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The Practical GM: Running Games for Quiet Players

When you’re running TTRPGs, you’ll find that some players are quieter than others. There’s a lot of reasons someone might be quiet during a session. Not all of them are bad. However, as a GM, you want to make sure everyone is participating in the game and having fun. Here’s some tips to help make that happen!

When I notice a player is quiet, I like to start with some gentle feedback and encouragement. Usually during Stars and Wishes, I’ll say, “I’d love to see more of [quiet player’s character]! I think they’re really cool.” 

Another strategy is to talk to your quiet player. People engage in games in different ways. For some people, sitting and watching is the type of fun they want to have. In that case, everyone’s having fun, so no further troubleshooting is needed. However, sometimes a player is quiet because there’s a problem that needs to be fixed. Here’s some common problems I’ve seen at my table, and how I addressed them:

Reorganize the table

Some players are quiet because they’re too far away from you. Maybe they can’t hear you well or talk to you as easily as they’d like. Quieter players should sit closer to you. Louder players should sit further away. This helps quieter players stay more engaged when they’re not playing and helps louder players notice and remember to engage with quieter players.

Establish communication expectations

Some players are quiet because, whenever they try to speak, somebody talks over them. If your table has very enthusiastic players or players who like to chat with each other while others are playing, this could cause someone to feel drowned out. 

If this is the case, talk to the whole group and say, “I’d really appreciate it if we could have one person talking at a time, so we’re not talking over each other.“

It’s also important to catch and correct talking over people when it happens. If you accidentally interrupt someone, pause, and say, “sorry, I interrupted you. What were you saying?” If someone’s interrupting over your quiet player, stop them and say, “[name]’s speaking right now. We’ll get to you after they finish.” 

Invite them in

Some players are quiet because they’re shy or new to the game - a gentle push into the pool may be what they need. Have an NPC talk directly to them, or present them with a situation and ask “what do you do?” 

Run a smaller table

This is more a general tip than a specific fix - it’s much harder to bring a quiet player into the game if there’s a lot of people vying for your attention. I try never to have groups larger than 4 people, and 3 is my sweet spot. Obviously, it’s much harder to resize a group once you already have one, but keep this in mind when forming groups.

Set technology expectations

I’ve found that some players become quiet because they go on their phone, tune out the game, and then can’t find a place to jump back in. Some tables don’t allow phones at the table because of this. I generally try to trust my players to moderate their technology use, but if it’s a problem, I talk with them about it. Usually the phone is because they’re having trouble paying attention - note taking, doodling, knitting, chainmail making, and quiet stim toys are all tools players at my table have used to keep themselves occupied and present. 

Conclusion

That’s my collected wisdom on what to do when there’s a quiet player at your table! Obviously, life is weird and squishy and you’re probably going to/have experienced situations outside of those parameters. If you have, I’d love to hear about what happened/how you dealt with it!

Next time: handling real-life conflict at the table!