​10 tips to better use Slack

Slack is a collaboration tool made for working productively on projects, or even hybrid working and staying in touch. Handy, but it can do a lot more than many people think. With these 10 tips you can use Slack much better.

1. Write one message, not ten

This is a tough one, because we’re used to saying everything in short sentences in chat, rather than one babble in one message, but keep in mind that people will get bleeps with every message you post. So make sure you pack a little more info into one message to get your message across loud, clear and above all non-annoying.

2. Use the @ to clarify who you’re talking to

If you would like to ask someone something within a channel, add an at sign. If you use @gchannel, the entire channel will even be notified of your message. Use this feature sparingly, as everyone gets a message. Really anyone in that channel, no matter what their status is.

3. Provide a channel strategy

Normally, a channel strategy identifies a kind of plan for each communication channel, but in this case we mean: think carefully about the channels you create. For example, name channels for a particular project as all Channel – Project X, Y, and so on. But also: consider carefully whether an entire channel is really necessary. A channel that is actually always silent does not help.

4. Use gifs and emoji

Within Slack you can communicate in a very modern way and that naturally includes smileys and emoji. You can add a funny gif to your message by typing /giphy and then a subject in response to a colleague, or use a smiley to soften your words.

5. Use threads

You don’t always have to comment in the channel in general if you want to comment on someone. You can also send a comment to that person. Others can see them, but they will not be notified separately. These kinds of ‘threads’ ensure that a channel does not go too much off-topic every now and then.

6. Bet your status

In Slack you can give yourself a status and you can be creative with it. Show that you are on vacation by putting a palm tree behind your name, or let them know that you are on ‘do not disturb’. You can easily change your status in this app, so do so to be clear to colleagues what they can expect from you.

7. Use Huddles

Huddles in Slack are a form of using audio, like a voice message like in WhatsApp. The advantage is that you can better convey your intonation and people will sooner understand how you feel about something. Huddles are the voice messages in Slack and they bring a new twist to a conversation.

8. Do anything and everything with Slackbot

Slack has a handy assistant called @Slackbot. You can take a quick look at some tips, but Slackbot can do much more, such as creating to-do lists and setting reminders. Use it! It really makes your Slack experience many times better all at once.

9. Take notes

Slackbot can do even more: it can also help you take notes. Especially if you also use Slack as a kind of meeting tool, you can ask Slackbot to keep track of the action points. Of course you have to instruct it for each action point, but that is actually done very quickly and still gives you a good overview weeks later.

10. Save important messages

That person who explained how you should set up an Instagram post within your company? You want to keep that message. You can provide them with a kind of pin or flag so that they can always be consulted quickly via the menu. That saves searching.

Laura Jenny

When she’s not tapping, she’s traveling around the wonderful world of entertainment or some cool place in the real world. Mario is the man of her life,…