D&D General How to Reduce Your Own Chatter

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest 7034872
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest 7034872

Guest
Okay, so my party and I had our first session this last Saturday, and it was huge (7.5 hours not counting food, breaks, etc.). I recorded it so I could watch our interactions and especially so I could analyze my own behavior as DM. While much went okay (I did confuse Celestia with Bytopia at one point, though), I noticed I too often interrupted players with descriptive information that I thought important but that I suspect they really didn't need.

Experienced GMs: what tricks have you worked out to stop yourselves from going all motor-mouth? It's easy to spot a player doing it and intervene, but I honestly didn't notice it in myself until I watched the recordings.

Any tips for better self-regulation?
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Adhere strictly to the play loop: (1) The DM describes the environment. (2) The players describe what they want to do. (3) The DM narrates the results of the adventurers' actions (sometimes calling for a roll first). Repeat.

The DM is really only talking during steps 1 and 3 and essentially creating the context for the players to make decisions, then saying what happens when those decisions interact with the context. Then you set up the context again if something has changed. Otherwise, you can safely be quiet.

When setting up the context, I try to limit myself to 3 to 5 sentences, tops. Just enough to lay out the basic scope of options that present themselves. Then ask, "What do you do?" More options may present themselves after the PCs take action. Keep that play loop... uh... looping. Even in combat. Avoid saying what the characters do. Just say what effect what they did has on the situation.

But really the question to examine is what were you being verbose about exactly?
 

But really the question to examine is what were you being verbose about exactly?
My descriptions. I was careful not to make anyone's decisions for them (I hate that), but when players wanted to ask questions or take actions sometimes, I was still going all motor-mouth with my descriptions of this weirdo world I made. I suspect my own anxiety about DMing for the first time and my enthusiasm about this world I've spent so much time on got the better of me, you know? But I also know I talk too much in general, so I'm hoping to find tricks for reining that in at the table.
 

My descriptions. I was careful not to make anyone's decisions for them (I hate that), but when players wanted to ask questions or take actions sometimes, I was still going all motor-mouth with my descriptions of this weirdo world I made. I suspect my own anxiety about DMing for the first time and my enthusiasm about this world I've spent so much time on got the better of me, you know? But I also know I talk too much in general, so I'm hoping to find tricks for reining that in at the table.
Training oneself to be succinct isn't easy, but necessary in both this game and in life. Bullet points instead of boxed text can be useful here (if you typically prepare boxed text). Players need just enough information to make a reasonably informed decision and nothing more. One thing to remember is that establishing the feel and color of a fictional place is done brick by brick over a longer period of time. Small details here and there build upon themselves. No need to get it all out on the front end. People just won't remember it.
 

It starts by doing what you did, becoming aware of it. Once you are aware, and willing to change as you are, you can then implement whatever is necessary for your players to enjoy the game more, if you think it's what is needed.

Don't sweat it too much, though, unless your players have told you that they have a problem with it. For all you know, they might enjoy it too... :)
 

...
Experienced GMs: what tricks have you worked out to stop yourselves from going all motor-mouth? It's easy to spot a player doing it and intervene, but I honestly didn't notice it in myself until I watched the recordings.

Any tips for better self-regulation?
Watch your players. If they're interested, you're doing fine. If they're wandering, you need to spice it up, either by cutting the fat, or by adding evocative storytelling techniques.

I've been rivted by 'Robert Jordan' style DMs that spend 5 minutes using a description of the weave in a carpet we're walking across to set an environment and feel for the game (actual example), and I've ... struggled to follow ... DMs that were using modules and flavor text written by professionals.

Some options to learn how to better capture interest can be found in Matt Colville videos, watching Critical Role, acting videos, and communication videos. The quick list I'd work on first:

