blank sharpens critical thinking skills

How to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

Traditional tools and new technologies..

Posted September 29, 2023 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma

Technology provides access to vast information and makes daily life easier. Yet, too much reliance on technology potentially interferes with the acquisition and maintenance of critical thinking skills in several ways:

1. Information Overload : The constant influx of data can discourage deep critical thinking as we may come to rely on quick, surface-level information rather than delving deeply into a subject.

2. Shortened Attention Span: Frequent digital distractions can disrupt our ability for the sustained focus and concentration required for critical thinking.

3. Confirmatory Bias and Echo Chambers: Technology, including social media and personalized content algorithms, can reinforce confirmation bias . People are often exposed to information that aligns with their beliefs and opinions, making them less likely to encounter diverse perspectives and engage in critical thinking about opposing views.

4. Reduced Problem-Solving Opportunities: Technology often provides quick solutions to problems. While this benefits efficiency, it may discourage individuals from engaging in complex problem-solving, a fundamental aspect of critical thinking.

5. Loss of Research Skills: The ease of accessing information online can diminish traditional research skills, such as library research or in-depth reading. These skills are essential for critical thinking, as they involve evaluating sources, synthesizing information, and analyzing complex texts.

While technology can pose challenges to developing critical thinking skills, it's important to note that technology can also be a valuable tool for learning and skill development. It can provide access to educational resources, facilitate collaboration , and support critical thinking when used thoughtfully and intentionally. Balancing technology use with activities that encourage deep thinking and analysis is vital to lessening its potential adverse effects on critical thinking.

Writing is a traditional and powerful tool to exercise and improve your critical thinking skills. Consider these ways writing can help enhance critical thinking:

1. Clarity of Thought: Writing requires that you articulate your thoughts clearly and coherently. When you need to put your ideas on paper, you must organize them logically, which requires a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

2. Analysis and Evaluation: Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating information. When you write, you often need to assess the validity and relevance of different sources, arguments, or pieces of evidence, which hone your critical thinking skills.

3. Problem-Solving: Writing can be a problem-solving exercise in itself. Whether crafting an argument, developing a thesis, or finding the right words to express your ideas, writing requires thinking critically about approaching these challenges effectively.

4. Research Skills: Good writing often involves research, and research requires critical thinking. You need to assess the credibility of sources, synthesize information, and draw conclusions based on the evidence you gather.

5. Argumentation: Constructing a persuasive argument in writing is a complex process requiring critical thinking. You must anticipate counterarguments, provide evidence to support your claims, and address potential weaknesses in your reasoning.

6. Revision and Editing: To be an influential writer, you must learn to read your work critically. Editing and revising requires evaluating your writing objectively, identifying areas that need improvement, and refining your ideas and arguments.

7. Problem Identification: In some cases, writing can help you identify problems or gaps in your thinking. As you write, you might realize that your arguments are not as strong as you initially thought or that you need more information to support your claims. This recognition of limitations is a crucial aspect of critical thinking.

Writing is a dynamic process that engages multiple facets of critical thinking. It has been a valuable tool used in education , business, and personal development for centuries.

Yet, this traditional approach of self-generated written thoughts is rapidly being supplanted by AI -generated writing tools like Chat GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer. With over 100 million users of Chat GPT alone, we cannot ignore its potential impact. How might the increasing reliance on AI-generated writing tools influence our critical thinking skills? The impact can vary depending on how the tools are used and the context in which they are employed.

Critical thinking involves evaluating information sources for credibility, relevance, and bias. If individuals consistently trust the information provided by chatbots without critically assessing its quality, it can hinder their development of critical thinking skills. This is especially true if they depend on the chatbot to provide answers without questioning or verifying the information. Relying solely on chatbots for answers may also reduce people's effort in problem-solving. Critical thinking often requires wrestling with complex problems, considering multiple perspectives, and generating creative solutions. If we default to chatbots for quick answers, we may miss opportunities to develop these skills.

However, it's essential to note that the impact of chatbots on critical thinking skills may not be entirely negative. These tools can also have positive effects:

1. Chatbots provide quick access to vast information, which can benefit research and problem-solving. When used as a supplement to critical thinking, they can enhance the efficiency of information retrieval.

2. Chatbots can sometimes assist in complex tasks by providing relevant data or suggestions. When individuals critically evaluate and integrate this information into their decision-making process, it can enhance their critical thinking.

3. Chatbots can be used as learning aids. They can provide explanations, examples, and guidance, which can support skill development and, when used effectively, encourage critical thinking.

In summary, the impact of chatbots on critical thinking skills depends on how we use them. The effect will be harmful if they become a crutch to avoid independent thought or analysis. However, they can be valuable resources when used as tools to facilitate and augment critical thinking and writing processes. Individuals must balance leveraging the convenience of chatbots and actively engaging in independent critical thinking and problem-solving to maintain and enhance their cognitive abilities. You can do that effectively through writing regularly.

Copyright 2023 Tara Well, PhD

Tara Well, Ph.D. , is a professor in the department of psychology at Barnard College of Columbia University.

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3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking

• Helen Lee Bouygues

But simple doesn’t mean easy.

Too many business leaders are simply not reasoning through pressing issues, and it’s hurting their organizations.  The good news is that critical thinking is a learned behavior. There are three simple things you can do to train yourself to become a more effective critical thinker: question assumptions, reason through logic, and diversify your thought and perspectives. They may sound obvious, but deliberately cultivating these three key habits of mind go a long way in helping you become better at clear and robust reasoning.

A few years ago, a CEO assured me that his company was the market leader. “Clients will not leave for competitors,” he added. “It costs too much for them to switch.” Within weeks, the manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble elected not to renew its contract with the firm. The CEO was shocked — but he shouldn’t have been.

• HB Helen Lee Bouygues is the president of the Paris-based Reboot Foundation . A former partner at McKinsey & Company, she has served as interim CEO, CFO, or COO for more than one dozen companies.

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Developing Critical Thinking Skills: Techniques and Exercises for Sharper Analysis

Introduction

In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to think critically has become increasingly important. Critical thinking skills help us make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, and navigate the complexities of modern life. In this blog post, we will explore techniques and exercises you can use to sharpen your critical thinking abilities and improve your overall cognitive performance.

Defining Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an informed conclusion or decision. It involves questioning assumptions, considering alternative perspectives, and evaluating evidence to make well-informed judgments.

Techniques for Developing Critical Thinking Skills

1. socratic questioning.

Socratic questioning is a technique that involves asking open-ended, probing questions to challenge assumptions, reveal underlying beliefs, and promote deeper understanding. Practice asking questions such as:

• What is the main issue or problem?
• What evidence supports or contradicts this belief?
• What are the implications of this idea?
• What alternative explanations or viewpoints could be considered?

2. Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method encourages looking at a problem or decision from multiple perspectives. Each “hat” represents a different way of thinking:

• White Hat: Focus on facts and data.
• Red Hat: Explore emotions, feelings, and intuition.
• Black Hat: Consider potential risks, challenges, and obstacles.
• Yellow Hat: Identify benefits, opportunities, and positive aspects.
• Green Hat: Generate creative solutions and innovative ideas.
• Blue Hat: Organize and manage the thinking process.

