I already talked about what rep system GMing is and why it can help you.

I also covered the power of your visual processing and the problems that can solve.

You have more senses than sight, though, and they each work in different ways.

Let’s say you have a problem with sequences. Tracking things all at once is no hassle, but tracking them across time is.

It might be that you struggle with initiative order, effects with duration or timing your events.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, damn, that volcano was supposed to erupt last turn and the ice floe was supposed to stop erupting then too, then you know what I mean.

Or it could be simpler than that. Maybe you had a one-two punch lined up – paralyse them, then hit them while they’re (rolling) at a disadvantage – only to fumble the second bit.

Well, listen up, mate – let’s talk about the power of the audio rep system.

The act of hearing involves processing sequences. To understand language, you can’t just hear what’s happening now. You also need to remember what you just heard, then stitch the two together.

It’s an impressive feat if you think about it.

Spoken language happens across time, never in one moment. An instant of speech is just noise. A series of instances, strung together, carries meaning.

Sounds flow like water.

Someone calls out “Stop!” and you freeze. If you heard those sounds out of order, though, even that simple command comes out either as gibberish or leaving you looking for the kitchenware.

The part of your brain that handles spoken language is great with sequences.

If you struggle with this, here’s your answer. Rather than trying to visualise what needs to happen, tell it to yourself. Speak it through in internal dialogue.

As with the rest of this workshop, this is simple for most of you but you could still use some practice. Some of you already do this a lot – maybe even too much. The rest of you would benefit a lot from practising this.

More than you realise.

Give it a go. It might take some experimenting and tweaking to get it to work. It’s not a magic solution, but it’ll probably help more than you think.