1.) Eye contact - Practice getting your eyes off the paper so that you're looking at players more often than at your notes.
2.) Use silence and pacing - We often worry far too much about what we're saying and not enough about how we say it. Slowing your speech, or inserting pauses at the right time, can take a description from sounding like a shopping list to being evocative.
3.) Incorporate all the senses - Talk about sights, smells, sounds, temperatures, etc... Is the humidity making PCs sweaty? If possible, augment the descriptions with lighting, smells, etc... a bit: but don't feel a need to go overboard - use what is handy. When my PCs went to a location with some influences from Morocco, I made a Moroccan snack and fed it to them as they roleplayed a meeting in a tavern. That was likely overboard, but it really set the mood.
4.) Personalize - Keep the PCs in mind and relate the descriptions to their knowledge. If you have a PC with a sailor background, consider where you can relate things to their sailing experience. If the PCs once fought Troglodytes, say that the trash heap reminds you of that smell, although not as intense. If a PC went to 0 hp after a fireball, then remember that when you describe fire and tell them that they have to control an involuntary impulse in response to seeing a big fire as they recall the fireball. Note that what I describe does not take the agency from the player - you give them control of their voluntary responses and the ability to bypass involuntary ones, but it does give them some deeper immersion with emotional attachment.
 

1.) Eye contact - Practice getting your eyes off the paper so that you're looking at players more often than at your notes.

Very good advice here, watching your players will also allow you to see whether they are nodding in approval and drinking in your words or whether they are nodding because they are preparing to fall asleep....
 

Okay, so my party and I had our first session this last Saturday, and it was huge (7.5 hours not counting food, breaks, etc.). I recorded it so I could watch our interactions and especially so I could analyze my own behavior as DM. While much went okay (I did confuse Celestia with Bytopia at one point, though), I noticed I too often interrupted players with descriptive information that I thought important but that I suspect they really didn't need.

Experienced GMs: what tricks have you worked out to stop yourselves from going all motor-mouth? It's easy to spot a player doing it and intervene, but I honestly didn't notice it in myself until I watched the recordings.

Any tips for better self-regulation?
Read the room - if people look bored, anxious, or distracted you should probably let them talk or do something.
 

Adhere strictly to the play loop: (1) The DM describes the environment. (2) The players describe what they want to do. (3) The DM narrates the results of the adventurers' actions (sometimes calling for a roll first). Repeat.

The DM is really only talking during steps 1 and 3 and essentially creating the context for the players to make decisions, then saying what happens when those decisions interact with the context. Then you set up the context again if something has changed. Otherwise, you can safely be quiet.

When setting up the context, I try to limit myself to 3 to 5 sentences, tops. Just enough to lay out the basic scope of options that present themselves. Then ask, "What do you do?" More options may present themselves after the PCs take action. Keep that play loop... uh... looping. Even in combat. Avoid saying what the characters do. Just say what effect what they did has on the situation.

But really the question to examine is what were you being verbose about exactly?
Basically, this.
My descriptions. I was careful not to make anyone's decisions for them (I hate that), but when players wanted to ask questions or take actions sometimes, I was still going all motor-mouth with my descriptions of this weirdo world I made. I suspect my own anxiety about DMing for the first time and my enthusiasm about this world I've spent so much time on got the better of me, you know? But I also know I talk too much in general, so I'm hoping to find tricks for reining that in at the table.
Congrats on taking the plunge. Anxiety is a normal reaction to the juggling act that is DMing for people live and in person.

It's a tough one because the players only know what you tell them, so you have to give them the relevant details. But, as you say, you don't want to just jabber at them.

I think iserith is spot on. Stick with the play loop, answer the players' question so they have the details they need to have the context required to make informed decisions, then shut it. As it were. Infinitely easier said than done. Learning what's necessary and what you can trim takes time.

Look at modules and their block text, call-out text, read-aloud text and find ones that you like, then try to emulate those. Also, look at books, blogs, or articles about writing fiction. Especially how to handle description. Quite often they'll suggest sticking with no more than 3 pieces of information about a given subject (person, painting, room, etc). If it's important, mention it. But the details, the color of someone's hair, eyes, clothes, jewelry, shoes, fingernails, toe jam, etc aren't necessary...unless they are. The flip side is to not only point out the really important stuff because your players will learn that you only mention the important things and immediately know where to go and what to examine closer. It really is a juggling act.

Lastly, it may seem counter-intuitive, but start with the mundane stuff and end with big stuff (monsters, big attention drawing things, etc). This is because if the first thing you say is "28 orcs" then the players won't be listening to a word you say after that. They'll be grabbing their dice and likely already rolling initiative before you've gotten to the part about how they're having a combo book club and knitting circle.
 

I often introduce players to games new to them. Like Traveller for instance. I have a bad happen of trying to fill in every gap I think the players may have. I am just trying to give them a comprehensive and fulfilling experience. So this thread has been helpful to read.
 

Remove ads

Top