What are the moment types Ovida identifies?

Ovida automatically highlights specific moments in your meetings to help you spot patterns in how you communicate. There are four types Ovida identifies: three question patterns and one statement pattern.

You'll see these moments listed in the Moments tab of your meeting review. You can also filter to focus on one type at a time.

Question patterns

How you ask questions shapes how conversations unfold. Ovida tracks three question patterns.

Open questions

Questions that invite a detailed or expansive response. They can't easily be answered with "yes" or "no" and they encourage the other person to share information, opinions, or feelings.

Open questions often start with how, why, what, or phrases like tell me about or describe.

Examples:

• "How did you feel about that experience?"

• "What are your thoughts on this topic?"

• "Why did you decide to pursue this career?"

Open questions are a key tool for gathering qualitative information and understanding someone's perspective.

Closed questions

Questions designed for a short, specific answer. They typically get a "yes" or "no" or a choice from a set of options.

Closed questions often start with verbs like is, are, do, or did.

Examples:

• "Do you like coffee?"

• "Is it raining outside?"

• "Did you go to the gym today?"

Closed questions are useful for gathering specific data, making quick decisions, and clarifying points. Our data shows users typically ask far more closed questions than they think they do, and simply being aware of this often leads to fast change in communication style.

Stacked questions

A series of questions asked together without waiting for a response to each one. Stacked questions can overwhelm the other person and make it hard for them to answer thoroughly.

Example: "How was your weekend? Did you go out? Who did you meet? Did you enjoy it?"

Four questions in a row, no space for an answer.

Stacked questions are often unintentional but they're more common than most people assume. Awareness and practice can rapidly eliminate them.

Statement patterns

How you assert things matters as much as how you ask.

Absolute language

Words and phrases that express total certainty, leaving no room for exceptions. They make statements sound universal even when they aren't.

Common absolute words include always, never, everyone, no one, all, none, impossible, and inevitable.

Examples:

• "Everyone loves ice cream."

• "It is impossible to learn a new language in a day."

• "No one can live without water."

There's no "right" frequency of absolute language. But noticing how often you or your guests use it can surface interesting communication patterns over time.