Explain Narrative Combat Telegraphing to New GMs

New to running fights, you call for initiative and combat becomes dice with no information. This explains telegraphing: feeding players meaningful detail before the roll so combat rewards skill, not luck. You get three techniques with before-and-after examples of what you actually say at the table. The difference between a guessing game and tactics.

Explain the concept of narrative telegraphing in tabletop RPG combat to a new GM who is running {SYSTEM} for the first time. Cover: (1) what telegraphing means: giving players meaningful information through description before dice are rolled, (2) why it matters: how it shifts combat from arbitrary to skill-expressive, (3) three concrete techniques with before-and-after GM speech examples (e.g. describing enemy stance, environment cues, NPC reactions), (4) common mistakes new GMs make such as over-telegraphing or making cues too obscure, and (5) a short exercise the GM can practice solo before their next session. Use plain language, avoid jargon where possible, and keep each section to 3 to 5 sentences. The goal is that after reading this, the GM can apply at least one technique immediately.