Practice switching between these hats to analyze situations more comprehensively.

Exercises for Sharper Analysis

1. debate or role-play.

Engage in debates or role-play scenarios to practice examining multiple viewpoints and presenting well-reasoned arguments. This exercise helps you develop empathy, communication skills, and the ability to think critically under pressure.

2. Keep a Reflection Journal

Regularly write down your thoughts, beliefs, and experiences in a reflection journal. Review your entries to identify patterns, biases, and assumptions that may be affecting your decision-making. Use this self-awareness to refine your critical thinking skills.

3. Analyze News Articles and Opinions

Read news articles and opinion pieces from diverse sources. Practice identifying the main arguments, assessing the quality of evidence, and evaluating the logic and reasoning behind the author’s conclusions. This exercise helps you develop the ability to think critically about the information you consume.

Developing critical thinking skills is an ongoing process that requires dedication, self-awareness, and practice. By using techniques such as Socratic questioning and the Six Thinking Hats, and engaging in exercises like debate, journaling, and news analysis, you can sharpen your analytical abilities and become a more effective thinker. Embrace the challenge of critical thinking and enjoy the benefits it brings to your personal and professional life.

Logical Fallacies and Cognitive Biases: Identifying and Overcoming Common Thinking Traps

Developing cognitive flexibility: adapting to change and uncertainty, critical thinking vs. common sense: the differences, why critical thinking is essential in today's workplace, 5 powerful strategies to boost critical thinking, uncovering the benefits of critical thinking.

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Sharpening Your Critical Thinking

Arguments .

We’ve all encountered that situation in which we think one thing, and someone else thinks another. Perhaps you think that Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time, whereas I think that Serena Williams is. Or perhaps you think that there is intelligent alien life elsewhere in the Universe, whereas I think there isn’t. Or perhaps you think that Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, while I think it’s Auckland. It’s possible to disagree about almost anything.

Most of the time, people can give reasons for what they think. Why think that Federer is the greatest tennis player? Perhaps, in your opinion, Federer is the most graceful tennis player on court. I might respond by pointing out that Williams has won the most Grand Slam singles titles since tennis professionalised in 1968. And why think there’s intelligent alien life? Perhaps you’d say that, statistically, given the vastness of the Universe, intelligent life is unlikely to have evolved just once. I might respond by saying that, if there were intelligent alien life, we would have come into contact with it by now.

Philosophers like to represent people’s reasons for what they think as arguments . An argument involves one or more claims, called premises , which are presented in support of a conclusion . For example, we might represent our disagreement about tennis like this:

Your Argument

Premise:  Federer is the most graceful tennis player on court.

Conclusion: Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time.

My Argument

Premise: Williams has won the most Grand Slam singles titles since tennis professionalised.

Conclusion: Williams is the greatest tennis player of all time.

Testing Arguments

Displaying our disagreement like this is helpful, because we have tests for assessing arguments. Here are the two most important tests.

• First test: Are all the premises true?
• Second test: If the premises were true, would they support the conclusion?

For an argument to be a good one, it should pass both tests.

Let’s begin by applying the first test to your argument. There is only one premise: ‘Federer is the most graceful player on court’. Is that premise true? There are various ways we might try to work that out. We might survey tennis experts, or the general public, we might discuss what counts as gracefulness in tennis and examine the footage ourselves, or something else. Perhaps, when we do the research, we’ll decide that the premise is true; or perhaps we won’t. It isn’t obvious whether Your Argument passes the first test.

In contrast, My Argument does pass the first test. At time of writing, Williams has won the most Grand Slam singles titles since tennis professionalised. But does it pass the second test? Well, you might reasonably wonder why I am ignoring Grand Slam doubles titles. After all, taking those into account as well, Martina Navratilova has won the most titles since tennis professionalised. And what about Grand Slam titles before then? If we take those into account, then Margaret Court has won the most Grand Slam titles. So, even if we think that Grand Slam titles are indicative of greatness, it’s not clear that Serena Williams comes out on top. So it’s debatable whether My Argument passes the second test.

We would need to do more research, or develop more arguments, to work out whether either argument is a good argument.

Confirmation Bias

Testing arguments, then, is difficult. And it would be difficult even if we could be completely objective. But, to make matters worse, we’re not completely objective.

Repeated psychological experiments have shown that humans suffer from a confirmation bias. What that means is that people – including you and me – tend to be biased in favour of our own thoughts and beliefs.

Repeated psychological experiments have shown that humans suffer from a confirmation bias. What that means is that people – including you and me – tend to be biased in favour of our own thoughts and beliefs. We unconsciously select arguments and evidence that support what we already believe, and ignore or dismiss arguments and evidence that contradict what we believe.

So, if you believe there’s intelligent alien life elsewhere in the Universe, then you may end up thinking your arguments are conclusive, while simply dismissing my counter-arguments. Moreover, you may end up doing this even though you are trying, in good faith, to test my argument objectively.

Suppose, for example, you start by representing my argument as follows:

• Premise: We haven’t come into contact with any intelligent alien life. 
• Conclusion: There is no intelligent alien life elsewhere in the Universe.

So far so good: this is, I think, a fair representation of my argument. And now imagine you try, in good faith, to test it. Applying the first test, you might point out that we might have come into contact with intelligent alien life unknowingly . And applying the second test, you might say that, even if we haven’t come into contact with intelligent alien life, there could be all sorts of reasons why. You might thus dismiss the argument as a bad one.

So what’s the problem? Well, if you reasoned like that, you would be unconsciously favouring your own thoughts and beliefs. Pointing out that the premise might be false isn’t enough to show that the premise is false. And indeed, if I’d asked you prior to the disagreement, maybe you would even have agreed that the premise is probably true. If you claim that the argument fails the first test, you are probably being swayed by your belief that there is intelligent alien life.

What about the second test? Things are a bit more complicated here. To properly apply the test, you need to understand why the premise or premises are supposed to support the conclusion. You need to see the argument from my perspective, to practise intellectual empathy .

Perhaps I think the following: if intelligence has evolved twice, then it is likely to have evolved countless times throughout the Universe; and, if intelligence has evolved countless times throughout the Universe, then many of those species will have reached out to look for other signs of intelligence; and, if intelligent aliens had reached out then, given that we have been looking, we would expect to have made some kind of contact by now. The point here isn’t that this conclusively establishes that there are no intelligent aliens. The point is that it is a reasonable line of thought, and should not be dismissed without proper examination.

There is no simple strategy for overcoming confirmation bias. But practising intellectual empathy is an important step. Try to understand why people judge their arguments to be good arguments. And, even harder, try to understand why those same people might judge your arguments to be bad arguments. Understanding this is the first step to making progress.

Nuance and Complexity

A second reason why testing arguments is difficult is that the truth is normally nuanced and complex. There probably isn’t an objectively greatest tennis player of all time; and we can’t say exactly how likely it is that there is intelligent alien life.

One consequence of this is that we can sometimes find good arguments with contradictory conclusions. For example, perhaps your arguments in favour of Federer and intelligent aliens are good arguments, but perhaps my arguments in favour of Williams and against intelligent aliens are also good arguments. This may be a disappointing resolution to a disagreement – that neither of us is entirely right or entirely wrong – but it is often the appropriate conclusion.

