In the fast-paced world of digital communication, efficiency and ease are paramount. Enter Slack Huddles, the new frontier in quick, informal meetings to supplement your more formal sessions. Designed for speed and simplicity, Slack Huddles are redefining how we connect and collaborate. Whether you're new to Slack or a seasoned pro, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Slack Huddles, how to join a Slack call, and the best ways to use them. And of course, we'll highlight how Supernormal can take your Slack huddle experience to the next level with our top-notch AI notetaker and seamless Slack integration.
What are Slack Huddles?
Slack Huddles are the latest feature from Slack, designed to make impromptu voice conversations as easy as possible. Think of them as digital watercooler chats, where you can quickly hop on a call with your team without the need for formal scheduling or link-sharing.
The Essence of Slack Huddles
Slack Huddles strip away the complexities of traditional conferencing tools. No need for meeting IDs or lengthy dial-ins. With just a couple of clicks, you're in. This feature is designed for spontaneous conversations, making it perfect for quick check-ins, brainstorming sessions, or just catching up with a colleague.
Key Features of Slack Huddles
- Instant Voice Calls: Start a huddle in any Slack channel or direct message.
- Seamless Integration: Works across desktop and mobile apps.
- Collaborative Tools: Share your screen, and use emoji reactions to keep the conversation lively.
- Accessibility: Supports live captions for those who need it.
Slack Huddles are about breaking down barriers to communication. They are designed to feel natural and intuitive, much like talking to someone in the same room.
How to Join a Slack Call
Joining a Slack Huddle is straightforward. Here’s how you can jump in:
Step-by-Step Guide
- Open Slack: Navigate to the channel or direct message where you want to start the huddle.
- Start the Huddle: Look for the headphones icon at the bottom left of your screen. Click it to start the huddle.
- Join the Huddle: If someone else has already started a huddle, you'll see the same icon indicating an active huddle. Click the icon to join.
- Invite Others: Once in the huddle, you can invite others by clicking on the "Invite People" button.
Tips for a Smooth Experience
- Use Headphones: To avoid echo and background noise.
- Mute When Not Speaking: Helps in maintaining clear audio quality.
- Stay Present: Huddles are meant to be quick. Keep your focus on the conversation to make the most out of it.
Joining a Slack call, or huddle, is designed to be as frictionless as possible. No one likes jumping through hoops to get into a meeting, and Slack has ensured that their huddles are the epitome of convenience.
Best Practices for Using Slack Huddles
Using Slack Huddles effectively can transform the way your team collaborates. Here are some best practices to get the most out of your huddles.
Keep It Brief
Slack Huddles are meant for quick, on-the-fly conversations. Keep your discussions short and focused. This isn’t the place for lengthy debates or detailed presentations. Aim for clarity and conciseness.
Foster Inclusivity
Make sure everyone has a chance to speak. It’s easy for huddles to become dominated by one or two voices, so actively encourage participation from all attendees. Use the screen-sharing feature to visually engage team members and keep the conversation balanced.
Utilize Collaborative Tools
Take full advantage of the tools available within Slack Huddles. Share your screen to illustrate points or brainstorm ideas. Use emoji reactions to express agreement or ask for more clarification without interrupting the flow of conversation.
Schedule Regular Check-Ins
While Slack Huddles are great for impromptu meetings, consider scheduling regular check-ins with your team to maintain consistent communication. These don’t need to be long but can serve as valuable touchpoints to keep everyone aligned.
Supernormal: The Best AI Notetaker
Imagine having a meeting without worrying about taking notes and automatically transferring those notes into a Slack channel without doing any additional work. Supernormal’s AI notetaker makes this a reality so you can use Slack huddles to pickup where more formal meetings leave off, without having to dig around for meeting notes or remember everything that was said.
Seamless Integration with Slack
Supernormal integrates seamlessly with Slack, enabling seamless sharing of meeting notes, action items, and insights instantly. Here's how this integration works and why it can revolutionize team collaboration:
- Instant Sharing: With the Slack-Supernormal integration, meeting notes can be shared instantly with the entire team or specific channels. This eliminates delays in manually disseminating information and ensures everyone receives the latest updates in real-time.
- Centralized Repository: Supernormal serves as a centralized repository for all meeting information, making it easily accessible and searchable. This eliminates the need to scour through multiple channels or applications to find essential data, saving valuable time and effort.
- Action Item Tracking: Supernormal allows users to assign action items during meetings and track their progress. Through the integration, these action items can be automatically shared with Slack channels, making it convenient for team members to stay updated on tasks and deadlines, their own or others’.
- Collaborative Discussions: Supernormal's integration with Slack encourages collaborative discussions. With notes shared in a collaborative space, team members can engage in conversations directly in Slack, clarifying doubts, sharing additional insights, and brainstorming ideas effortlessly.
Get Started with Zapier
There are two ways to start auto-sharing your Supernormal notes in Slack. The first is through Zapier. With Zapier, you can automatically share meeting notes or any part of notes into a Slack channel, including the notes link, the gist, summary, and action items.
To get started:
- Sign in to your Supernormal account or create one if you haven't already.
- Visit our Zapier integration page, scroll to Templates, and select Send Slack channel messages for new meeting notes in Supernormal
- Choose the Supernormal trigger event New Meeting Notes and select Continue
- Choose the Slack action event Send channel message
- Choose your channel, the notes content you’d like to automatically share, and select Continue
- Watch the Magic Happen: Once you've set up your Zap, Supernormal will handle the rest!
Get Started with Supernormal Groups
Supernormal also seamlessly integrates with Slack via Groups. Groups are a great way to organize your meeting notes within Supernormal. Whether you organize by client, project, type of meeting, or team, Groups allow you to share specific meetings with select members of your team. Learn more about Groups in the Supernormal Help Center.
Once you’ve created a Group, You can set up and manage your Slack connection by visiting your Group’s settings.
- Tap your Group from the Group menu
- Select Settings in the top right corner
- Scroll to Slack Integration and select Add to Slack
- Enter your workspace and grant permissions
- Enter the name of the Slack channel you’d like to share to
- Voila! Any meetings you tag as in this Group will be automatically shared in the Slack channel.
Conclusion
Slack Huddles are transforming the way we communicate at work. They bring a level of spontaneity and ease to digital conversations that was previously missing. By following best practices and leveraging tools like Supernormal, you can maximize the benefits of this innovative feature.
Remember, Slack Huddles are about making communication simple and effective. They reduce the friction of followup meetings so you can quickly collaborate and followup on previous meetings and action items. With our Slack x Supernormal integration, you have everything you need within your Slack channels to make huddles even faster and more efficient.
So next time you need a quick chat or a spontaneous brainstorming session, don’t hesitate to start a Slack Huddle. And rely on Supernormal to share your more formal meeting notes, so you can stay productive. Happy Huddling!