A well-framed question can still fall flat if nobody sees it. The link is the whole entry point, since there is no account to create, so where you put it matters.
Start with where your people already are
Think about the place your group looks at every day, and put the link there first.
- Email. Works well for office teams. Put the question in the first line, say how long it takes, and say when it closes. Send it from someone people recognise.
- Team chat. Paste the link into Slack or Teams. Most chat tools show a preview card with the question and live counts, which makes the message easy to understand at a glance.
- Intranet. A project can be embedded on an intranet page, so people vote without leaving the page they are already on. Good for permanent places such as a news page.
- QR code on a poster or slide. The best option for people who do not sit at a computer, such as stores, sites or shop floors. Put the question on the poster in large type, with the QR code beside it.
- Text message. Short, direct and read quickly. Good when your group is spread out.
Make the ask easy
Whatever channel you choose, include three things:
- the question, in your words
- how long it takes (voting is a few seconds per pair)
- the closing date
Keep the message short. Do not explain the method. People can learn it by trying it.
Who sends it matters
A link from a leader or someone close to the work gets a different response from a link from a department that people do not know. If it can come from the person who asked the question, send it from them.
Send a reminder, once or twice
Most people mean to take part and forget. A single reminder halfway through the project, and another the day before it closes, usually brings in a second group of people. Keep reminders short and thank people who have taken part.
Use tracked links to learn what works
You can tag your link by where you shared it, such as email, chat or poster. The project then shows where participants came from. After the first project you will know which channel works for your group, and the next question can start there.
If you want to know who joined
Use personal links. Each person gets their own, you can see who has joined and who has not, and you can remind only the people who have not. You still never see how anyone voted.
One more thing: say what happens next
The best prompt is not a channel. It is a promise: we will share the top ideas on this date and choose two to start. People take part when they believe the answer will be used.