On Being Heard

Part of Mastin Academy.

Original Lecture: On being heard

Generally? I don't advocate getting "louder". I might be reasonably charismatic and frequently listened to...but I'm not loud. Not in the sense I think of the word 'loud', anyway. That word invokes connotations of the Fate school of thought, and CAPS LOCK ALLIANCE. If your playstyle is naturally aggressive, sure! That can work for ya. It works for people like kuribo and all that.

...Not so much if you're more reserved. If it's not you, don't try to make it you. You'd probably get eliminated for fakerage regardless of your alignment...because it's not natural; don't force anything. Instead of focusing on being loud, try to have your voice be heard. Being loud is a method of making your voice be heard--but it is not the only one!

Often, it is not the person with the best argument who wins. Nor the loudest player that wins. At least, not in the long-term. (I call the shouting loudly strong-arming, and while strong-arming works for a while as people get pushed into obedience...they always rebel, and bite back hard.)

Most frequently, the player leading the charge is the player who best balances both: someone who works with others actively. They're neither in their own world randomly posting insightful things which're out of touch with the game, nor shoving their reads down others' throats. They're people who, when talking to others, come across as being reasonable individuals that inspire others to want to work together with them.

Thus, the answer isn't to shout more--it's to talk more, TO the players rather than AT them. As town, you work as a team, which requires collaborating in order to win. You need to trust other players. Find a common ground allowing you to work together. And as scum, you need to be able to fake having done the same. Appealing to specific players builds that corroboration, increasing your standing in a game significantly.

Basically, there will be players who are timid and don't interact with others--interact with them! Try to see where they're coming from, explain where you're coming from, and find overlap. In reads, in reasons, ideally in both. Some will try to force others to obey them; neither blindly obey nor disobey; engage them in a conversation. Talk to them, ask about what they see, give what you've observed, and establish common ground.

They might not listen to you...but your effort at trying will look good, if not to the loud player, than to others around them, who see you trying to work with a person that is notoriously difficult to be worked with. And that is something which will gain you allies, maybe not immediately, but in the long-run.

You might see the overlap here and on my lecture on appearing town. There's good reason for that! Both are part of having a strong standing in the town. And the best way to obtain that status is to actually treat players reasonably with respect, as equals you're working with.

If you make it so you're a team (or as scum make it appear that way), you'll quickly find your strength of presence has increased significantly. People don't like eliminating someone who is nice and friendly. I don't dodge miseliminations because I'm an excellent player. I avoid elimination because I make people not want to eliminate me, and critically, to help me eliminate someone else.

It doesn't take much. A little respect, basic cooperation, a desire to seek friendship and form bonds, building a sense of kinship. Put together, it goes a long way in getting scum eliminated. It's not perfect; it will fail. But if you treat everyone as the person they are, acknowledging their skills and stances, you'll often get them to do the same for you. Simple as that! Treat others as you expect to be treated.

And in this case...

If you want others to listen to your reads...listen to theirs!

That's really all it takes.