Time-Critical Questioning: A smarter way to get information when every second counts

A new method for getting life-saving information from people caught in fast-moving situations—such as terror attacks or hostage crises—has wide-reaching potential, according to a new study.

The Time Critical Questioning (TCQ) protocol is a practical communication framework designed to give emergency responders a better way to quickly gather vital details from witnesses, victims and others with important information.

It was 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).

Originally developed to support emergency response, the method also shows strong potential for use in any setting where a fast, accurate exchange of information can shape outcomes.

In many real-world contexts—from a hospital emergency room to a critical software failure or transport disruption—professionals need to ask the right questions in a short space of time, without overloading or distracting the person they are speaking to.

Professor Hope, from the University’s School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences, said, “Our research focused on improving information gathering in situations where the pressure to respond quickly can compromise clarity. The protocol doesn’t require specialist knowledge or years of training, and early results suggest it is easy to adopt in a variety of professional settings. By giving professionals a practical tool for structuring time-sensitive conversations, it supports better decision-making and reduces the chance of missing vital information.”

The TCQ protocol begins with a short structured instruction called I-RELATE, which helps set expectations, define roles, and establish a clear goal for the interaction. Rather than relying on rapid-fire questioning or leaving the conversation entirely open-ended, TCQ balances structure and flexibility to support the person being asked, helping them focus on the most relevant information quickly.

I-RELATE stands for: Introductions, Roles, Expectations, Line-up goals, Agenda, Topic cues, and Explanation.

To test the method, researchers worked with 142 volunteers at the Other World Escapes—Escape Room Portsmouth in England. Participants were interviewed after completing the escape room challenge, using either the TCQ method or a more standard approach.

Those who were interviewed with TCQ shared more useful, accurate details earlier in the conversation, offering a significant advantage in time-sensitive settings. On average, the TCQ interviewees were 97% accurate, ten percent more than the control group (87% accuracy rate).

These findings suggest that even small changes in how a conversation starts can make a meaningful difference in the quality and speed of information shared. They also found that the faster TCQ-led conversations did not result in more inaccurate information being shared.

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. Those who used it described it as a “brilliant way to keep focus during high-pressure interviews.” Interviewers also reported that it made them “less likely to overlook important points and helped them to organize their thinking.”

Chief Superintendent Claire Finlay, Head of Counter Terrorism South East, said, “CTP South East were delighted to be involved in the trial of this groundbreaking research. The operational utility of it cannot be underestimated. It provides an innovative solution to a very real and challenging problem facing Policing today: how to get as much information as possible from someone when both the interviewer and the interviewee are under pressure.”

“Although the protocol was developed with emergency and law enforcement environments in mind, its principles are widely applicable,” added Dr. Hope. “In health care, it could be used in triage conversations to identify urgent symptoms. In cybersecurity, it may support effective questioning during the early moments of an incident. In industrial settings, it could help teams debrief quickly after a technical fault or safety breach. We’re keen to explore this further.”

The paper is published in the journal Scientific Reports.