Example polls
Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.
Choice poll. Step one. No options, so everyone adds their own ideas and votes on the rest.
/poll "What should we call the new internal analytics project? One or two words, easy to say out loud."
Free
Allow options
Ranked poll. Step two. The checked shortlist, ranked, closing after a day.
/poll "Which name should the new analytics project get?" "Lighthouse" "Northstar" "Abacus" "Prism" ranked close after 1 day
Premium: closing automatically
Close automatically: after 1 day
Choice poll. A single poll for small decisions: a starter list, one vote each, and room for new ideas.
/poll "What should we call the new support bot? Pick one, or add your own." "Sorter" "Triage Tim" "Ticketbot" limit 1 allow-options close after 2 days
Premium: vote limits, closing automatically
Limit votes: 1 per personAllow optionsClose automatically: after 2 days
Step one, collect ideas
Post the question with no options. Voters add their suggestions, and everyone can vote on what others added, so you can see the early favourites while the poll is still open.
Give people a brief in the question or the message above it: what the thing is, who will say the name out loud, and any rules ("one word", "no acronyms", "not taken by another team"). A brief gets you twenty usable names instead of twenty jokes. Keep the jokes, though; sometimes they win.
Step two, vote on a shortlist
Pick the four or five strongest ideas yourself, check them (search the name, say it in a sentence, check the domain or channel name is free), then run a ranked poll. Ranked works well for names because people often have one favourite and a couple they could live with, and instant-runoff finds the name with the broadest support.
Close it after a day or two (Premium). Naming polls that stay open become a running joke thread.
Make it anonymous or not
For a product or team name, keep votes named. It is low stakes and people like to defend their pick. If the name is for something sensitive, like a reorg or a new leadership team, use anonymous.
The mistake people make
Letting the vote pick a name nobody checked. Do the trademark, domain and internal-collision checks on the shortlist before the final vote, not after you announce the winner.
Questions
How do I let people suggest their own names?
Post a question with no options and voters can add their own. To give a starter list and still allow new ones, add allow-options.
How many names can go in the final vote?
Up to 5 options on Free and up to 45 on Premium. For a name, four or five is plenty.
Can I hide which names are winning until the end?
A ranked poll already shows voters the results only once it closes. For a regular poll, add hide results.
Used by
Related
- How to let people add options to a Slack poll
Sometimes you don't know all the options yet: the best venue, a name for the new team, the topic everyone actually wants. Turn on adding options and voters get an Add option button. Anything they add becomes an option everyone can vote on. It's free on every plan.
- How to create a ranked choice poll in Slack
In a ranked choice poll, each person puts the options in order of preference instead of picking one. Simple Poll counts the result with instant-runoff voting, so the winner is the option with the broadest support, not just the most first choices. Ranked polls work on every plan.
- Book club pick poll for Slack
When your book club needs to choose its next read and wants everyone to have a say, not just the person who always suggests first.
- Feature prioritization poll for Slack
When you have more candidate features than capacity and need the team, or your stakeholders, to put them in order.