When it comes to tennis, for example, we might come to the conclusion that there are many factors that contribute to being great. Gracefulness is one, grand slam titles is another. But maybe we should conclude that there’s no objectively correct way of weighing up these different factors. Federer might be the greatest in terms of style, whereas Williams might be the greatest in terms of titles. (But even that is too simplistic, for there are different styles of play, and different ways of counting titles, and so on.)

And when it comes to aliens, we might come to the conclusion that there are good reasons for thinking both that there are intelligent aliens, and that there aren’t intelligent aliens. There’s nothing particularly unusual about this sort of situation. It just shows that we’re not able, at present, to work out the answer for certain. You think one thing, and for good reason; I think another, and for good reason. One of us is right, but neither of us is irrational or confused.

Why This Matters

Sometimes, just sometimes, a disagreement has a clear resolution. Recall the third disagreement I opened the piece with, about whether Wellington or Auckland is the capital of New Zealand. Perhaps this was my reason for thinking that Auckland is the capital:

Premise: Auckland is the most famous city in New Zealand.

Conclusion: Auckland is the capital of New Zealand.

And perhaps this was your reason for thinking that Wellington is the capital:

Premise: I remember learning at school that Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.

Conclusion: Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.

Unlike the disagreements about tennis and aliens, there is an objective, empirical yardstick here by which the truth can be measured. My argument isn’t obviously bad: Auckland perhaps is the most famous city in New Zealand, and a country’s capital often is its most famous city. But, even so, I am objectively wrong: Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.

But disagreements are rarely settled so easily, even when you’d think that there’s an objective answer out there. Just because someone is appealing to the latest evidence, it doesn’t mean their conclusion is true. Even when you’re the one who’s appealing to the evidence. Interpreting evidence is incredibly difficult – requiring more than just the skills I’ve been discussing – and it’s important to remain open to alternative interpretations. Even the truth about ‘what the evidence shows’ is nuanced.

People disagree about all sorts of things that affect our lives – sport, the regulation of business, public health, eating meat, who should lead the country, etc. – and people use all sorts of arguments, and appeal to a wide variety of evidence, when giving their reasons. When you and I are involved in a disagreement, both of us would likely think ‘I am right’. This can lead to shouting matches, resentment, and a polarised society.

Sharpening your critical thinking isn’t about finding new ways to show you’re right. It’s about opening yourself up to the possibility that you’re wrong.

Sharpening your critical thinking isn’t about finding new ways to show you’re right. It’s about opening yourself up to the possibility that you’re wrong. It’s about being aware of your confirmation bias, trying to understand what others think, and embracing nuance and complexity. All these skills are difficult, and take a lot of practice. But putting in that practice is worth it. It can give us a richer, more realistic picture of the world we live in.

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• Originally published: Thursday, 18 February 2021
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Five simple strategies to sharpen your critical thinking.

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Is the sky really blue? That might seem obvious. But sometimes things are more nuanced and complicated than you think. Here are five strategies to boost your critical thinking skills.

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• How to Sharpen Your...

How to Sharpen Your Critical-Thinking Skills

5 min read · Updated on October 21, 2021

A critical thinker looks at a situation from all angles. If you're looking to develop this key skill, we have some advice.

Tony Wagner, education expert and author of The Global Achievement Gap , argues that students need 3 basic skills in order to thrive in a knowledge economy:

1. The ability to do critical thinking and problem-solving.

2. The ability to communicate effectively.

3. The ability to collaborate.

What is true for students is true for all of us professionals, or 'students' of the world of work: These skills are invaluable and fall on the skills list of what employers look for. I'd recommend that anyone who cares about knowledge job performance strengthen and continuously exercise all of these skills. I can say they've served me extraordinarily well so far in my career, from teaching English as a foreign language, to helping organizations grow as a writer and editor for a marketing agency.

The supreme importance of critical thinking.

Wagner lists critical thinking first for a reason. It's paramount. In the classic cognitive skills of traditional education, it's the difference between the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy (memorization) and the top (evaluation). Along with the other indispensable skills of a knowledge-based economy, critical thinking is rooted in a rigorous and balanced approach to looking at the world, what many employers look for.

Whether in a classroom, laboratory, online program or live workshop (even self-study), the sharper your critical-thinking skills, the easier it will be for you to apply your knowledge to boost your career growth. To borrow from Bloom's taxonomy again, those who can use their knowledge to analyze, synthesize and ultimately evaluate, can adapt to any job situation and thrive within it. The particular knowledge itself is less important than the types of thought processes you're exposed to and practice on a regular basis.

Essentially, the critical thinker cultivates a mindset (grounded in awareness) that looks at all the angles of a given situation. How do you see more angles? How do you become more aware? Well, it's partly a function of experience, but it's also a habit of mind. Having a healthy curiosity and drive to understand the why behind things, not just the how, broadens perception and awareness. It's also a key skill for a resume.

How do you improve your critical-thinking skills?

To start, we've got no shortage of literary sources to turn to in the current exploding market for productivity advice. Some of these bestsellers can help you reevaluate many of your foundational choices, which translates directly to work choices. Being active and deliberate with your life choices requires critical thinking. A good book I'm reading right now is Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath; another I'm looking forward to reading soon is Charles Duhigg's just-published Smarter Faster Better . If you're only going to read one book, I'd start with Maria Konnikova's Mastermind , which uses modern neuroscience to explain the ways we can all learn to think like Sherlock Holmes. I have found her take on mental performance to be completely mesmerizing … and integral to my productivity in both work and life.

What employers look for.

At most places where you'd want to be working, employers are looking for people to ask the right questions. Indeed, being inquisitive is one of the fundamental principles of company culture where I work. This knack for probing deeper into what motivates an organization is exactly what smart employers seek. In fact, when I was last on the job market, I relied heavily on a book (maybe this one … sorry, too long ago) that helps job-seekers formulate the best questions to ask during an interview.

I got the job.

With no prior experience in the industry. And very little knowledge. Furthermore, I could tell before getting the formal offer that one reason I was on track was the quality of the conversation my questions enabled. Apparently I tricked them into thinking I was a legit candidate! In all seriousness, by demonstrating a leader's forward-thinking tendency while interviewing for an entry-level position, I showed my commitment and potential. Ultimately, I left a great impression, thanks in large part to my questions.

Ask intelligent questions.

One of the hallmarks of critical thinking is asking intelligent questions … not necessarily knowing the answers, but the best questions to ask. As indicated in the preceding section, the ability to articulate—and refine—a powerful question is a highly coveted job skill and a key skill for a resume. It indicates you care about outcomes and can take a long-term perspective, which are signs of professional maturity. And it starts from critical thinking.

So, ask more questions. Be open-minded. Learn as much as you can. Then debate, explore and play with your new knowledge. Practice thinking critically until it is as natural to you as breathing. This is what employers look for. Before long, you will start to look at the world differently. Even more exciting, your employer and colleagues will start looking at you differently, too.

Want to see how your resume stacks up? Try out our free critique today!

