ORID: Conversation Flow 101

June 13th, 2018

Some conversations flow. Others don’t.

I think about this whenever prepping for research interviews. I’m trying to gauge if our sequence of questions “feels” right.

Does the order seem natural? Do we avoid coming on too strong? Are we building up to the meaty stuff?

Today I learned about the Focused Conversation method—also called the ORID method—at a Facilitation Fundamentals course by The Design Gym. (They adapted the content from The Institute of Cultural Affairs).

ORID is a framework to logically progress through four different levels of thinking: Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional.

For me it’s conversation flow 101. A helpful starter guide to structure any discussion, interview, survey, or even informal chat. A roadmap for progressing through topics.

1. (O) Objective – Facts, data, info
   e.g. What happened? What are the facts?
2. (R) Reflective – Feelings, reactions, responses
   e.g. What was challenging? What surprises you?
3. (I) Interpretive – Meaning, significance, implications
   e.g. What’s really being said? What are the root causes? Pros/cons?
4. (D) Decisional – Summary, decisions, actions
   e.g. Next steps? Key takeaways? Where do we agree?

Bonus: a fun way to remember ORID is…

1. What?
2. Gut?
3. So what?
4. Now what?

Thanks to The Design Gym for a great day and plenty of brain food. I recommend their Facilitation Fundamentals course!