A groundbreaking new method for gathering life-saving information from individuals in fast-moving situations has been developed and tested, showing promising potential for a wide range of applications. The Time Critical Questioning (TCQ) protocol, developed by Professor Lorraine Hope and her team at the University of Portsmouth in collaboration with the UK’s Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST), is a practical communication framework designed to help emergency responders quickly gather vital details from witnesses, victims, and others with important information.
Originally designed to support emergency response efforts, the TCQ protocol has shown strong potential for use in any setting where a rapid exchange of information can have a significant impact on outcomes. Whether in a hospital emergency room, during a critical software failure, or in response to a transport disruption, professionals often need to ask the right questions quickly without overwhelming or distracting the person they are speaking to.
The protocol begins with a structured instruction called I-RELATE, which helps set expectations, define roles, and establish a clear goal for the interaction. By balancing structure and flexibility, TCQ supports the person being questioned in focusing on the most relevant information quickly.
In a study conducted at the Other World Escapes—Escape Room Portsmouth in England, researchers worked with 142 volunteers to test the TCQ method. Participants were interviewed after completing an escape room challenge, using either the TCQ method or a more standard approach. The results showed that those interviewed with TCQ shared more useful and accurate details earlier in the conversation, providing a significant advantage in time-sensitive settings.
The TCQ protocol was also trialed in a national counter-terrorism exercise in Southampton, England, where practitioners were faced with the challenge of interviewing individuals who had been released from an armed hostage scenario. Interviewers described TCQ as a “brilliant way to keep focus during high-pressure interviews” and reported that it helped them organize their thinking and avoid overlooking important points.
Although initially developed for emergency and law enforcement environments, the principles of the TCQ protocol are widely applicable. It could be used in healthcare for triage conversations, in cybersecurity for effective questioning during incidents, and in industrial settings for post-incident debriefings. The research paper detailing the TCQ protocol is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The development and testing of the TCQ protocol offer a new and smarter way to gather critical information when every second counts. The protocol’s ease of adoption and effectiveness in structuring time-sensitive conversations have the potential to improve decision-making and reduce the risk of missing vital information in a variety of professional settings.
