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Offline Yahoo

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Team Communication and Leadership
« on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:04:37 AM »
I have something interesting about leadership and team communication, for the interested ones this link above is about one of the greatest America's army leaders, Orange_Devil, i'm sure old school players have heard about him, i never had the pleasure of play with him but i played against and his teams were great. Anyway it's an excellent reading for the ones who are interested in team communication during wars and scrims ;D

Original Thread:
http://legends.phpbb88.com/america-s-army-f6/orange-devil-talks-on-team-communication-t1485.html

Quote
"Orange Devil":

Talks on Team Communication


This was originally posted on the #selection team private forum by Orange Devil, luckily one of our readers, namely Element had kept a copy. For those of you that don't know, Orange Devil was the leader of successful teams such as Wilda and #Selection. He is widely regarded as one of the best Team Leaders the game has ever seen, and played a big role in the success of many of the best teams in the history of AA. In this extract from the original post, he talks about communication and team leadership. Communication is one of the key factors in competition, which attributed to the fact that, teams which Orange Devil was involved with, were so successful.


The goal is to be able to execute a whole strat with only a few words said during the round. In order to get there we first have to start communicating and talking a LOT more.

Why then will we end up with only a few words eventually?

Because when we play together more and get to know eachother and how we play each strat then certain things will be standard (and thus, expected). Those things then don't need to be communicated anymore. The only things that need to be said then are things that are not standard (someone getting hit, flashed, killed, deciding to do something differently then normal).

But to get there, we need a standard first. So, to try to get that as fast as possible, communication is the most important thing right now. As a leader in a scrim or match, I can *not* make good decisions unless I have as much info as possible about our own locations and status and the OpFor locations and status. You guys as players can also not get 100% teamwork without knowing what everyone is doing. So let's see which info I need:

I need your locations at all times. This is one of the most, if not the most, important part. However, to prevent everyone from having to report every time they move into a new room or spot, we have strategies on each map. As long as you stick to the strategies, everyone else should know exactly what you are doing. If you have to deviate from the strategy for whatever reason: report it Immediately. If you are ever in a situation where you are not COMPLETELY sure that your friendlies know where you are: REPORT. This goes even if you report, and nobody replies or there is alot of shooting going on or whatever. Just make absolutely sure that at the very least the friendlies in your direct vicinity know where you are. TKs from gunfire are completely unnecessary. Just reporting in ingame while talking on vent can also help here.

I need enemy positions and preferably activity. If you see an RPK in a certain location, report "Enemy RPK <location>" or just "RPK <location>". From then on, this is that enemies name or label. If you spot an enemy that has already been reported before moving from 1 location to another then report something like "Enemy <original location> went to <new location>" or "Enemy 16 at < new location>, the guy from <original location> went to <new location>" or something along those lines. If a number of enemies is reported in 1 location try to be as specific as possible (example: "2 guys at <location>, 1 16 and 1 203"). That way, if they split up, its easier to make that clear. If reporting anything that has something to do with enemies that got reported as a number, clearly state how many of those enemies your info is about. If 2 enemies get reported 1 location and you know 1 moved away, report "1 enemy from <original location> moved to <new location>, still 1 enemy at <original location>".
Killing enemies. Report all enemies you kill + their location and if possible their weapon. (if there is no more important communication going on on vent or if you have been able to see which one they had). If you kill an enemy that was reported with a number, make sure you report with numbers again. So that would be "1 enemy <location> down, still 1 enemy at <location>"

One small exception here is if a friendly just reports an enemy at a location and you take him down only a few moments later just saying "Down" can be enough. Usually though "Down, enemy at <location> is down" is more on the safe side.

If it is clear what an enemy is mainly covering or looking at, report that too. Do *not* report an enemy as flashed unless you have actually seen him be flashed. Seeing a flash go off in someones face DOES NOT mean he's flashed. If you want to report that you threw a flash at an enemy but you are not COMPLETELY sure he is indeed flash, say "Enemy <location> probably flashed" or "I threw a flash at enemy <location>".

This one is very important: if someone throws something at you, especially in a situation where a friendly is near you (usually behind you coming to cover you when working in pairs) always shout "NADE" unless you have identified with certainty that he threw a smoke. This should be done IMMEADIATLY and before anything else and preferably loud and clear.

Report it when you die. Always try to report the location of the enemy that killed you first, then say something like "I'm down" or "I'm dead". If you're not sure all your team got that, repeat it 1 or 2 times. If you need to release some frustration from dying or whatever (Hey, I know I do it ) try to do it AFTER reporting all this valuable info first. And preferably without pressing your push to talk button.

Report it when you are flashed. Even if a friendly sees a flash hit in your face or you're running somewhere with 3 people and you all get flashed and the other 2 already report. You report as well.

In the same manner, report if you are *not* flashed when you should be or could be (bugged flash blows up in your face or you just get around a corner when flash goes off that may have hit you).

If someone reports he's flashed, go cover him. Don't continue pushing unless the situation really calls for it and then make sure you let the flashed guy know. Also let the flashed guy know when you've got him covered. Don't abandon someone that is flashed unless it's a choice of only the flashed guy dying or both of you dying. Again, make sure you tell the guy thats flashed that you can't cover him so he can still try to blindshoot at footsteps or pull a flash and try to flash both him and an enemy or whatever.

