9 Tips On Being A Better Communicator In Overwatch

It seems like every tip to climbing in Overwatch is communication. But how do you go about that? Some players like to focus on themselves and mute out the game. Some players communicate but not effectively. In order to make the most out of the communication advice is to first try it out and and keep practicing. Yes, being a good communicator takes practice. Here are some tips on how to get there.

1. Know abbreviations and terms 

During a competitive game, quick reactions are essential. Saying long drawn out sentences takes up time. Instead of trying to explain what's happening, condense it down to two or so words. If you're going to communicate, you might as well know what you and your teammates are talking about. Here's a small list that you may or may not know:

• Choke - This is a tight or narrow space in which the attacking team must funnel through. Some maps don't have chokes like Eichenwald has. You can create chokes by moving your team before the enemy team can funnel through. This requires a lot of teamwork so don't expect you or your team to execute this properly. 
• CP - Control Point. "CP" and "control point" take about the same amount of time to say. CP is more for people who type instead of using the mic. Saying CP means you need your team's attention on the point or that someone is taking the point. 
• Lit/tagged - Missing HP or severely injured. During skirmishes, someone might call out that Zarya is lit. It means she's low and needs to be focused on. A lot happens during a skirmish and it can all seem like chaos after a prolonged amount of time. Calling out a tagged enemy helps to organize the skirmish and make the most out of a teamfight. This call is especially useful for when you're playing Widow or Hanzo. 
• # Shot/One shot - The number of HP bars left on an enemy. Sometimes this can be called as "Reaper 2" meaning reaper has 50hp. Each bar is 25hp. It's the equivalent to saying lit or tagged, but this is more specific. 
• Peeking - When you peek around a corner without knowing if anyone is there or not. It's dangerous to run in even if there is no enemy there. If you catch an enemy peeking, let the team know because the enemy may or may not have seen you or your allies. 
• Pocket - When someone is receiving full benefits from a support. For example, a Mercy may pocket a Pharah and deciding to heal only Pharah. She may also pocket a Reinhardt and not give heals to anyone else but that one ally. Pockets are dangerous depending on the duo. You'll want to kill the pocket in order to kill the one they are pocketing.
• Camping - When an enemy or your ally sit in one location in order to catch people off guard and kill them, become a hard target, or control a certain part of the map. 
• Head Glitching - This isn't an actual glitch. It's when the enemy has a clear view of the surroundings, but you can't see them--only their head. They can still shoot even though the gun seems to be behind an obstacle. These can be difficult to spot so calling these out are important.
• Main directions: Right, top right, left, top left, behind, front, and bottom are all the directions I use to call an enemy that is caught off guard or flanking. 

This isn't a full list, but these are things that are commonly used in a game. The best way to learn terms is to play and ask! Don't be afraid to ask what something means during a game. It's better to know and work with the team than to guess what's happening.

2. Join and listen

So you're not much of a talker. You have rank anxiety and socializing just puts you on edge. That's okay, it's a valid reason. (Don't be ashamed to be anxious.) Or, you simply don't have a mic. But you still want to help the team somehow. Join in and listen to what your team has to say. Here's what you should absorb during your listen:

• Identify the shot caller. Sometimes there is more than one shot caller, but you have power to decide whose plan will work. Ping "Understood" after a call has been made to let the caller know you are with him or her. 
• Ignore toxic people! It does not help anyone or you to listen to someone rage or tilt because it does affect how you play! If someone is dismantling your team, take a few seconds to mute the person, let the team know you can't hear them, and encourage your team to move on. This is a risky move because it might tilt the person even more, but your team knows you're serious. Some people may even join you and you'll have a better chance. 
• The actual call. There's no point in listening in if you're ignoring calls. The shot caller may call for a push, but Mercy is begging for help behind you. Though Mercy isn't shotcalling, it's still a call--a call for help. Many calls will be made throughout the game. Listen to them and try to help each one out. 
• Synergy. If most of the team is on mic, you can kind of tell who is going to be a team player or not. Synergy plans will be made, such as when people are ulting or holding ults, and all you have to do is ping that you understand and follow through the plan. 

Simply being there and showing your team presence is assuring enough. It takes practice playing with a random team. Your best game as Pharah may not be enough to win the game if you never listened to your Zarya asking to wombo-combo. You would have never known that your Mercy was hiding and ready to rez when you over extended. Sometimes it seems futile when the games you join are full of ragers or people calling useless information. Know that this isn't every game. You might miss out on a win.

3. Know when to back off

Here is where the real practice and discipline comes in. Comp is a heated environment. Arguments and mistakes are bound to happen. Realize your mistakes and where the vibe of the game is going. If you're getting heated with a player know the signs on when to stop:

• When someone in your team asks you to stop or calm down. This is probably the most evident sign that things are not going well in terms of communication. Don't try to get the final word in or get the upper hand. The upper hand is winning the game. 
• When you've stopped playing the game. When you drain all of your energy and focus on this one person who is arguing with you then you become less effective. Your shots won't hit and you'll die more often. A good sign that you're tilting is that everything that happens to you seems to be unlucky. There's no way McCree could've hit you 3-4 times in a row, no way! There's no way in hell you were in range for the D.va ult. If only you had reloaded a millisecond faster and you could of killed Roadhog! It's time to back off, take a deep breath, and ignore all distractions. Mute the guy, he's not going to help you win. 
• When your plans are mistakes. Shotcalling is practice. Sometimes you screw up and lead your team into the worst possible situation. You'll get backlash, anger, and blame. What can you do? You thought it was a great plan, but being a leader is lonely. It'll hurt, but say that you are sorry. You are sorry and you made a mistake. Learn from what just happened. I love people who apologize because they have a much better view of the game than those who blame and nitpick on the things that should have happened but didn't. The team is less likely to surrender if someone else takes the reigns instead of you maintaining power. 

