How to master Slack: The art of communicating effectively and professionally

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Slack is one of the most used new-age communication tools that not only lets you chat with your colleagues in real-time but also collaborate in a group to discuss topics, share files and more. However, one must remember Slack is a professional tool and should be used in a way that it does not become a nuisance for your colleagues.

If you’ve just started using Slack or have been using it for some time, below tips on how to use Slack effectively can come in handy:

•   Use appropriate Channels: Channels are nothing but groups that are created for a set of people working on the same task. Since Slack is more about teamwork, it is always good to use appropriate channels to communicate with the team that is involved in that project. While you can always send a direct message to an individual, however, DMs should be only used to convey messages personally.
•   Detailed messages work better: While sending a DM or even leaving a message on a channel, it is always good to leave a clear and crisp message in one go rather than breaking it into multiple messages. Take a moment, collect your thoughts before writing. It always helps in understanding the context clearly and saves the receiver from alert spams.
•   Do not disturb: No matter if you’re working remotely or in office, it is always good to activate “Do not disturb” on Slack post your work hours unless you want to be disturbed by chit chats between the colleagues who are working late or are working in a different time zone.
•   Follow threads: Unlike many other messenger applications, Slack lets you reply to a message and create a thread to keep the chat relevant. The moment you take your cursor on a message, a hover menu appears on the right side, the second icon on the menu is a balloon icon that lets you reply to a message.

Apart from these, it is always good to create a profile with your image as soon as you join Slack and since Slack has emojis that can be used as reactions to messages, using them for quick affirmations or responses is also a good idea.