It can be difficult to stay up to date and reach the right people when your email inbox is a jumble of conversations and reply-all threads.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Slack to: Find and access conversations Start a conversation

Find and access conversations

In Slack, conversations happen in channels and direct messages (DMs). Channels are spaces where you can work with your co-workers on specific topics. DMs work well for one-off conversations that don't require an entire channel to weigh in.

Channels

DMs

Conversations in channels are transparent and accessible to people in your company. If you want to stay up to date with a specific team, you can find and join their channel and scroll up to see past messages.

DMs are for smaller conversations outside of channels, like if you wanted to ask a teammate to reschedule a 1:1 meeting.

Did you know? You can also work with people outside of your company in channels and DMs. To learn more, visit our guide to Slack Connect.

Start a conversation

Start a conversation with the right people by sending a message in a channel or a DM.

Say that you have a question about a project. Send a message to the dedicated project channel to get an answer from the right people. If your question is only for a specific teammate, you can send them a DM.

Try it: Use the   compose button to draft a question about a project.

Learn more