Choosing the Right Comms Tool 📞

Match the tool to the urgency

• Email - formal communication, external contacts, can wait days
• Slack - team coordination, async updates, expect responses within hours
• Text/SMS - urgent but async, expect responses within the hour
• Phone - time-sensitive, need quick back-and-forth discussion
• Huddle/Video call - complex topics, sensitive discussions, need face-to-face interaction

Rules of Engagement 📋

• Slack supports teamwork - it doesn't replace live conversations
• Written updates are efficient - but they can lose nuance and tone
• When in doubt - the quickest way to resolve something is often a real-time discussion

When to Create a Channel ➕

• Not 1:1? Consider a channel for visibility & history
  • Group DMs max out at 9 people - use a channel for larger groups
• Cross-functional work? Create a shared space (encourages collaboration)
• Ongoing topic? Better than email threads or recurring DMs
• Temporary project? Perfect - you can archive it later
• Avoid - Creating channels for one-off questions
  • Use existing channels or DMs

Channel Naming Matters 🏷️

• Use prefixes - helps group related channels in the sidebar
• Make it searchable - descriptive names help people find channels
• Be consistent - establish internal team conventions for naming
• Examples:
  • #support-platform, #support-metabase
  • #prod-alerts, #non-prod-alerts
  • #engineering-*, #product-*

Set Up for Success 🔧

Channel Ownership

• Have 2+ owners - ensures coverage when someone's away
• Keep channels maintained - Pin important messages, update description/topic as needed
• You created it, you own it - if the channel is no longer needed, it's your responsibility to archive it (more on this later)
• Be a good citizen - don't let abandoned channels clutter the workspace

Use Threads 🧵

• Topic list - channel-level chat is for topics, threads have the detail
• Instant info - can see who's replied and # of msgs at a glance
• Keep conversations organized - replies are all in one place
• Reduces noise - don't have to hunt for conversation boundaries
• Pro tip - Use "Also send to channel" for important replies that everyone in the channel should see, possibly coupled with @here

Emoji Reactions Save Time 👍

• Acknowledge without adding noise - react instead of "+1" or "got it"
• Quick feedback - ✅ for done, 👀 for reviewing, 🎉 for wins
• Create team conventions - agree on meanings for common emojis
• Reduce notification fatigue - reactions are less disruptive

Use @mentions Wisely 📢

• @here - only active members (use for time-sensitive, affects everyone online)
• @channel - everyone in channel (use sparingly, it's loud!)
• Individual @mentions - specific people who need to see it
• No @mention - just post if it's FYI only
• Ask yourself - does this really need everyone's immediate attention?

Set Your Status 🔔

• Out of office - let people know you're away 🌴⛔
• In meetings - manage expectations for response time 📅
• Focus time - signal when you need to block out the noise 🎧
• Custom statuses - "Slow to respond today" sets clear expectations
• Pro tip: Google Calendar app - automatically sets your status during meetings

Tame Your Notifications 🔕

• Mute low-priority channels - stay in the loop without constant pings
• Leave channels you don't need - just because someone added you doesn't mean you have to stay. Vote with your feet!
• Customize notification schedule - set DND hours for focus time
• Keywords notifications - get alerted only for topics that matter to you
• Thread replies - choose whether to follow all replies or just mentions

Staying Organized 📁

• Scheduled messages - write now, send later (handy off-hours)
• Reminders - never forget to follow up
• Save for later - bookmark messages to revisit
• Channel sections - group channels in your sidebar however works for you
• Pop out threads - open important conversations in a separate window

Sidebar Power Moves ⚡

• Custom sections - organize by team, project, or priority
• Active-only view - hide channels with no unread messages
• Reorder sections - drag to reorder sections
• Categorize your Channels - can also drag channels between sections

Let AI Help 🤖

• Channel recap - catch up on what you missed with AI summaries
• Catch-up on mobile - quick summaries when you're on the go
• Search enhancements - AI-powered search finds context, not just keywords
• Save hours - skim summaries instead of reading every message (especially helpful when coming back from vacation)

Channel Lifecycle ♻️

• Archive inactive channels - keeps workspace clean, preserves history; were the any messages in the last 3 months?
• Transfer ownership - before someone leaves or changes roles
• Document decisions - pin key outcomes before archiving
• Don't delete! Archive instead - you can always unarchive if needed