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

By: VL

VL — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:52:16 +0000

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...

By: reveal

reveal — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:11:00 +0000

@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.

By: VL

VL — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:52:10 +0000

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...

By: reveal

reveal — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:06:39 +0000

@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.

By: Aywren

Aywren — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:51:07 +0000

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)

By: Questing GM

Questing GM — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:09:29 +0000

I should try standing up sometime.

By: Zachary

Zachary — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:50:03 +0000

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

By: Mad Brew

Mad Brew — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:17:27 +0000

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