7 Communication Hacks You Can Leverage Today

Effective communication is the backbone of any successful team, and mastering the tools at your disposal can take your communication skills to the next level. Whether you're using Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email, these seven hacks will help you streamline your communication, save time, and increase productivity. Let's dive in!

1. Organize Conversations with Channels & Threads (Slack & Teams)

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams offer channels to organize conversations by topic, project, or team. But it’s easy for these channels to become cluttered. Avoid confusion by using threads to keep discussions focused and easy to follow.

Hack:

• Slack: Use threads to reply to specific messages rather than flooding the main channel. This keeps conversations organized and avoids losing important context.

• Teams: In Teams, you can reply directly in message threads to keep conversations on track.

Pro Tip: Pin critical messages to the channel or thread to ensure everyone has quick access to important information.

2. Use Scheduled Messages to Time Communication (Slack & Email)

Sometimes, it's better to send a message at a time that aligns with your recipient’s schedule, especially when dealing with different time zones. Most communication tools allow you to schedule messages.

Hack:

• Slack: Right-click the send button to schedule messages for later. You can schedule them to go out during working hours or when your teammates are available.

• Email: In Gmail and Outlook, you can schedule emails by selecting the Send Later option to avoid sending late-night or weekend emails.

Pro Tip: Use scheduled messages for non-urgent communications, so you can respect your teammates’ off-hours.

3. Leverage @Mentions & Keywords for Targeted Communication (Slack & Teams)

Avoid over-communicating by sending messages to specific people or groups using @mentions. This ensures the right people see the message without overwhelming everyone else.

Hack:

• Slack & Teams: Use @channel for important updates that need to reach everyone, or @username to notify a specific person without pinging the entire team.

• Teams: You can also create custom tags (e.g., @frontendteam) to notify specific groups of people in larger organizations.

Pro Tip: Use @here in Slack to notify only team members who are online, minimizing unnecessary notifications.

4. Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Boost Efficiency (Slack, Teams, Email)

Save time by mastering keyboard shortcuts for your communication tools. They can help you navigate, format messages, and search conversations more quickly.

Hack:

• Slack: Use Ctrl + K (or Cmd + K on Mac) to quickly jump between conversations and channels. For formatting, use Cmd + B (bold), Cmd + I (italic), and more.

• Teams: Ctrl + E brings up the search bar instantly, and Ctrl + N opens a new chat.

• Email: Gmail has an array of shortcuts, like C for composing a new email or E for archiving messages.

Pro Tip: Review the shortcut cheat sheet (Cmd + / in Slack) for your tool and memorize the ones you use most frequently.

5. Automate Repetitive Tasks with Bots & Integrations (Slack, Teams)

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams offer powerful integrations with tools you already use, like Google Calendar, GitHub, Trello, and more. This can save you time by automating routine tasks like scheduling meetings or tracking project updates.

Hack:

• Slack: Use the Slackbot for automated reminders (e.g., remind the team to update status reports every Friday). Integrate with Google Calendar or Jira to receive event reminders or issue tracking updates directly in your channel.

• Teams: Use Power Automate to build custom workflows, such as automating meeting reminders or task assignment notifications from other Microsoft apps.

Pro Tip: Set up custom Slack workflows for repetitive processes like onboarding new employees, sending daily standup prompts, or delivering project updates.

6. Use Polls for Quick Team Consensus (Slack & Teams)

Need to make a quick decision? Use polls to collect team feedback or vote on decisions without long, drawn-out discussions.

Hack:

• Slack: Use the /poll command (via third-party apps like Polly or Simple Poll) to quickly ask the team for input.

• Teams: Use the built-in Forms integration to run polls in team channels and get instant feedback.

Pro Tip: Use polls for quick decisions on meeting times, project ideas, or team preferences, and let the team vote asynchronously.

7. Declutter Your Inbox & Channels with Mute & Filters (Email, Slack, Teams)

Information overload can be overwhelming. Learning how to filter and mute unnecessary notifications can significantly improve your productivity.

Hack:

• Email: Use filters and labels in Gmail or Outlook to automatically sort incoming messages by importance, project, or client. This declutters your inbox and ensures important messages don’t get lost.

• Slack: Mute channels that aren’t directly relevant to you but that you still want to keep an eye on. This minimizes distractions while still allowing you to dip in when needed.

• Teams: Customize your notification settings for each channel and mute conversations that don’t require immediate attention.

Pro Tip: Set specific times during the day to check your inbox and communication tools to minimize distractions and stay focused on deep work.

Bonus Hack: Set Office Hours to Manage Expectations (Slack, Teams, Email)

If you manage a busy schedule, set clear office hours when your team knows they can expect responses. This can help reduce stress for both you and your team.

Hack:

• Slack: Use a status message like “Available 9 AM - 4 PM” to set expectations for response times.

• Email: Set up an autoresponder for after-hours emails to let people know when you'll reply.

Conclusion

Mastering communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and email is essential for boosting productivity and reducing stress. By leveraging features like scheduled messages, keyboard shortcuts, and bots, you can streamline your communication, avoid information overload, and keep your team aligned. Start using these communication hacks today to improve your workflow and stay ahead of the game!