Communication is the most important skill. In-game and out-of-game - all members of a team need to be on the same page. Following on from last week's blog I've put together some in-depth pointers on how to be better at communicating 😄

The Basics

Firstly, you need to make sure you have a good setup - a clear microphone, good sensitivity settings and little background noise. A lot of teammates can look past the quality of your microphone, but you can’t have fans blowing, phone static or children screaming in the background.

“Push to talk” is one of the most useful features (Very common at LAN events). It can help you avoid these problems and shows your team you’re making a conscious effort to not hinder their experience. Don’t forget... it's not you suffering, it's your team.

Your Tone of voice matters.

Your mood gives off a vibe and acts as a Double edged sword. You can either feel down and unmotivated, or super hyped and hungry for the win. Either way, it’ll affect your teammates.

Have fun, laugh and enjoy playing. Easing the tension and stress will relax the team and provide a good mind set and increase focus on the game.

Don’t be toxic. There’s a difference between being honest and genuine or being an asshole. It shows a real lack of respect and there’s no better way to demoralise your team!

Body Language

Due to the nature of gaming you don’t get to read your teammates body language that often, but there will be times you meet at LAN or a bootcamp.

When you’re in person, avoid getting too aggressive or defensive. You all want the same things, so being cool, calm and collected will keep you all on track.

The In-Game-Leader

A strong IGL is considered the brain of the team and has to be vocal. They analyse, strategise and come up with the best solutions to tackle in-game problems. However, none of that matters if they don’t have the confidence to speak up and take control of the situation.

“They’re over rotating, so let’s do the strat we planned. We’ll fake them out at A and end up planting on B”  

It’s crucial that the team gives the IGL space to communicate and listen to their calls.

Quality over Quantity

When you call, your team will focus on listening to what you have to say. Having someone who is clear and concise avoids confusion and is much more valuable than someone who waffles on.

“Aww man i just got rekt, but if I had more ammo I would’ve won that fight! Oh by the way, ones at B short… like 10 seconds ago” vs “AWPER B short!”

What you’re saying and how you’re saying it will affect the message that comes across.

“BEHIND YOU BEHIND YOU!”
“... behind you mate”

Compliment each other, get the motivation and passion going. If a teammate makes an insane play or gets that one crucial kill, let them know they did a damn good job.

“That flash was perfect Duff, it was the easiest kill of my life, good job man”

Backseat Gaming

One of the worst habits gamers can develop, no one likes to be micromanaged. It’s demotivating and shows lack of confidence in your teammates.

The player is focussing on their crosshair placement, mini map, killfeed, movement, utility, time left etc. They’re planning on how to play the round out and predict the opponents next play

It’s distracting - It changes the player's thought process. As soon as someone is told they have a grenade left, they stop focussing on what's important and start thinking

“How does my teammate want me to use this nade?”

Even worse, their subconscious takes over and automatically pulls the grenade out - the opponent peeks and kills them (We’ve all seen it 😂).

You cannot gain any extra information by literally spectating someone else. The only calls that should be acceptable are situations in which you feel the player missed the information or it's safe for you to call.

Growth

It’s common to have team chats right after the loss of a match. You need to self reflect and stay open minded.

You shouldn’t listen to them because they’re your teammates, you should listen to them because they might be right in what they’re saying. It doesn’t matter where the good ideas come from, good advice from a Silver 1 is still good advice.

Be transparent. If someone asks for ways to improve they’re looking for your opinion. So be honest and tell them what you think. If you’re timid about it, you’re only making things worse for them.

Off days happen. Having emotional awareness helps knowing what you can and can’t say. It’s ok to take a breather and save the conversation for a later date. If you force a conversation when someone isn’t in the right mindset, it can spiral down and cause even more problems.

Heated debates also happen. In fact, it's one way to learn and develop as a team, challenging each other and playing out of your comfort zones will better you as players because you end up learning more.

The Example

Here's what it looks like when clear communication leads to a round win. Notice how they celebrate and hype each other up going into the next round ^^

Communicate like this with your team and you’ll be well on your way to winning 4 majors! 😉

“If you need to practice your communication and the only thing you’re playing is matchmaking, you’re gonna have a pretty rough time... What I would do, in your situation, is try to find some teammates.” - Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander (Astralis) - Why good comms matter in CS:GO

I’d love to hear your side of things, do you agree or disagree? Or have I missed something? Please pop into our Discord and let me know what you think ^^