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How to sharpen your critical thinking skills

Amy Herman ’88 trains leaders around the world in how to make tactical decisions. Here, she shares three habits that will help improve any problem-solving process.

ILLUSTRATION BY MIGUEL PORLAN

The FBI. Peace Corps. United States Postal Service. Johnson & Johnson. Georgetown University Hospital. New York City Public Schools. These are just a bite-size sample of the organizations around the world that have enlisted Amy Herman ’88 to empower employees with a vital skill: critical thinking.

The founder and president of The Art of Perception Inc., Herman takes an innovative approach to the professional development training she provides to leaders across industries. She uses artwork as a means to challenge people to change how they see things, make keener observations, and tactfully glean information from any situation to more effectively perform their jobs.

“At Lafayette, I discovered something in my liberal arts education I wouldn’t have otherwise: how powerful art is,” Herman says. “Now, I teach others how to look at art as data they’ve never seen before, ask questions, and use the power of perception to bring a fresh set of eyes to what they do every day.”

At the heart of critical thinking, Herman says, is “visual intelligence,” or the ability to gain clarity by seeing things from different perspectives. As she notes, understanding that there are multiple lenses through which a single situation can be viewed helps us make more acute assessments and better-informed decisions. Ready to see and impact the world in a new way? Here’s Herman’s advice for thinking more critically.

Make yourself uncomfortable

Falling into a daily routine is a common human experience, as it provides a sense of security. But it often causes us to miss out on new experiences that can help us grow our thought processes. Herman suggests making a daily conscious effort to either notice something new in your everyday surroundings or put yourself in an unfamiliar situation. “It could be something as small as taking a different route to work, or as big as traveling to a place where you don’t speak the language,” Herman says. “Making yourself uncomfortable strengthens your situational awareness and neuroplasticity, trains your brain to get out of a linear way of thinking, and expands your ability to adapt.”

Understand “the pertinent negative”

Herman teaches her trainees about “the pertinent negative,” the concept of noticing what’s not present in addition to what is in order to gain a fuller picture of a situation. “In medicine, the symptoms patients don’t talk about are just as, if not more, important than the ones they do talk about, and that’s critical to a doctor’s assessment,” Herman says. “When you’re looking to solve a problem at work, think about what people aren’t saying or what didn’t happen at a meeting. Ask yourself: ‘What do I know? What don’t I know? And if I had the opportunity to get one more piece of information, what would I need to know?’ It makes big challenges less daunting, and it helps you create better solutions.”

Choose your words carefully

Two words you should strike from your vocabulary, according to Herman, are “obviously” and “clearly.” Because we all view things differently, what’s clear to one person may not be so to another. “Never assume we’re all thinking about the same elephant in the room,” Herman says. “We live and work in a complex world where nothing is obvious. Instead, explain why something appears to you the way it does. Not only will that help you better understand your own perceptions, but it’ll help others gain clarity on them too. The words you use to talk to your team during a presentation, a meeting, an investigation—they matter.”

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Sharpen Your Mind: Perception and Critical Thinking Skills

• Post author: Hayden J Williams
• Post published: May 12, 2024
• Post category: Thinking

In our complex world of limitless information and infinite choices, two skills reign supreme: perceiving reality accurately and thinking critically. Do you truly see the world clearly, unbiased by personal filters? Can you navigate the endless data stream, separating truth from manipulation? This guide empowers you to pierce through the noise. Learn strategies to hone your perception and fortify your critical thinking. From navigating complex work decisions to choosing the perfect movie night pick, mastering these skills elevates every choice you make.

Table of Contents

Understanding Perception 

What is perception

Perception is how we interpret and make sense of the world around us through our senses. It involves selecting, organizing, and assigning meaning to the information we take in.

The key components of perception are:

• Sensory input – what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel
• Attention – what sensory information we choose to focus on
• Interpretation – how we make sense of and assign meaning to that sensory information
• Memory – how past experiences shape our perception of present sensations

Our perception acts as a lens – shaping how we view reality. Understanding its components is vital for recognizing biases that distort our perceptions

What is the relationship between perception and critical thinking? Perception shapes how we interpret information, while critical thinking guides our analysis and decision-making based on that interpretation.

Perception biases

These are mental blindspots that distort our judgment and decision-making. Here are some common examples

• Confirmation bias – We favor information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore contradictory data. Ex: Only reading news sources that align with your political views.
• Anchoring bias – We tend to place excessive importance on the initial information we receive. Ex: Estimating a home’s or car’s value based solely on the listing price.
• Availability heuristic – We overestimate the importance of information that is more easily retrievable in memory. Ex: believing crime is rampant after hearing about a few high-profile cases.
• Framing effect – Our choices are influenced by how information is presented rather than the facts themselves. Ex: Saying “90% lean beef” sounds healthier than “10% fat.”
• Halo effect – Our perception of someone is shaped by one trait like attractiveness or confidence. Ex: Viewing someone as smarter just because they are attractive.
• In-Group Bias – We tend to favor our own group (based on things like ethnicity, age, religion, profession, etc.) over others. This can lead to discrimination, tribalism, and an inability to see different perspectives objectively. In-group bias is a key driver of prejudice. Ex: Such as favoring colleagues from the same department over those from other departments at work

Identifying these mental blindspots is key to counteract them and improve perception accuracy.

Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills 

Importance of Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the skill of carefully analyzing information and making good decisions. These abilities are extremely important in all areas of life.

In school, strong critical thinking helps students understand different viewpoints, spot flaws in reasoning, and back up their opinions.

At work, employees who can think critically look at problems from every angle, consider evidence fairly, and make smart decisions that move the business forward.

In our personal lives, applied critical thinking stops us from jumping to conclusions, lets us separate facts from lies, and leads to wiser choices as voters, buyers, and in our relationships.

Enhancing your critical thinking abilities means you’ll be better equipped to handle tough challenges at work, navigate tricky ethical situations, and recognize flawed reasoning. This improvement leads to making wiser decisions and achieving more successful outcomes in whatever you do.

Common Pitfalls due to perception biases

Perception biases lead to flawed thinking across various situations. Let is analyze how these happen

1. Confirmation Bias : Imagine a student convinced they’ll ace a history test.  They focus only on confirming evidence (past successes, good grades) and ignore disconfirming evidence (forgotten dates, areas for improvement).  This closed-mindedness hinders a well-rounded review and critical preparation for the test.

2. Anchoring Bias :  During salary negotiations, the employer throws out a low number first. Anchoring bias makes you fixate on the initial offer as a reference point , potentially accepting a lower offer than your worth, even if it’s below market value.

3. Availability Bias:   Hearing constant news stories about car accidents might make you believe driving is more dangerous than it statistically is. This skewed perception hinders a balanced evaluation of transportation risks because you judge likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind (dramatic news stories) instead of considering overall statistics.

4. Self-Serving Bias:   After a bad presentation, you might blame technical difficulties instead of acknowledging a lack of practice. This prevents you from learning from mistakes and improving your critical thinking for future presentations.  Self-serving bias hinders critical thinking because it prevents you from objectively evaluating your own role in the outcome .

