The way you talk to your co-workers on slack is wrong
How to write questions for optimal remote communication
When we worked together in offices, it was really easy to walk up to someone and ask a question. Not anymore! These days, if you’re still working from home you are probably relying much more on asynchronous communication. When we talk face to face, it’s much faster to have a back and forth conversation. If someone doesn’t understand what you’re asking, they can quickly ask follow up questions and get clarification.
This is not the case when we talk over Slack or email. A back and forth requires more time because the person you’re talking to is often not available to answer your question instantly, and even if they’re actively on Slack their attention is likely elsewhere.
Video chat can give us synchronous remote communication, but it takes time to set up and can often be more distracting than the in-person shoulder tap equivalent.
So… how can we become a more efficient asynchronous question askers? With the following three easy steps!
TLDR:
When you have a question for your co-workers, write it this way (in a single Slack message):
The why: Describe why you’re asking the question
The how: How have you tried to answer the question yourself?
The question: Finally, write your question.
Step 1: The why
Describe why you’re asking the question. Why is it important to you? What is the broader goal or task you want to accomplish?
There are a few benefits in doing this. If you explain why you need the answer, or what you’re trying to do, your co-worker is likely to give you a shorter, more targeted answer. On the other hand, if you start with a very focused question, you leave it up to the other person to infer what you’re actually trying to do. This can lead to an answer that might be technically correct but wrong for your use case — resulting in a more time consuming dialogue.
Another benefit is that explaining what you want to do can open the door for your co-worker to answer in a different (and potentially better) way than you expected. Your co-workers are smart, if you’re going to ask them questions, use as much of their brains as you can!
Step 2: The how
Give more context by explaining what you’ve thought about so far: What’s blocking you from moving forward? How have you tried to answer the question yourself?
This can help focus your question and prevent them from suggesting something you’ve already done — another time waster for both of you!
Step 3: The question
Finally, ask your question. Explain why you can’t do what you want or what’s going wrong with your solution from step 2.
This is often the part we lead with because we’re used to the quick dynamic of a real time chat. It might seem like asking the question right away is quicker because there’s less typing for you and less to read for them. But remember, other people are probably not working on the exact same thing you are at that very moment. They will often need more information to understand what you want and will ask you follow up questions to get it (so you’ll end up typing everything out anyway, just slower).
Here’s an example
A conversation like this…
Becomes this…
P.S. If you do this face to face it will actually make those conversations more efficient as well :)
Slack conversation transcripts
The long way:
Rupert: hey
Willow: what’s up?
Rupert: quick question: what’s a good synonym for “cool”?
Willow: frosty?
Rupert: What? That doesn’t make sense.
Willow: Ok..how about frigid?
Rupert: No, I mean cool as in “neat”
Willow: hmm, why not use neat?
Rupert: Well that won’t really work in the newsletter. I want to use a more interesting word.
Willow: oh! I didn’t realize you’re writing the newsletter this month! Would “snappy” work?
Rupert: oops, sry.
Rupert: “snappy” is perfect, thanks!
The fast way:
Rupert: Hey! I’m writing the company newsletter this month. I want to say something about how fashionable people will look in our new sunglasses, but “cool” isn’t quite the right word because it’s overused. Can you think of a better word I can use?
Willow: How about “snappy”?
Rupert: Perfect! Thanks.