If you are hit, report it + your colour. If you are close enough to a medic (depends entirely on strategy) then both of you should work out if it's possible to get to eachother safely and medic eachother and when to do it. Medicing is ALWAYS preferred because you get a CEM-boost. So even if you stopped bleeding a long time ago, if its safe and medic is close enough, go do it.

Then the more tricky stuff:

Report your intentions well in advance. When you deviate from the strategy or the strategy has alot of room for you choosing what you want to do (mainly on maps like MOUT and Urban) don't only report where you are, also report where you are going (if applicable), what you are doing and what you want to do/achieve. If you decide to move from 1 location to another, first report where you're going, then move. If you want to move somewhere to throw a nade or shoot at something, report that you want to nade or shoot something and to do that you're going to a certain location.

Why? Often someone else might be able to achieve your goal (covering a certain angle, spamming or nading someone etc) faster, safer or better then you yourself can, but you don't realize it because you never have all the exact info. This way you allow someone else to come in and say "No don't do that, I will" or "No need, I've already go that covered" or "Roger, if you're doing that I'll move over here and do this". This way you also allow me to much more effectively manage the team. If you decide you wanna throw a nade somewhere and tell me first (like, before you pull the thing and get stuck with it), I can either tell you not to if I think it's not a good idea, or I can tell someone else to do something to help you or otherwise capitalize on your nade.

I'm sure I've forgotten a few things, but this post should give you a good idea on what I want. And remember, when in doubt: communicate with the team.

Alright, so thats the stuff I want to see, now let's get on to the stuff I don't want to see:

When playing matches or scrims, it's about winning, not about being polite. If someone else is talking and you have something important to say like "NADE!" or an enemy location or basically any of the things above, then SAY IT! If I'm trying to explain how I want to attack a position or telling something what they did wrong or all that stuff, that's important, but it can easily be repeated. New info like an enemy position or threat-warning or whatever is much more important.

Similarly, don't look at people you want to talk to. Ok? Don't. Ever. Look. At. People. Ingame. To. Talk. To. Them. Sure, sometimes you gotta look at a friendly so see his exact position, or who you've got with you exactly (shouldn't *really* be necessary, but it can save time on vent eventually) but this should be kept at a minimum and should NEVER EVER be for talking.

Don't act first and talk later. Learn to talk and play at the same time (make sure you got a good push to talk button) so you can report enemies, intentions or confirm stuff while you play. I'd rather have you report an enemy first then shoot at him first. This way your friendlies are alot more sure of themselves (hearing gunfire and no report = unsure as hell) and can come help you fast. The only exception would be if you get like a first burst headshot, but since you can never be sure of that, report first.

Like I started with, eventually rounds should be able to be played with little talking. This means stuff like "OH WTF" or "Wow nice shot" or anything else that doesn't actually convey info that can help win the round should be minimized while playing. Telling someone he played a nice round or had a nice shot is fine, but keep it for chat or after round preferably.

Ok, to finish my long-ass post a little point about me:

In scrims I think I should tell people what they are doing wrong as they are doing it or just after, as I think this makes sure everyone still remembers it exactly and the point gets across best. This means I'll be talking alot which can really fuck up your sound. I try to not do this in actual matches.
Another point is that I know you're all trying your best so I don't get really mad or angry if someone does something wrong. I do get upset if someone does the same thing wrong multiple times though. Also, like you've probably noticed, I don't give alot of compliments like "nice try" or "good job" or "nice shot". This is partially because of my point above, and partially because I'm focusing on 8 people and their positions and intentions, our strats, the OpFor strat and my own playing and what's going wrong. It's also because I have high expectations, so if something works, then I'm usually not too amazed. If I don't say you're doing anything wrong though, you can assume you're doing a good job.

I just felt like I had to put this in as I've had so many people in like 5 different teams tell me they get upset with my constant bitching and never complementing.

It was a great post back then and still is today. It shows clearly how team communication is vital, and really can make the difference between mediocrity and winning. Unfortunately Orange Devil stopped playing, but he did leave us with this great post and amazing pointers, that are useful for new and old teams today. So use them and see what a big difference they can make, and maybe your team will be the new Wilda or #Selection.


©2008 AmericasArmy.EU
Article by: Orange Devil and Element
Layout by: BillyBigBalls
Special thanks to: Orange Devil
Orginally posted: AAE
« Last Edit: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:13:30 AM by Spanky »

Offline Spanky

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Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #1 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:06:46 AM »
IMO, posts like that should be copied here. That post is 5 years old, who knows if that forum will still be around.
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Offline Yahoo

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Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #2 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:11:29 AM »
How would i do that?  :-[

Offline Spanky

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Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #3 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:13:54 AM »
Quote tag :) I added it to your post. I'm too lazy to do the color formatting though.
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Offline Yahoo

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Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #4 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:19:06 AM »
LOL, not what i was expecting but it works. Thanks  ;D

Offline Spanky

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Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #5 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 00:22:10 AM »
Well, this way it's preserved here as well as at the original site :)
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Offline Ganja

Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #6 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 02:40:43 AM »
Well, I'm not dissapointed but some points were already clear to everyone I guess ...
But yeah respect if he had a nice strategic team doing all this

Offline Gekkou

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Re: Team Communication and Leadership
« Reply #7 on: Friday, March 23, 2012, 06:59:14 AM »
Was the leader of Selection, one of the top teams at the time.

 

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