GMing in a crowd

Sometimes folks here wonder, "How do I share a moment with an unfamiliar LG? How do I break the ice?"

Part of it involves treating them like humans instead of shying away. But sometimes crowd dynamics can get everyone talking, and if you don't exclude the girl, she might open up.

Scenario; Dante and two friends are trying to catch an elevator to the lower level of the car-park. It opens and we can see collegiate slacker dude and his collegiate GF. One of Dante's companions notices that its going up. Slacker says, "But eventually it has to come down." Since there aren't that many floors above us, we get in. Along comes a Mother and her blonde LG in pink ( approx 7.)

The college pair are facing front. My friends are flanking me. And I'm in the back with the Mom and the LG. As we get to the top, I crack about taking the scenic route. The LG decides to sit on the floor of the elevator. Her Mother seeing her do this says, "You must be tired." to her.

The Slacker, thinking that she's talking about him says, "Yeah." As the door opens his GF calls him a "Doof" and glances back to give us an apologetic shrug. This amuses the LG. I look at her on the floor and share my appreciation of this with her Mother.

One of my friends says that the elevator will have to stop to let us on at the floor we entered on since we pressed the button. As the door opens to an empty floor we all greet our nonexistent "selves." The LG joins in.

As the elevator lets out on the car-park I see that its trading an outbound blonde LG in pink for an incoming 9 year old blonde in green. I don't get as good a look since this one is partially hidden by her mother.

On our way to the vehicle a Hispanic 12 year old with curly hair, her 8 year old sister with a shorter hair and their Dad nearly walk into me.

But you never know whether an LG will chime-in unless you are friendly to all. It helps to have friends with a silly sense of humor.

Dante