What is Communication?

Communication is perhaps the most well-known tool to succeed in a team environment, but the least understood. The better the communication is in a team environment, like in League of Legends, the better the team will operate. You can think of it like the oil that keeps the machine running full steam ahead! With that said, communication is also extremely natural in everyday life and perhaps is the reason its value is often underappreciated in the context of improving a team. People understand what it means to communicate, but don't put in the thought to understand how to communicate. Of course, the "how" of communication is very broad, but still crucial to any team's success.

How Do People Communicate

To start off, consider the three main forms of communication: Verbal, Nonverbal, and Visual. What exactly are they, and how are they used in League of Legends? Is one better than the other? When should you use each one? These are all very important questions that need answering if you want to really understand the "ins and outs" of communicating in a game like League of Legends. So let's go over these questions and then note some tips to incorporating this information into your gameplay and hopefully, standardize our methods of communicating to maximize the quality of our games.

What Are the Forms of Communication?

Verbal Communication: The most well-known form of communication that involves the use of language and vocalizations.

Visual Communication: Communication through the use of drawings, pictures, symbols, and other visual stimuli that can be linked to a message.

Nonverbal Communication: A method of communicating without the use of language or vocalizations. Generally done through body language and facial expressions.

How Are the Forms of Communication Used in League of Legends

Verbal Communication: Used in team chat (or in voice calls if you chose to use them)

Visual Communication: Pings & Emotes. Although emotes are generally not used to communicate important information, it is still a visual form of communication and may very well be used to convey that information in the future (who knows!).

Nonverbal Communication: Character body language. Although it may not be natural to comprehend in game as it is in real life, it definitely still exists and should be used!

Verbal Communication - Using Chat

Visual Communication - Using Pings

Nonverbal Communication - The target dummy has an aggressive positioning in lane (body language)

Is One Form of Communication Better than the Others in League of Legends?

This is often debated in the League of Legends community, but it really does depend on the message that you wish to convey, and the urgency in which you wish to convey it. Think about it this way, you want your jungler to gank your lane before the enemy's flash is back off cooldown in 60 seconds. So you type your request, your jungler reads the message and comes to gank. Great! Message successfully transmitted! But, could it have been better? Well, there are many factors that contribute to this but as mentioned previously, the best option is to use the form of communication that will have the highest likelihood of properly conveying the message with respect to the urgency that the message needs to be delivered.

Realistically, verbal communication will almost always have the highest likelihood of conveying the message most adequately, but it takes time to convey it. Imagine your team is setting up for Baron and you want to tell your team to target the enemy marksmen first to increase your odds of winning the fight. How long will it take you to type out to target the enemy marksmen first, and how long will it take for your teammates to read the message. The other option is to ping the enemy marksmen so your team sees your intention and gets an auditory indicator of the communication. I guarantee that message will be delivered faster than using chat. In general, verbal communication has the ability to be the most precise, however it requires the most time to convey.

Visual communication is much faster than verbal in delivery, however it is generally quite simple. Finally, nonverbal communication is the most difficult to use effectively because of how discrete it can be, but when well understood it can be extraordinarily beneficial to your ability to communicate with teammates, as well as read your enemy's mind (not literally, but that's what it will feel like).

Example of pinging the enemy backline

When Should I Use Each Form of Communication

Overall, I will leave it up to you to decide which form of communication is better than the others in each scenario that you will encounter in League of Legends. As much as I have my own opinions, it is impossible for me to go through each one, and the more important thing is that you understand the different types of communication available and to critically think about the best form to use in a given scenario.

Tips and Tricks to Communicate Better

I will however, provide quick pointers and generally explain my opinion of communication in League of Legends. I personally like the consistency and speed that comes from using the various pings available to communicate with my teammates. Mainly because of how quick it is, and the fact that I can communicate without taking my hand off the mouse (I have died way too much while typing when I think I'm safe). Another key feature to the pinging system in League of Legends is that it generally standardizes what each ping is used for (with some exceptions).

When you use "?" the pinging system automatically sends a message in chat that indicates the message that's being conveyed (making it standard). Obviously, I'm sure you're well aware that the "?" ping has developed another use too when used on a teammate (What the *bleep* are you doing???). Either way, the pings are fast, and used in very standard ways that prevent any chance of having the message misinterpreted, which is fantastic for a fast-paced team-oriented game and in my opinion, should therefore be prioritized.

Effectively Using Chat

The chatting system is available to communicate with your teammates to succeed. Use it for that and only that. I understand chatting with teammates and enemies in /allchat is fun and banter can add to the entertainment of the game, but be warned, it is a fine line that can dramatically impact the flow of the game if you're not careful. That is why I tend to keep chat for planning with teammates only. What do I mean by planning? Only speaking in future tenses and avoiding using past tense communication at all times (for reasons I will mention later). By speaking in future tense, you keep your teammates in check and focused on proactivity and planning ahead. What's wrong with past tense? In using past tense in communication, it tends to come off as judgmental, especially when tone of voice is not available to help convey the context of the message. Take this example:

Past tense: "You should have ulted Thresh to peel for me instead of trying to engage"

This statement comes off as judgmental an 'in bad taste' because a mistake is being pointed out. As you should know, especially in League of Legends, no one likes to be shoved in the spotlight, especially for a bad play or 'mistake'. This statement also strictly uses hindsight as evidence for the claim, by stating that the play was a mistake because the fight was lost. Remember hindsight is '20-20', so try not to use it. Consider these statements to be generally pointless, because what's done is done, and there is a better way of getting the message across that is both more accurate, and nicer.

Future tense: "Next fight, I'll need more peel. Can you ult Thresh to peel for me?"

This statement comes off as much nicer because it is about an observation and asking for help. It attempts to plan ahead for future scenarios and remain proactive. The worst case scenario, is they will let you know they feel their ult is better used elsewhere, in which case at least it creates a line of dialogue for better communication and planning between you and your teammates instead of coming off as if you're shunning them for their mistakes.

This is an example of past tense in communication. It's judging and using hindsight.

This is an example of using future tense. It's proactive planning and avoids inferred toxicity.

Finally, remember that if someone isn't using the communication systems in game inappropriately, mute them to avoid the toxicity and negative attitude that will not help you win. It's not worth the time or energy to deal with them in the heat of the moment and once they are in that mindset, they are likely going to remain in that mindset for the remainder of the game and fail to contribute anything useful to the discussion, so don't feel like you might miss out.

Conclusion

Overall, communication is imperative to a team's success, and in League of Legends, your team's success directly correlates with yours! The more effort you put into getting your team on the same page, the better your chances will be.

Do your best, and keep asking questions.

Good luck, Summoners!