason people throw in “um” and “ah” a lot is because people, in general, hate silence when they’re talking to someone else. They think it’s a bad thing. If someone’s not talking, then something is wrong. That couldn’t be further from the truth. If you need to think about something, then say “hold on a second,” or just stay silent for a few seconds, and think about it. Look at your notes. Try to figure out the best course of action. Don’t stumble across your words; just stop talking and focus your attention on letting the player know what’s happening.

3. Don’t use the same word or phrase over and over again.

I used to use one word constantly when I taught: basically. Whenever I would explain something, I would start with “basically” and go from there. After a while, I even hated when I said it. If you find yourself doing something like this, you need to ween yourself out of the habit. Find other ways of phrasing your explanations. If you need a new word to start with, grab a thesaurus.

4. Eye contact is important.

When you speak directly to someone, look them in the eye. When describing a scene to the group, make sure you scan your players and make eye contact with each and every one of them. I played with a DM who would only look at one other player when describing anything to the group. It always made me feel that I was less important to the DM than the other player. Don’t let that happen to you.

5. Mistakes happen.

Sometimes you’re going to say the wrong thing. Don’t let it throw you. Acknowledge that you made a mistake and move on.

6. Stand up.

I hate sitting down when I’m teaching. I also hate sitting when I’m DMing. By standing, you allow yourself room to be more animated. This can make the session more exciting for everyone.

7. Relax.

Your group is not out to get you; they’re there to have fun. So are you. Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.

8. Solicit feedback.

If you’re truly worried about how you come across as a speaker when GMing, then ask your group for feedback. Don’t get mad or nervous if they point out flaws. Thank them for their honesty and then work on your presentation style.

There are other suggestions that I could delve in to, but I think these are the most important and the simplest to work on. Hopefully they’ll be useful to any “nervous GM” out there.

What about you? Do you have any suggestions so you won’t be nervous when speaking in front of your gaming group?

Share With Others:

Posted in: Advice, Gamer Life, RPG

8 Responses to “You’re so GM and you don’t even know it”

Mad Brew February 16th, 2009 at 4:17 PM

Pretty good list of pointers. I know from experience how the military just tosses you into leadership positions, it is sort of like throwing you to the wolves. And I don’t regret one second of it… because I learned a lot (I used to run Charlie Range at Stone Bay Rifle Range, Camp Lejuene; essentially commanding 300 different Marines every week).

I wanted to point out that standing up (whilst everyone else is sitting) also places you as the authority at the table. Having that implied authority can do a lot for maintaining your players’ attention.

I’d also add another point: 9. Repeat. Nothing helps instill confidence than doing a task on a regular basis. Just be weary of forming bad habits, like repeating phrases.

Mad Brew´s last blog post..Scions of Celtic Mythology

Zachary February 16th, 2009 at 7:50 PM

Good post. As a USAF vet myself, I can relate and those are all good tips.

Questing GM February 16th, 2009 at 10:09 PM

I should try standing up sometime.

Aywren February 18th, 2009 at 10:51 PM

Public speaking is NOT my thing. Not one itsy bitsy bit… but I never thought about how that overlaps with GMing. This is a great list of tips to consider for folks like me who, on a daily basis, tend to trip on their own words (much less try to GM something). Thanks for sharing!

Aywren´s last blog post..I’m Kind of a Big Deal (Guild Wars Title)

reveal February 19th, 2009 at 8:06 AM

@Aywren – I think people who aren’t good public speakers but are good GM’s are this way because they are more confident in their GMing abilities. If you transfer that confidence to your public speaking abilities, you’ll be just fine.

VL February 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 PM

In other words, you had a superior officer who probably recognized that you had a knack for training, even if you did not felt at all like it. It’s absolutely useless to try to shoehorn anyone into a job they cannot handle, it would be not for anyone’s interests.

VL´s last blog post..This is _not_ me…

reveal March 1st, 2009 at 3:11 PM

@VL – Have you ever been in the military? I’ve seen plenty of people shoehorned into positions for which they weren’t appropriate. Like the guy who washed out of school for computer operators and was promptly shipped off to become a cop.

VL March 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 AM

The answer is yes, if count military service as being in the military and I didn’t get the position I wanted or were good at. Very often positions are filled with not-so-sound reasons including political expediency, personal biases and for the reason that some position must be filled even if there no nobody suitable for it. So I am aware that people rarely get correct assignments.

It is a lucky fluke that somebody is actually good in their assigned duty but sometimes it does happen.

VL´s last blog post..This is _not_ me…