A suggestion for introducing ORID as the thinking process behind the agenda:
It’s important for the facilitator to understand the underlying thinking process. This helps you design the facilitation process you are going to use. (See the accompanying article.) Then you can share the thinking process with the group before you start, so they can listen and participate fully. Here is a simple sample “script” for introducing the levels of thinking to a group as context before they start work, so that they become aware of their own thinking process as a group.
“As we go through this meeting, we are going to be following some steps in a thinking process that will help us understand each other and build on our personal experiences and insights to make wise decisions.
There are four levels in this thinking process, held by the acronym ORID:
Objective level: Noticing and getting clear on objective data and facts, sharing observations about what is actually going on
Reflective level: Being aware of our internal reactions, responses, and previous similar experiences that are triggered by the objective data, and sharing them
Interpretive level: Exploring the meaning, significance, and implications of the situation, based on the facts and our internal experience of them
Decisional level: Bringing all of the exploration to a close with a summary or a decision
This process is built on more than 50 years of research, experience and observing how people think clearly (when they think clearly).”
