Handout: ORID Protocol

As teams work through the protocol they will have the chance to review, reflect, react and respond to the provided data about the system. In the decision phase as the team identifies possible improvements to the system they should put them into the recommendations column of the Decision Matrix for further analysis and final decision making regarding which to pursue.

Purpose of the ORID process

• Reflect on and interpret a shared experience (e.g., a meeting) and decide what to do as a result.
• Listen to and share perceptions and emotional responses, suspend judgment during the discussion, and gain a broader and deeper understanding of the experience.

Stages

The acronym "ORID" is derived from the first letters of the four stages of questioning:

• Objective
• Reflective
• Interpretative
• Decision

A facilitator prepares, then asks, questions to which group members respond. The facilitator may want to explain the purpose and outline the stages, both to help participants stay on task and learn a process they too can use. Ideally, questions are:

• prepared in advance and relevant to the experience
• open-ended and specific
• sequenced, i.e., start with easy questions.

The facilitator asks each participant to give one idea at a time (to encourage participation from as many people as possible) and guides participants back on task if they skip a stage. The facilitator may record ideas on flip charts to keep track of them. The facilitator may wish to summarize ideas or ask for clarification.

1. Objective: Facts, Data, Senses

Objective questions related to thought, sight, hearing, touch, and smell are used to draw out observable data about the experience. For example:

• What images or scenes do you recall?
• Which people, comments, ideas, or words caught your attention, and why?
• What sounds do you recall?
• What tactile sensations do you recall?

Participants learn that people have different perspectives on observable reality and may recall the same experience differently.

1. Reflective: Reactions, Heart, Feelings

Reflective questions relate to the affective domain - emotional responses, moods, and hunches. Examples:

• How did this experience affect you?
• What was the high point?
• What was the low point?
• What was the collective mood of the group involved?
• How did the group react?
• What were your feelings during the experience?

If individuals have difficulty identifying feelings, the facilitator might suggest, for example, "During the experience were you surprised/angered/ curious/confused?" Individuals often correct the questioner regarding the intensity of the feeling: for instance, "No, I wasn't angry, I was absolutely livid."

1. Interpretative: So What?

The facilitator invites participants to consider the experience’s value, meaning, or significance for them. For example:

• What was your key insight?
• What was the most meaningful aspect of this activity?
• What can you conclude from this experience?
• What have you learned from this experience?
• How does this relate to any theories, models and/or other concepts?

1. Decision: Now What?

Individuals and the group determine future resolutions and/or actions. For example:

• How, if at all, has this experience changed your thinking?
• What was the significance of this experience to your study/work/life?
• What will you do differently as a result of the experience?
• What would you say about the experience to people who were not there?
• What would it take to help you apply what you learned?
• What recommendations do you have for improving the system in the coming years?

Advantages

People often evaluate experiences quickly and superficially, or allow discussions to meander. This framework enables detailed reflection and learning, and helps groups get to the heart of the matter efficiently. It is simple, follows a natural process, and ensures that each step of the process is taken, so that the group can reach conclusions based upon the widest possible base of data.

The method structures the debriefing process and prompts recall so that a group can broaden their perspectives of an experience, develop a shared understanding of the experience, and formulate a common strategy.

Emotional or intuitive responses are important data but frequently are not acknowledged. When taken into consideration in decision making, they strengthen and support the decision. Ignored, they often jeopardize the decision.

References:

Adapted from Practical Facilitation: A Toolkit of Techniques, Chapter 3 (Christine Hogan, 2003, Kogan Page Publishers)

ORID Focused Conversation – Adapted from Hogan, Practical Facilitation: A Toolkit of Techniques Center for Youth and Communities, Heller School, Brandeis University

ORID level	ORID Rationale	ORID Questions to consider
O Objective Level	To examine the data To identify factual information	What do you see? What factual statements can you make based on the data?
R Reflective Level	To encourage participants to make connections To encourage free flow of ideas and imagination	What surprised you? What encouraged you? What discouraged you? How does this make you feel?
I Interpretive Level	To identify patterns and determine their significance or meaning To articulate underlying insights	Describe the “Big Idea” What does the data tell us? What new insights do you have? What good news is there for us to celebrate? What doesn’t it tell us and what else might we need to know?
D Decisional Level	To propose next steps To develop an action plan To make decisions To experience “coming together”	What are our proposed next steps? What decisions can we make? What is our action plan for moving forward?

Conversation Step	Your Comments
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