Example polls
Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.
Choice poll. The classic tally, one mark each (Premium for the vote limit).
/poll "Coffee or tea?" "Coffee" :coffee: "Tea" :tea: limit 1
Premium: vote limits
Limit votes: 1 per person
Choice poll. The weekly board question in Slack, closing after a week (Premium for the limit and close).
/poll "Tally question of the week: stairs or lift?" "Stairs" :walking: "Lift" :arrow_up: "Depends which floor" :thinking_face: limit 1 close after 7 days
Premium: vote limits, closing automatically
Limit votes: 1 per personClose automatically: after 7 days
Choice poll. Three short answers that would fit on a whiteboard.
/poll "Early bird or night owl?" "Early bird" :sunrise: "Night owl" :owl: "Depends on the deadline" :clock3: limit 1
Premium: vote limits
Limit votes: 1 per person
Choice poll. No vote limit, so people can pick more than one. Free.
/poll "Camera on or camera off for the first meeting of the day?" "Camera on" :movie_camera: "Camera off" :see_no_evil: "Depends who is in it" :thinking_face:
Free
Yes or no
- Have you ever waved back at someone who was not waving at you?
- Do you hum while you work?
- Have you ever talked for a minute on mute?
- Do you make your bed every morning?
- Do you eat breakfast at your desk?
- Do you read the terms and conditions?
- Have you ever sent a message to the wrong chat?
- Do you talk to your plants?
- Is it OK to recline your seat on a plane?
- Do you still own a DVD?
This or that
- Notebook or laptop in meetings?
- Stairs or lift?
- Socks with sandals: crime or comfort?
- Pen or pencil?
- Toast: butter first or jam first?
- Shower: morning or night?
- Cake or biscuits?
- Phone on silent or ring?
- Toilet roll: over or under?
- Book a holiday early or last minute?
More two-option ideas in this or that questions for work.
Pick one of three or four
- Best day of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday?
- Best crisp flavour: ready salted, salt and vinegar, or cheese and onion?
- How many alarms do you set: 1, 2 to 3, or 4 and up?
- Best snack time: 10am, 3pm or all day?
- Ideal office temperature: freezing, fine or tropical?
- How do you eat a KitKat: one finger, bite across, or the whole bar?
- What wakes you up: alarm, coffee, pets or the sun?
- Your phone battery right now: under 20%, 20 to 80%, or over 80%?
- Best biscuit for the meeting tin: digestive, shortbread or custard cream?
- Commute soundtrack: music, podcast or silence?
About the office
- Who refills the printer paper: me, someone else, or nobody ever?
- Best seat in the office: window, corner or near the kitchen?
- How many mugs are on your desk right now: 0, 1, or 2 and up?
- Kitchen dishwasher: load it as you go, or leave it for later?
- Office music: yes, no, or headphones only?
- The meeting room thermostat: too hot, too cold or just right?
- Do you label your food in the fridge?
- Best day to be in the office: Monday, Wednesday or Friday?
- Best whiteboard pen colour: black, blue, red or green?
- The last biscuit: take it, halve it or leave it?
Running it on a whiteboard
Write the question big at the top and the answers in columns, two to four of them, each a word or two. Put the board somewhere people pass with a free hand, like the kitchen or the coffee machine, and leave a pen tied to it. Change the question every Monday or every day, whichever you can keep up; a week gives the slow voters time.
Strike through every fifth mark so totals read at a glance, and photograph the board before you wipe it. In an office, the whiteboard works well: nothing to install, and walking past it is the reminder.
Running it in Slack for remote and hybrid teams
The board leaves out everyone who is not in the room. In Slack, post the same question with Simple Poll and the bars under each option are the tally, live, for everyone. Votes are named by default, like initials next to a mark, which is half the fun.
A whiteboard has one rule nobody enforces: one mark each. In Slack people can pick more
than one option unless you add limit 1 (Premium). For a weekly board, add
close after 7 days (Premium) so the week's result is fixed when the next question goes
up. Hybrid offices can run both: the same question on the board and in #random, and add
the two totals on Friday.
To queue a new tally for each Monday, schedule a few ahead (Premium). For a longer weekly ritual, see the question of the week.
Questions
What is a tally question?
A question written on a whiteboard with a few short answers. People add a tally mark under their answer as they pass, and the marks show the result without anyone counting votes.
What makes a good tally question?
Answers short enough to fit on the board, two to four of them, and no wrong one. Yes or no, this or that, and pick-one questions work best. Skip anything personal: every mark is made in public.
How do I make sure each person votes once in Slack?
Add limit 1 to the poll (Premium). Without it, people can pick several options. Votes
are named, so a double vote is visible either way.
Can I keep the Slack tally anonymous?
Yes, add anonymous. For light questions, named votes start more talk in the thread.
Related
- Question of the week for work
When a daily question is too much for your team but you still want one shared thing to vote on and argue about, posted Monday and settled by Friday.
- This or that questions for work
When you want the lowest-effort way to get a quiet channel talking: two words, one click, and a reason to reply in the thread.
- Funny poll questions for work
When a channel needs a laugh, a meeting needs a warm-up, or you want a light weekly poll that people answer without being asked twice.
- How to limit votes in a Slack poll
By default, a Simple Poll lets each person pick as many options as they like. That's right for "which days can you make?" and wrong for "which date should we pick?". A vote limit caps how many options each person can choose: limit 1 for single choice, limit 2 or more for "pick your top two". Vote limits are a Premium feature.
- How to make an emoji poll in Slack
"Emoji poll" means two things in Slack. One is a message where people vote by reacting with an emoji, which needs no app. The other is a proper poll where each option carries an emoji, which reads faster and still counts votes properly. This page covers both, plus the poll emoji themselves.
- Slack polls for remote teams
On a remote team, Slack is the office, and a lot of what an office does for free has to be asked for on purpose: who is around when, how people are doing, where to meet up once a year. Polls are how you ask without scheduling another call.