Strategies for improving critical thinking abilities

No matter the context, questioning assumptions is key.  Get in the habit of asking “Why?” and playing devil’s advocate to consider multiple perspectives before conclusions.

• Before meetings, write down your assumptions about agenda topics
• During meetings, vocalize counterpoints to your stance
• After meetings, list points you may have missed

Example) Imagine you’re a marketing manager for a shoe company. Sales of a new running shoe design are slumping. Instead of just lowering the price (anchoring bias), your team could critically analyze customer reviews, conduct focus groups (empathy), and identify a discomfort issue. This data-driven approach could lead to a redesign that boosts sale

In Academia:

• Focus on understanding underlying concepts rather than just memorizing facts.
• For readings, summarize the core concept in 1-2 sentences first
• Then list out 2-3 reasons why you agree/disagree
• Compare your reasons against the author’s arguments
• Compare contradictory sources.

Example) During the Renaissance, critical thinking flourished. Thinkers like Galileo Galilei challenged prevailing assumptions about the solar system through observation and experimentation.This defiance of confirmation bias led to groundbreaking scientific discoveries.   

For Personal Decisions:

• Consult subject matter experts.
• Use tools like decision matrices.
• Write out goals in the form of questions (e.g. What car suits me best?)
• List criteria important to you and weight them
• Go through pros/cons and re-evaluate weights

Example) Let’s say you’re deciding on a new car: Overcome self-serving bias by researching safety ratings and reliability (data) instead of just focusing on a brand you like (halo effect).

In General:

• Slow down. Don’t jump to judgments based on instinct or first impressions.
• Remain humble – your viewpoint could be distorted by bias.
• Challenge yourself to find holes in your own logic.

The Key: Consistently applying strategies tailored to the situation builds critical thinking as a mindset, not just a skill.

Strategies to Improve Perception 

Meditation with regular practice builds meta-awareness – self observation. This helps to catch the mind’s biases as they occur. At work, take mindful pauses during meetings to notice snap judgments forming about colleagues. Self-question underlying assumptions.

Mindfulness In studies, mindfully read texts. When feeling resistance to an author’s point, explore that knee-jerk reaction objectively. Mindfulness “micro-practices”:

• Do a 2-minute breathing reset between tasks
• When feeling resistant, ask “What am I reacting to?”
• Spot when your internal voice uses absolutes like “never/always”
• Notice when making harsh us/them categorizations

For personal decisions like purchases, mindfully observe how marketers use influences like pricing anchors or framing tricks. Regain rational perspective.

Journaling: Keeping a non-judgmental  journal can boost bias awareness. When you lapse into harsh us/them, halo, or confirmation biases, note it impartially.

Over time, mindful self-observation allows us to recognize distorted perception-making in the moment. With awareness comes the opportunity to rewire those mental blindspots.

Developing empathy and perspective-taking skills for better understanding others’ viewpoints

Empathy is key for counteracting biases that make us judge others unfairly. Actively practicing perspective-taking expands our worldview beyond personal frames.

Questions: Get in the habit of asking others “What led you to that point of view?” Then listen openly, without prejudice, and stay curious to truly grasp their experiences and motivations.

If you cannot ask them, ask yourself what may be the various reasons they act or talk in this manner. These could be past experiences, cultural background, personal beliefs, emotional state, stress levels and time constraints. Observation When making decisions affecting others, conduct empathy interviews or observations to walk in their shoes. Consider how your choices would impact various stakeholders.

Literature Reading fiction builds cognitive empathy by immersing you in characters’ lives. Exploring diverse narratives stretches perspective-taking abilities.

Empathy cultivates the humility to question our personal assumptions. Are we seeing things through an in-group favored lens? By striving to perceive other viewpoints accurately, we reduce judgment errors

Engaging with diverse perspectives to broaden one’s worldview

Surrounding yourself with people who always agree with you creates an echo chamber, breeding insular thinking and biases like in-group favoritism. To truly expand your perception, you need to actively engage with contrasting and different perspectives.

Seek out books, articles, podcasts, and people that challenge your assumptions. Join online forums or local meetup groups focused on discussing different philosophies, cultures, and ideologies. Approach these discussions with an open mind, asking questions to gain a deeper understanding.

In the workplace, build teams with professionals from varied backgrounds to infuse diverse viewpoints. Solicit all members’ inputs equally during decisions. The more you immerse yourself in seeing reality through others’ eyes, the more your own worldview expands. This combats distorted, narrow perceptions that lead to poor judgments.

Integrating Perception and Critical Thinking  

Case studies showcasing the application of perception and critical thinking in various domains

Business : During the Tylenol cyanide crisis, Johnson & Johnson prevented perception biases like denial from clouding their judgment. Critical thinking drove recalling all bottles – putting public safety over profits. This exemplary decision-making protected the brand long-term.

Marketing (Apple’s Think Different Campaign): Apple’s campaign challenged the perception that computers were solely utilitarian tools, instead framing them as instruments of creativity and rebellion. This shift in perception was driven by critical analysis of consumer desires and cultural trends. By tapping into the zeitgeist and challenging conventional wisdom, Apple successfully reshaped consumer perceptions and established itself as a leader in innovation.

Education : Schools using philosophical inquiry build children’s skills in examining personal perception biases through Socratic dialogue. This deeper critical thinking approach enhances rational problem-solving abilities.  

Marketing :Think about the enduring popularity of Coca-Cola. Their marketing campaigns (like the iconic “Share a Coke” campaign)  don’t just focus on the product itself (anchoring bias). They tap into emotions, nostalgia, and a sense of community,  demonstrating a deep understanding of consumer perception. 

Practical exercises for integrating perception and critical thinking 

• Analyzing news articles : This helps perception by identifying biases within articles, such as confirmation bias or framing effects, and evaluating the credibility of sources based on perceived trustworthiness and expertise.
• Role-playing scenarios : Perception plays a role in understanding the perspectives of different characters in the scenario. It requires you to perceive and empathize with varying viewpoints to effectively role-play.
• Debating controversial topics : Perception influences how individuals interpret and perceive arguments presented during debates. It also requires critical analysis of the underlying assumptions and biases inherent in each position.
• Solving puzzles or riddles : Perception is crucial for accurately perceiving patterns, relationships, and clues within puzzles or riddles. It helps to critically assess information and use perceptual skills to arrive at solutions.
• Conducting experiments or simulations : Perception is involved in observing and interpreting data collected during experiments or simulations. You need to critically analyze findings and draw evidence-based conclusions.
• Challenge Your Gut : Before acting, question your first instinct. Ask “Why?” and consider alternative viewpoints. That challenges perceptual biases and prompts critical evaluation of initial reactions.
• Seek Diverse Input : Talk to people with different backgrounds and perspectives. Read articles with opposing viewpoints to broaden perception and foster critical thinking through exposure to diverse opinions.
• Play Devil’s Advocate : Actively argue against your initial decision to identify potential flaws and biases. This will encourage critical examination of assumptions and promote a balanced perspective.
• List Pros & Cons : Objectively weigh the positive and negative aspects of each option, using data and evidence to overcome perceptual biases and make better decisions.
• Future Consequences : Consider the long-term impact of your choices on yourself and others. That encourages critical evaluation of potential outcomes and forward-thinking decision-making.