Communicating isn't just a video game thing. It's a human thing, and we all make mistakes or get into arguments. It's how we diffuse the situation that makes us great communicators.

4. What if they don't reply to my calls?

First of all, great job in starting to communicate! Now to address one of the most frustrating things that a caller has to deal with: being ignored. You're putting yourself out there and it sucks to be ignored. So what do you do? Do not scream for the team's attention. When I make calls and I get ignored I repeat it a few times, but if my team isn't hitting my discord targets I try to cater the focus towards what they are most after. If they don't care about the Pharah in the sky, take your discord off or call something else. If they're still ignoring immediate threats, switch. There's only so much you can do when you call your team's attention and you're receiving none. You see the threat that is destroying your team so you have to face it head on. It's risky to detach from your team, but when all else fails, the best thing you can do is solo it. Do not, I repeat, do not say I told you so. If you were correct, and your team suffers from it don't rub it in their face. They're probably already on tilt and it just makes everything worse. Some people might just leave or AFK. That's not what you want to happen as a caller. Being a caller requires people skills and getting on good graces. Avoid being aggressive or even passive aggressive.

5. Language barrier?

Ping, ping, ping. Don't spam ping, but ping. Some foreigners know simple words like ult or push. There's not much you can do with a language barrier, but do not blame it on the lack of communication. There are games where you win without communication or the full participation of your team. Work around the player and understand his or her playstyle. Adjust rather than argue. As a last note on this, don't bully others who don't understand or are fluent in your language. It's just general good manners and etiquette. 

6. Telling your plan

What if your team isn't along with your plan? If they're not with you, the plan has failed and you shouldn't carry on with it. That doesn't mean you can't do it ever again with the team. Keep throwing scenarios until your team finds one they all like. A great plan is one that involves the whole team. However, getting the entire team involved takes great skill. You have to talk to each person as an individual. Plans are easier to execute with smaller amounts of people. A Reinhardt and a Soldier: 76 can pull off a plan that an benefit the team. Plans all come down to synergy and synergy comes from your knowledge of each champion and playstyle. 

7. Know where you fit into the team

Never are you, at any point, the coach of the team. You cannot make anyone do anything. You can only suggest. This is the most important thing I keep in mind when I'm playing comp. Though it may seem like I'm doing much better than the team (and you may have 4-5 gold medals validating your assumption), I am on equal footing with everyone in the game. If I'm the best DPS in my team, ask them who the problem enemy is. If I'm better than my team at killing, I have to help them by removing enemies that hinder their performance or are giving them a hard time. Here's a prime example: My team is losing a king of the hill map and it seemed like no one was dying on the point. I switch to Junkrat knowing the enemy Pharah is a good player. I turn to my Soldier: 76 and I ask him to focus fire on Pharah and I will take care of the enemy on the point. Even though my 76 was struggling, the Pharah didn't become an issue for me and I wiped the enemy team, leading us to a close 3-2 victory. If I know my Junkrat is better than my team or the enemy, I need my team to give me the upper hand. If you're much better at healing, hiding, and reviving, politely ask the Mercy to switch with you. On another note, I love flexing or taking the fill position instead of insta-locking because it gives my team the chance to play what they are good at and I know am confident in all roles. If all 6 players played the hero they were best at, the game goes smoothly. Be aware of your actual skill versus what you think your skill is. On the opposite side, if you or your team feel like you're not performing as well as you need to, switch. That's the wonder of Overwatch. If it isn't working you can try different and new things. Even if it's your first Reinhardt game, playing safe and do what your team needs makes all the difference to them.

8. Asking someone to switch their character or playstyle

In Overwatch, this is frustrating when they don't switch. If your team refuses to switch, you're the only person you know 100% will switch. Instead of focusing on the bad parts of your team, switch to highlight what small goodness they have. One healer, three tanks? Ask someone to switch. No one switches to help you heal? Change your playstyle or switch to a different healer. Here's a risky plan: switch out of healer. Force your team to play healer. I rarely do this because during the game, if they haven't payed attention to my calls, chances that they'll notice they have no healer are very low. But in the chance that they do notice, you've changed the comp into what you think is the best. Again, this is risky because the tips above mention mistakes you make. Your idea of a comp may not be the best and will completely backfire on you. This tip also requires practice because it calls for you to suck it up, and switch. Or, it forces you to play flex. The best thing to do with a team that doesn't react or switch things up is to be the person who reacts. Suggest things. If you notice a flaw in the enemy (such as their Widow has terrible aim) just call it out. Give it some time and then you can take it upon yourself to pick weaknesses out. Overwatch is a team game, but sometimes you gotta carry.

9. Shotcall

Follow your own shot calls. If you're not confident in your own calls, refrain from making them. Shotcalling requires game knowledge. Often times, the Lucio is shotcaller because of his ability to move the team from one place to another. He needs to know the map, his team, and the strategies most often used in that map. Do not flood your team with useless information. Useless information could count as information that the team has access on. However, do keep the information flowing. Narrating the entire game doesn't help. Call out things that matter like when a Genji flanks the back or when your ultimate is ready. You are not the team coach, but you are the facilitator.

Conclusion

Communicating is a skill that helps you advance to higher gameplay. Keep in mind that you don't have to be the center of all the calls in order to be a great communicator. Simply being present and listening is a trait of a good communicator. Understand that your team is different everytime and each person is different. Don't mold everyone into a single stereotype. Keep good manners and respect others--and yourself-- and you'll have a better understanding on the other skills Overwatch demands. Good luck, heroes!

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