How do you manage radio response

[Lefinch]

Hello. I wanted to say I do not think you are alone in finding it difficult to follow what might be going on between chat and the main window. I don't think there is a perfect and simple solution to this as for many reasons some people may just find this harder to do than others. Just for a personal example, I have a condition that doesn't affect reading speed but can tie up my typing due to poor coordination. This time lost "fixing" what I'm typing can be a distraction, and I can lose focus. That example is just there to say "hey, I think people will understand occasionally missing something that's said if you're making an effort" and I think the most important part is with practice and effort, you might find it easier over time. 

However, I do have some suggestions I both use and have seen others recommend that can help. Some of these may work well for you, some of them might not.

•  Changing the font and font size
  

- Depending on how you want to switch focus between the two windows: Chatting and what's happening in front of your character, some people have said having bigger font or smaller font help. Some people have said having smaller font size lets them "Catch up" on events when they switch focus. This might work well if you can speed read but find it difficult to keep switching attention. Alternatively, increasing the font size might help you catch what's being said in your peripheral vision. You might more easily pick on someone saying "Chief" if you're a chief, or your characters name. Changing the font you use might also make things more distinctive.

• PRIORITISE CHANNEL COLOURS
  

- Because incoming radio messages (and other messages) are colour coded, one thing that helps me if I'm busy is to prioritise paying attention to certain colours. For example I'm working as a Chief Engineer: The Command channel is probably going to be something important, And the Engineering channel is potentially important too. But things on the public channel might not be as important. A MESSAGE IN BOLD RED IS PROBABLY ALWAYS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT So if you're really busy, seeing a line of green text scrolling up just out of your focus might only need a brief look, but if you suddenly see some different colours related to your job, those might need to be checked. 

• Building a habit of scanning the text for "Keywords"
  

- This helps me a lot. If I'm very busy or things are chaotic and I only have a few seconds to check and see what I might be missing on the radio: I will look as quick as I can for key words

- My Character's name or job (like QM or HoS or CE and so on) (This almost certainly means someone is trying to ask YOU Something) 
- My Department Boss's name (This sometimes might be your boss asking YOU something. Or someone else asking about your department)
- Anything that looks like it might not be normal conversation: Someone screaming, exclamations, someone issuing an AI command or just general panic: If they're being loud there's hopefully a reason, and reading what they've said might help you avoid (or help) the thing they're panicing about. This isn't perfect as with anything sometimes people are talky: But if you tie it in with the advice above it might help you realise seeing an ALLCAPS message from command just visible out of the side of your eye means you might want to look at it. 


I hope this helps in some fashion.