Tips for overcoming biases and enhancing rationality in different situations

Develop a Critical Eye:

• Recognize your biases: Understand how they influence your decisions. (e.g., confirmation bias)
• Question assumptions: Challenge your initial thoughts and seek evidence to support them.
• Seek diverse perspectives: Talk to people with different viewpoints to expand your understanding.

Make Informed Choices:

• Consider consequences: Evaluate the potential outcomes of your decisions for all involved.
• Take time: Avoid rushing to judgment. Gather information and reflect before acting.
• Use data: Base your decisions on objective facts and evidence, not emotions.

Test and Refine:

• Test your ideas: Experiment and seek feedback to validate your beliefs.
• Continuous learning: Stay open to new information and be willing to adapt your thinking.
• Tailored Strategies:

Personal Decisions : Separate facts from emotions. Recognize when fear or bias clouds your judgment.

Work : Ask others to critique your reasoning. Pre-write the opposite stance to expose blind spots.

Debates : Don’t cling to existing beliefs. Be curious and open to conflicting information.

Use decision matrices : Systematically weigh options against objective criteria.

Embrace uncertainty : Be comfortable with ambiguity and adjusting your views based on new information.

Question overconfidence : Dogmatism is susceptible to bias.

Mastering critical thinking is a continuous process. By actively questioning your own thinking and tailoring your approach to different situations, you can overcome bias and make more informed, rational decisions.

Benefits of Improved Skills  

Enhanced perception and sharpened critical thinking bring significant benefits in everyday life:

• Problem-Solving: They help you analyze complex issues without bias, making it easier to adapt. For example, when solving a work problem, you consider various solutions instead of sticking to one idea.
• Academics: You learn to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, and make stronger arguments. For instance, when writing a paper, you critically review different theories to support your argument.
• Collaboration: Better perception fosters empathy, making teamwork smoother. For example, during a group project, you actively listen to different viewpoints and incorporate them into the final product.
• Professional Development: Being aware of cognitive biases helps in making better decisions. For example, when planning a project, you identify potential risks and propose alternative approaches.
• Personal Growth: Understanding your biases leads to personal growth. For example, reflecting on past experiences helps you make better choices in relationships.

Final thoughts

Sharpening our perception and critical thinking unlocks immense benefits in all aspects of life. By applying the strategies here, we can challenge biases and see reality more clearly. Through empathy and questioning assumptions , we strengthen critical thinking , leading to better problem-solving , relationships, and overall success .

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

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Sharpen your critical thinking skills with these 14 leadership practices.

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Ask any leader if they value the skill of critical thinking and you’ll see them immediately morph into a bobble-head-like caricature of themselves, vigorously nodding up and down as if their neck was a well-oiled spring attached to their shoulders. “Oh, yeah,” they’ll say, “it’s valued, a lot.”

Then ask if they can describe what critical thinking is, and instantly, their heads stop bobbling. Further, ask them to describe how they practice critical thinking. You’ll see their heads sharply slope down and lifelessly droop as if they’ve become suddenly unhinged. I witness this reaction all the time. I see it across the senior directors, VPs, managing partners and C-suite executives I meet with.

Critical thinking is a key element of business and career success. Everyone admits they’re good at it, but no one seems to immediately understand how to explain exactly what critical thinking is, how to articulate their practice of it or how they develop that acumen in others.

Furthermore, when I ask the same question across multiple people within a company, large or small, private or enterprise, and across all positions and levels, if they can articulate a response, I have never found it to align with any other responses I get.

You’d think that companies that value organized thinking would have an organized process or method everyone can turn to when problem-solving individually or collectively. But most don’t. I have yet to work with a company that has a clearly defined critical thinking application or process. It bobbles my neck and mind!

Real leaders understand that leading profitable initiatives alone is not enough, nor is it enough to merely lead people to execute upon those initiatives. Real leaders lead those around them into their potential, and that potential includes developing critical-thinking ability.

I am inspired by the mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive (MECE) process inherent and ingrained in the McKinsey company culture . According to current and past consultants, you can ask someone on the floor at any McKinsey office worldwide to define their problem-solving approach and they will all cite the MECE process.

Imagine how effective the value of an aligned workforce can be when all involved contributors operate within a shared critical thinking and decision making process designed to create valuable solutions.

From what I’ve seen among the business leaders I’ve known and worked with for decades, across countries, cultures and industries, a lack of critical thinking development happens when one or more of the following five conditions occur in a department or organization:

1. People are overworked and too busy to think beyond getting tasks done fast.

2. People run too fast to recognize a need for better ways of thinking and doing.

3. Managers are over-focused on what to do and under-focused on how to do.

4. Culture relies on business processes more than critical thinking processes.

5. The company values “demand-down” work, not “develop-up” contributor talent.

If you find yourself in conditions like the above, as a leader or as a coach who works with leaders, try any of these 14 practical approaches to enrich your critical thinking skills and the skills of those you rely on for success. Chose one to three to focus on this week.

1. Practice planning and organizing daily in solitude. Don’t be afraid -- silence won’t kill you.

2. Think through how you think things through and solve problems.

3. Fall in love with a problem. When you do, it will speak to you and you’ll love it more.

4. Love puzzles. Think through what the fit needs to be for the solution to show itself.

5. Avoid a "refried beans" approach to problem-solving. Think fresh. See fresh alternatives.

6. Imagine and envision what can work better, not just what has worked before.

7. Express the culture you want. Reflect what you value rather than wait for it to arrive.

8. Encourage a fail-forward culture that values continuous, high-performance learning.

9. Stimulate and promote the value of curiosity. Express a “what if” openness.

10. Document problem-solving processes that work. Then share them across your teams.

11. Make your critical thinking processes easy to articulate and simple to apply.

12. Gain team input and cooperation to exercise the process and share use-case successes.

13. Keep the process light and agile. Avoid dogmatism and fundamentalism.

14. Work the process so it becomes a dynamic part of your culture’s collective intelligence.

Well-developed and socialized critical thinking skills and processes are to problem-solving and solution creation what scaffolding is to a building: a framework that is easy to assemble and collapse to support a desired outcome. Critical thinking acumen acts like a bridge connecting people and processes to profits.

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6 Ways You Can Teach Critical Thinking at Home

When my husband and I first got married, he was shocked at the number of passionate debates my immediate and extended family regularly had. 

Nearly any topic, large or small, could spark a three-hour discussion—and it was rare for everyone to be on the same page. We would disagree and argue our points relentlessly, but it rarely deteriorated into a true argument. Eventually, we’d drift off onto a less-debatable topic, or perhaps abandon talking altogether to enjoy a family game instead. 

My husband’s family did not do this. 

Discussions in his family were almost discouraged, with everyone shying away from controversial topics. They kept their mouths shut when they disagreed. He was very uncomfortable with my family’s debates, and he never participated. 

Over the next couple of years, my husband began to see the value in these seemingly dramatic episodes. He realized that our discussions were an effective way to develop critical thinking skills. With so many people with varying experiences, backgrounds, and educations, my family’s home was packed with intellect and reason. 

