ClaryooORID is a way to structure a group conversation in four levels: Objective, Reflective, Interpretive and Decisional. It comes from the Institute of Cultural Affairs' Technology of Participation, and the book The Art of Focused Conversation has a hundred worked examples.
The idea behind it: most group arguments start at the third level. Someone reads a report and says "this is great", someone else says "this is a disaster", and they argue about meaning before agreeing on what's actually in the report. ORID slows the group down so it moves through the same steps a brain does: notice, react, make sense, decide.
The four levels
| Level | Asks about | Example questions |
|---|---|---|
| O, Objective | Facts: what did we see, hear, read? | What stood out? What numbers do you remember? What words or phrases caught your eye? |
| R, Reflective | Feelings and reactions | What surprised you? What resonated, or didn't? Where did you feel uneasy? |
| I, Interpretive | Meaning: what does it mean for us? | What's this really about? What does it change? What's the biggest lesson here? |
| D, Decisional | Action: what will we do? | What's our next step? What will you do differently? Who needs to hear about this? |
How to run it
- Prepare two to four questions for each level before the session. Write them down; it's easy to skip to interpretation under pressure.
- Start with objective questions and let everyone answer. Quick, factual, low-risk: this is where quiet people can join in easily.
- Move to reflective. Make it clear that reactions are welcome, positive and negative. A strong reaction found here explains a lot of the arguments later.
- Interpretive. Now ask what it means. Because the group agreed on the facts and heard the reactions, this conversation is usually calmer.
- Decisional. End with a concrete question about what happens next, and write the answers down.
Time: 15 minutes for a quick debrief, up to 45 for a strategic plan.
Why the reflective step matters
The Collaborative Commons video tells the story of a single word, "lean in", that set off one participant because of a book they'd read. Everything that followed got filtered through that reaction. Asking "what resonated, and what didn't?" brings those reactions into the open before they quietly bend the discussion.
Where to use it
- Debriefing a training exercise, a role-play or a pilot.
- Reviewing a report or proposal before a decision.
- Making sense of feedback or survey results with a team.
- Reflecting at the end of a project or a retreat.
ORID or What, So What, Now What?
| ORID | What, So What, Now What | |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | Four, including feelings | Three |
| Format | Facilitator asks the group | Small groups, using 1-2-4-All |
| Best for | Charged topics, where reactions need airing | Fast debriefs after a shared experience |
Common mistakes
- Skipping straight to "so what do we think it means?" That's the argument ORID is designed to avoid.
- Asking reflective questions that sound like a therapy session. Keep them simple: "What surprised you?"
- No decisional level. Without it, it's a nice conversation that changes nothing.
Run it with Claryoo
The reflective level works well as a quick anonymous poll ("How did this land with you?"), so honest reactions come out before the discussion. At the decisional level, Claryoo captures what was decided and who owes what in your summary, so the decisions don't depend on someone's notes.
More to watch
- ORID Method: Focused Conversations That Gets You To A Decision, Collaborative Commons (5 min): the four levels, with the "lean in" story.
- What? - So What? - Now What?, UMN Extension Community Development (3 min): a related three-question framework for enabling action.
Use it in a ready session
Free PowerPoint templates with the slides, timings and speaker notes written. ORID fits in each one.
Want a co-host in your next session?
Claryoo joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call, runs polls people answer in the chat, and writes up what was decided.
Start freeFree plan. No card needed.