Collaborate effectively in channels

It can be hard to stay on top of communication at work when it happens over email, video calls, and in Slack direct messages (DMs). When you work in channels, you can break down communication silos to make collaboration with your team more productive.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Slack to:

• Work in channels
• Share files and other content
• Communicate clearly

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Work in channels

In Slack, discussion with your team about specific topics takes place in channels. When you work in channels, use mentions to get the attention of the right people, and emoji reactions to simplify communication.

Mention people

Add an emoji reaction

If you have a question for a specific person, you can mention them in a channel to get their attention. They’ll receive a notification, and the rest of the team can follow along for context if they’d like. On paid plans, you can create user groups to notify groups of people at once, rather than mentioning each person individually.

Use emoji reactions to simplify communication and acknowledge messages with a few clicks. Watch the video below to learn more.

Try it: In a channel, use the  symbol to mention a teammate when asking them a question.

Share files and clips

You can add files and record audio and video clips to add context to any conversation.

Add files

Record clips

Say you need to share a file with details about a project. If you post it in a channel dedicated to the project, the message and the file can be read alongside other conversations happening about the work. You can browse all the files in a conversation from the   Files tab in the conversation header. 

You can also record a clip and share your screen to walk others through the latest updates on a project. Anyone in the channel can play and reply to your clip at a time that works best for them.

Tip: Get to work faster by setting up a channel with a template.

Communicate clearly

To add clarity to communication in Slack, you can format your messages (and edit or delete them). You can also schedule messages to send in the future.

Format messages

Schedule messages

Say you’re providing feedback about a document. To make it easier for your team to scan, add list formatting to your message.

If it’s not the best time to share an announcement, or your teammates are in another time zone, you can schedule a message to send later by clicking the arrow next to the   paper plane icon.

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