The atmosphere of logic forced us to base our opinions on fact and principles, and we pushed one another to think through each topic thoroughly . 

My husband eventually came to enjoy debating himself and began to encourage his own family to try their hand at it. He also hopes to encourage the same spirit of discussion with our children to sharpen their critical thinking skills and help them work through problems logically.

So, what is critical thinking and why is it valuable?

VeryWellFamily describes critical thinking as “… the ability to imagine, analyze, and evaluate information in order to determine its integrity and validity, such as what is factual and what isn’t. These skills help people form opinions and ideas as well as help them know who is being a   good friend and who isn’t.”

In other words, critical thinking is a vital skill for a well-balanced, well-rounded adult. 

It’s also highly beneficial to children, as it can help them to better understand the world around them and even offer a certain amount of protection and security. 

While children may have the opportunity to develop some of their critical thinking skills at school, parents should encourage them to practice those skills at home in their daily lives. There are many strategies that parents can use to accomplish this goal.

1. Encourage Healthy Debate

“Debate everything!” TeachThought tells parents . “…Debate is useful for a couple of reasons: it helps students look at alternate explanations—good for analyzing experimental results—and can also develop teens’ natural communication skills. For example, ‘ Should Bottled Water Be Banned ?’”

Family life offers ample opportunities for discussion. From “is it ever right to lie?” to “is it more effective to plant a garden or buy our produce?”—nearly any topic can be turned into a critical thinking exercise. 

Lively and spirited debate is a practical way to teach critical thinking skills. You can encourage your child to think through their opinions and challenge their assumptions. Allow them to speak freely in these types of conversations. There is one caution: never let the discussion become emotional or hostile. Keep the debate on a friendly, civil plane. Passion should be encouraged, but aggression is the opposite of helpful discussion. 

Employ this rousing strategy, and your child will be well on their way to developing strong critical thinking skills!

2. Encourage Questions

A mind that questions is a mind that evaluates and analyzes. Encourage your child to ask questions and always put effort into your reply. When children feel like they’re bothering you or that their question is lacking, they’ll be less likely to ask a question in the future. 

There are no stupid questions if the asker is sincere and curious!

“As exhausting as it can be at times to answer a constant barrage of questions, it’s important that you encourage your child to question things. Asking questions is the basis of critical thinking, and the time you invest in answering your child’s questions—or finding the answers together— will pay off in the end.”

This quote from VeryWellFamily highlights the beauty of encouraging your child to question everything. From childhood to adulthood, a curious mind trained correctly will benefit not only your child’s personal life, but also society as a whole. 

3. Encourage Planning Ahead

Some children are spontaneous and bound from one idea to the next without serious consideration or forethought. While you can direct this trait into a more positive version of itself, you can also help your child curtail it to a certain degree. Planning ahead and examining all sides of a situation is a valuable skill that can often save a lot of time, frustration, and even money. 

Encouraging your child to think before acting engages their critical thinking skills. The Family Learning Center notes , “Planning ahead is an important strategy because it allows children to slow down and think about how to approach a task before attempting it. Everyone at home can practice this essential ability.”

Being able to form a plan, calculate any necessary preparations, and foresee possible outcomes will be an invaluable asset to your child throughout their life. 

4. Encourage Problem Solving

“When dealing with problems or conflicts, it is necessary to use critical thinking skills to understand the problem and come up with possible solutions, so teach them the steps of problem-solving , and they will use critical thinking in the process of finding solutions to problems.”

This suggestion from Michigan State University points out a practical way for children to use their current critical thinking skills and expand them at the same time. Children are naturally curious and often use a trial-and-error approach to discovering the solution to a problem. As they develop their critical thinking, they will employ trial-and-error less often and begin to think through the problem logically. 

As a parent, you can teach your kids to do this by breaking the problem into smaller, manageable-sized pieces. Fragment the question and let a logical line of thinking put it back together to find the answer. Encourage them to break a task into several steps to accomplish the goal. Show them various practical strategies for avoiding inevitable mistakes and encourage them to use these strategies independently in the future. 

But wait! Parents are often tempted to step in right away and help when their offspring faces a difficult challenge. Try taking a step back and allowing your kid to struggle for a bit to engage those critical thinking abilities. Many parents are surprised when they don’t intervene, and their child finds a satisfying solution on their own! 

5. Encourage a Thinking Habit

Critical thinking can become an everyday lifestyle, from analyzing the lyrics in a song to comparing prices at the grocery store. Practice strengthens this habit, so parents can start by modeling it in their own lives and sharing their thought process moment by moment with their kids. 

According to TeachThought, children’s everyday environments offer terrific real-life opportunities for developing this critical thinking habit. They suggest a few places to start: 

• Local or national news
• Video games
• Personal communication with others
• Social media interactions 

Critical thinking can help dispel the fog and clarify problems or situations. When critical thinking is a habit, life can be much easier to navigate. 

6. Encourage Reading

Reading improves critical thinking skills. Many students use book clubs to prepare themselves for college life and cultivate reasoning abilities. 

“Reading improves vocabulary, organizational skills, and the ability to read, comprehend, and analyze text,” Idaho Ed News reports. “Plus, it can provide people with important historical perspectives, encourage sympathy for other human beings, and promote appreciation for diversity and understanding of other cultures. Moreover, literature can help students develop the critical-thinking skills many employers think are lacking in today’s college graduates before they even get to college.”

Encourage your child to read a wide variety of literature. From history and mathematics to current events and opinion pieces, extensive reading exposes the mind to a stimulating variety of ideas.

A Worthy Pursuit 

As Kars4Kids points out , “Critical thinking is about questioning: is this all there is to this story? Is there another side? Am I being manipulated? Will a given product fulfill the promise, the claim of the packaging and advertising?” This excellent summary highlights the necessity of critical thinking skills in everyday life. 

Parents have a huge responsibility to equip their children to march into life and confidently influence their world. Teaching critical thinking skills at home is one of the most challenging and beneficial ways to accomplish this goal. Thankfully, logical skills are as necessary as they are useful, and opportunities to practice and develop them lurk behind every question, task, and social media post. 

My family employed these strategies in our everyday family life to encourage us kids to expand and grow—and you can, too. The techniques presented in this article are just the beginning. There are many ways to engage your child’s critical thinking abilities, but it’s your job to jumpstart this amazing journey. 

Do the hard work of instilling these habits, and you’ll experience the joy of watching your child mature before your eyes!

[…] says learning is just for school time? At home, you can foster curiosity and help your child develop an appreciation for learning. Read to your children, and provide them with books for their own reading adventures. (A weekly […]

[…] 6 Ways You Can Teach Critical Thinking at Home […]

[…] your kids life skills, like critical thinking or time management, can also enrich their academic abilities. The foundation for their education […]

[…] allow for a healthy exchange of ideas and exploration of concepts. Encourage the development of critical thinking skills. Teach them how to think for themselves and use logic to do so. Challenge their preconceptions (and […]

[…] Critical thinking is a life skill that enhances every area of life, including work life. To remain a valuable employee and succeed in a variety of ways, your child must establish the skill of critical thinking.  […]

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Sharpen Your Thinking: 25 Ways to Hone Your Thinking Skills

Leaders should be independant thinkers.

