Communication Norms in Teams that Win Games (and Meetings)

Barry Byington
3 days ago
3 min read

Why communication is the hidden bottleneck

Teams rarely fail because everyone lacks effort. They fail because information arrives late, decisions stay implicit, or critical messages never get confirmed. In other high-stakes domains (healthcare, aviation-style team training), communication breakdowns are repeatedly linked to errors and poor outcomes, which is why "closed-loop communication" is taught so aggressively.

Esports makes this obvious as the feedback loop is immediate and unclear calls become lost fights, missed timings, and messy resets. A recent Overwatch team study found that a communication intervention improved players' perceptions of performance, reinforcing that comms can be trained, not just "hoped for".

The "Comms OS" framework: a simple taxonomy your team can learn

The goal is to reduce ambiguity and cognitive load by making messages predictable.

Call (what's happening/what we're doing)

Example: "Rotate now", "Hold here", "We're swapping priorities".

Context (the "why" in 3-7 words)

Example: "Down two", "No ult", "Client escalated".

Action + Owner (who does what)

Example: "Sam takes point", "I'll draft", "You confirm".

Time or Trigger (when it starts/ends)

Example: "Next 10 seconds", "After this email", "If X happens, do Y".

This structure builds shared expectations, which is how teams develop stronger shared mental models linked to better team processes and performance.

Closed-loop communication: the cheapest accuracy upgrade to improve team norms

Closed-loop communication is simple: send → receive → confirm. The receiver repeats back the key message so the sender knows it landed correctly. We see this in healthcare team training materials which emphasize this to prevent silent failure under stress.

Use it for anything that can't be "assumed":

Deadlines, handoffs, approvals
Decisions in motion ("We are doing X")
Risk flags ("This is blocked because...")

Micro-script

Sender: "Please send the revised summary by 4pm."
Receiver: "Got it, revised summary by 4pm."
Sender: "Yes."

Modern teams win by reducing cognitive load

When pressure rises, teams do not rise to the occasion. They fall to their practiced defaults. This is especially true in the case of situational norms in communication.

To make the default easier:

Use fewer words. Replace paragraphs with calls + confirmations.
Standardize phrases. Same meaning every time (no creative synonyms mid-chaos).
Separate channels. One channel for decisions, one for discussion.
Create an escalation phrase. A consistent “stop and clarify” signal.

These practices support shared mental models ("we see the same situation in the same way"), which is one of the most reliable building blocks of coordinated action.