Anybody else have this problem?

[TarionzCousin]

Communication is a cultural phenomenon. We speak in certain patterns that have become ingrained for a multitude of reasons.

If anyone really wants to understand the hows and whys in more detail, I highly recommend the books of Deborah Tannen. There is a reason why [ame="http://www.amazon.com/You-Just-Dont-Understand-Conversation/dp/0060959622/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332380791&sr=1-1"]You Just Don't Understand[/ame] spent almost four years on the New York Times' bestseller list.

Short version: you can improve your listening ability and decrease the amount of time you talk over other people.

 

[The Monster]

The egg could likely do the trick. Good luck, keep us posted on how it goes.

I GM for a very large home group (typically 8-9 people at the table), and run at conventions. I'll roll with a lot of crosstalk/overtalk, but I always try to be alert for a problem like this, where a player seems overwhelmed or overrun by everyone else. The times I notice it most is with new players and 'girlfriend' players (the ones who are just trying it out becuase their SO cajoled them into it).
When a player comes up on the initiative sequence, the most important thing at that moment is that player's talk - declarations, questions, et cetera. For overwhelmed/introverted players, I will simply ignore anything else going on at the moment, and wait for that player to respond. No notes, no die rolls, no 'oh, I forgot...' nothing. I'll even go so far as to take a minute to review the situation, offer options, and offer to answer any questions that player has.

I mentioned new and 'girlfirend' players, becuase I most often confront this kind of thing when the experienced player is telling the other what to do - or even telling me what the character will do. I make it a point to make space for that person to decide and declare things for themselves, and make it clear that what they say is what happens, not what anyone else says. No rudeness involved, just a steady gaze and focus from me. I think I've gotten a very good response: the decisions total newbies make can often be as creative and useful as an old hack's; and when they realize that what they do and say can make a real difference in how things happen - even though they don't know all the rules and cliches and in-jokes - they often get that spark in their eye that shows they've got a glimpse into what is so cool about RPGs. It's one of my favorite aspects of GMing.

 

[Water Bob]

So now short of breaking my group into introverts versus extroverts (which would leave me with two teeny tiny groups) I'm not sure what else to do.

I've certainly experienced this before as a GM. What I do, when I recognize this is happening (otherwise, I usually encourage my players to jump and take the action by the horns) is direct the action myself.

OK, so and so does this....Ferina, what do you want to do?

If people try to talk over that, I'll say, "Hold up. It's Ferina's, turn. Ferina, c'mon now. Jarn just started casting a spell. It's your move. What do you want to do."

Sometimes, to teach the player to act faster, I'll say, "OK, times up. You hesitated." Then, move on to the next player.

If logic doesn't order the actions, then I sometimes just have everyone roll Initiative, even if we're not in combat, using the mechanic as an ordering method to deal with people individually.

I definitely think this is a DM problem--and he's the one that needs to fix it (although more introverted players could try speaking up more often, if they're capable).

 

[Ringlerun]

IME unless you have a tableful of ockers (Australian males) it's usually just the one guy who is overly loud/forceful/dominating.

LOL I'm Australian so all we have is loud overbearing ockers in the group. And still we get that one person who talks over everyone else and just gets louder and louder and louder.

As a GM i use 1 rule when run a game. Everything said at the table is in character. This hopefully makes players think before they start talking. You might have to dish out some harsh treatment but even the most boisterous aussie loud mouth ocker gets the idea after the third character death/imprisonment.

 

[fireinthedust]

Or, you can have an initiative order - in a social scene, have them roll a d20, and add their charisma modifier, and take them highest to lowest. In a puzzle-solving scene, use Intelligence modifiers instead...

Neat solution! While I wouldn't want an official initiative section on a sheet to include every stat, there could be an optional rule for different situations: what comes into play? puzzles, social, speed...

 

[Lwaxy]

About the only real issue for me at the table, yes. Especially when I'm talked over by the very loud folks (I am not good at shouting, my throat aches if I try) and I'm the GM

I have different attempts for different groups. Blowing a whistle, ringing a bell, or, in one case, saying nothing at all anymore until the table fell silent when they noticed I wasn't paying attention to the babble anymore. Then we returned to where *I* left of