Yes And, No But

This one's a quickie. When you play a game, really what you're doing is improvisational theater. Well, unless you're one of those people who does all RPing in the third person in which case I really feel bad for you. Improvisational theater has so much nuance that people teach classes on being good at it, but we're just going to talk about one big rule that'll make your games run smoother if everyone is mature enough to handle it.

One of the cardinal rules of improv is called "Yes And". Basically it means you should accept what the other actor has defined, and then expand upon it. What it's saying is that you should work with the other person instead of against them. If someone shows up with a gun, it's not 'funny' to yell "WHY ARE YOU HOLDING A FISH", it's just random and dumb. It'd be much better to ask why there's water leaking from their gun, or comment that it's creepy that it's looking at you.

When you run a game, it's natural for players to ask the GM for permission for most things. It's not bad, it's just the way shit goes. In a normal game, the flow sometimes stutters because of questions like this. "Can I buy a tankard of ale?" "Are there leaves here I can stuff under my bedroll to make it softer?" and then usually followed by "Okay, I'm gonna do that.". Basically,  if it's an inconsequential action done for roleplay, it's way easier to just let the player handle it. You're building a story together, after all.

Obviously the GM might have to jump in and require a skill check, or even say no. Try not to say no directly, though, unless you have to. If you've described the scene well enough, you'll hardly ever have to say 'no' anyway. There also might be some jackass somewhere trying to use "Yes And" to get ahead somehow. Stop this using the 'and' part of the rule. "Look guys, I found an expensive necklace!" could be replied to with "Yes, And it's costume jewelry. There must have been a play performance in this area.". Ideally you could even expand on this play performance and turn it into a plot hook. Of course, most trolls or munchkins won't understand subtle hints, so if you've got a True Final Form Jerkass in your game, talking to them out of character is the only thing that's going to work. In fact, always keep that in mind just in case I never get around to talking about it: Most of the time, direct confrontation is the only thing that's going to work.

I hope I don't need to tell you that this rule is only to speed up inconsequential interactions. Yes And is really not for anything that would require a skill check, or something that would end in an important item, solution or action. "Hey guys, look! I found a backpack!" is a lot different than "Hey guys, look! I found a plank we can put over the pit!".You also shouldn't fight to redefine something the GM's said about the scene. They ARE the GM, and they DO get first dibs. It should be obvious what you can do and what you should still ask the GM about, but there might be a little bit of growing pains if you don't know each other too well. In fact, if it's a relatively new group, the GM might want to bring this up after a few sessions.

A special mention goes to the reverse of Yes And called negating or, a term I prefer, No But. This is basically when someone, usually the GM, immediately rewrites something someone has just defined, such as someone saying "Look at this white cat I've found." then the GM immediately saying "Actually it's black.". Using this to try to control the scene entirely by yourself isn't amusing or helpful, it's lame. Using it(or even the normal Yes And methods) to mess with people because you think it's funny is worse. This is a team effort, and either everyone should feel like their input matters, or you should just go back to the stuttering pace and constant GM questions. Negating can make other characters look foolish or stupid, which is never something that you should place on a character that's not yours. Most people want their character to feel cool, and even the people who wish to play a bumbling idiot would probably rather control their own pace.

That's not to say you should be scared of direct interactions with people. Find what they're comfortable with, and always use Yes And. Oh, and really try not to start a yes-and-ing war with someone because then you'll be there all night.