Roleplaying Advice: Moving the Energy

So I've been GMing a lot of 5th edition D&D lately, and I mean a lot. Three games a week has given me a chance to put a plethora of GMing tips and tricks to the test. After burning out on my hobby worse than ever before, despite feeling like my GMing skills are greater than ever before, I've come to two conclusions: 1) The single most important ingredient to a fun gaming group is the players; 2) What I want out of the hobby is immersion.

To the first point: the players and the group dynamic are so important to getting the fun of a game. Make sure you like the people you play with, that they like each other, and that everyone is able to pick up on and react to the subtle creativity that players give off during a session. Everyone at the table should encourage each other creatively and feed energy into each other, just like in a stage play. The exchange of energy is vital to the success of a group and its game.

Roleplaying is a kind of performance art, and like any performance art, doing it well requires skill gained through practice. Most roleplaying advice is aimed at game masters, who take on the brunt of the work, but the players must also develop and hone their craft. This does not mean memorizing rules and presenting the GM with reams of detailed backstory, though player creativity should always be encouraged. What it means is developing sensitivity to the energy being passed around at the table and helping move that energy when and where it needs to go. Roleplaying is a collaborative art.

You may be wondering how exactly to move energy around a table. The techniques are the same as those used by actors in the theatre: focusing on the speaker, and reacting. 

Focusing moves energy, and reacting creates it. When a player is performing, whether speaking in character, describing an action, making a tough decision, taking a combat turn, or rolling the dice, you can move the energy to that player by actively paying attention to him or her. When something happens to a player, you can create energy by physically or vocally reacting. These two techniques are simple, and if everybody at the table uses them, I guarantee the energy will keep moving.

Most important rule for players: Pay attention, and share the stage.