Whether you are trying to develop a vision statement, solve a problem at work, or influence the team, leaders have to think about where they are going and how they are going to get there.

The good news is that thinking is a skill, and it’s one that we can all get better at.  The better we get at thinking, the better our chances to succeed as leaders.

Today we’ll look at 25 techniques to sharpen your thinking that will help you level-up as a leader.

Set the Conditions

One of the biggest challenges to effective thinking can be simply   carving out space to think in the first place.   Once you’ve done that, now what?  Start to sharpen your thinking by setting the conditions for your thinking session to be productive.  Here are some ideas.

Make it a regular thing.   Practice the art of thinking as a habit.  Like anything, you get better at it.  One way to do this is to leverage the time you already are using.  Admiral Thad Allen, former Commandant of the Coast Guard rode his bicycle 15 miles to work each day and used that time to for reflection, planning, and problem solving.

Pick a Topic and an outcome.    It can be helpful to pick a subject to focus on. Even better, put a goal on your thinking session, like coming up with five new ideas in the next 30 minutes.

Bring the right tools .  If you’re a visual person like me, it helps to be able to see your thoughts as they take shape.  Use a notebook and sharp pencil to write what comes into your head.  A large white board and a fistful of colored markers can help with brain storming.  A note pad or voice recording phone app can also help, especially if you will be out and about.  Record your thoughts as they come to you, let them build upon each other and combine into new ideas.

Go somewhere new .  The same environment will start to spawn the same thoughts.  Separate yourself from the usual and surround yourself with something different.  It may be as close as a table at your local library, a bench at a local park, a local museum, or that new coffee shop just down the street.

Allot time.   It’s good to consult other sources – books, blogs, people, but manage how you spend that time.  The goal is not simply to listen and repeat.  The idea is to absorb, process, and come to your own conclusions.  So if you have an hour and want to read up on a topic, save the last 15 minutes to think about what you learned and decide what it means.

Don’t get so lost in other people’s thoughts that you forget to have your own. Click To Tweet

Just write.   Sometimes the simple act of forming your thoughts into words and writing or typing them out can help you focus.  Start with a question or idea, write it down, and then keep writing and see where it leads you.

I write in order to find out what I think. – Stephen King Click To Tweet

Keep the notepad ready .  After your thinking sessions, your brain is often still working subroutines in the background, and results can pop into your head at any time.  Be ready to capture them.  Keep a notepad by your bed, use a phone app like Evernote, record a voice memo, or send an email to yourself.  Whatever you do, capture that good idea before it gets away.

Prime the Pump

With the conditions set, consider injecting new perspectives and leveraging the thinking of other people as part of the process to sharpen your thinking.

Consult thought leaders.   Have a say in what you are exposed to.  Pick a topic and focus in – listen to a podcast during your commute or watch informative videos at lunch.  Have a way to record your thoughts as you go.  Then turn it off, think about what you just heard, and compare it to other sources.

Read a book (twice).   I have taken up the habit of always reading with a pencil.  The first time through, when there is an interesting passage, I’ll put a small mark by the section, and a small circle at the top right corner of the page.  When I finish the book, I go through it again, flipping to the marked pages, thinking about the passages I’ve marked, and writing about them in my notebook.

Talk to someone different .  In his interesting book “ A Curious Mind ” producer Brian Grazer credits a lot of his creative impulse to the fact that he is constantly having deliberate “curiosity conversations” with people from radically different walks of life.  He has tracked down people from Jonas Sauk to Mohammed Ali to ask what their lives are like, where they get their inspiration, and how they do what they do.  He found that exposing himself to radically different perspectives stirred new ideas in his own mind.

Read something different .  A variation on this can be to read books from very different environments.  Exposure to the unfamiliar can trigger new ideas in your own focus area.  For example, reading one of the books from this selection exposes how real leaders solved difficult problems in very different environments.  Their actions may give you some ideas about how to deal with your own challenges.

Start with something unrelated.   Justin Berg, a creativity expert at Stanford, finds that what we start with has a lot to do with where we end up.  He calls this idea the “ Primal Mark, ” like the first brush stroke a painter puts on her canvas.  If your starting point is commonplace, your results are likely to be ordinary, too.  Instead, begin with the unrelated, come up with some crazy ideas, then try to fuse them with a more practical tool to yield a new, novel solution.

In an experiment to develop new interviewing tools, he had subjects start with the idea of in-line skates, and later added a pen.  As a result, one subject came up with a practical tool to tell time by touch.

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” – Albert Einstein Click To Tweet

Come up with 25 more .   When coming up with ideas, the first ones to pop into our heads are also likely the most conventional ones.  Recognizing this, Upworthy makes a practice of coming up with at least 25 possible headlines for its posts.  The stretching you have to do for those last few options may be just what you need to come up with something new.

Worth Asking

Another way to sharpen your thinking is to ask good questions.  Here are some starting points.

Question the source.   Who are they, why are they writing?  What do they want you to take away?  Why should you value their opinion?

Ask the 5 “Whys.”   This is one way of looking for the root cause of something.  When faced with a problem, ask “Why is it this way?”  Whatever answer you come up with, ask again, “Buy why is that so?”  Like your annoying kid brother, repeat this at least five times to help you dig through the symptoms you are seeing and discover the reason behind them.

Ask, “What if?”   Try out different scenarios in your mind and follow them to see where they lead.

Ask, “What good can come from this?”   Not everything we think about is pleasant.  Sometimes the problems we face are ugly and intractable.  Even so, as you consider your next moves, as bad as things may be, look for what good might come from the experience.  Many foundations, research efforts, and positive causes found their genesis in something bad that a creative mind turned into a positive.

What’s the opposite?   Turning the problem on it’s head is another popular way to look at a problem.   One airport dramatically reduced complaints about waiting for baggage not by getting the bags to the carousel faster, but by making it take longer for passengers to walk there.

Is my ego in the way?   Re-reading Margaret Tuchman’s “ The March of Folly ” recently just highlighted this all the more to me.  When ego gets in the way it can blind us to logic, good sense, and open-minded thinking.  Whether you are working through a personal issue or trying to resolve a problem, if your sense of honor or ego is a key player, there’s a danger you won’t be able to see past it to a positive solution.  Unplug the ego and re-think everything to see what changes.

Other Places to Start Digging

Passive voicing.   I remember my high school English teacher used to always say, “If you hear someone speaking in the passive voice, he is hiding something.”  When it’s not clear who the actor is in any sentence, there may be a reason for it.  Phrases like, “Mistakes were made,” or “Actions have been taken” disguise the identity of the people involved and distance the speaker from the action.  Might be worth asking why.

In the name of tradition.   When you hear the phrase, “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” warning bells should start going off in your head.  Maybe it made sense at the time, but conditions change and the reasons may no longer apply; dig deeper and ask why.

Beware the percentage.   Numbers and statistics lend a tone of authority to any discussion, but look closely.  Percentages can make small numbers seem large and give small sample sizes more power then perhaps they deserve.

People use statistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost; more for support than illumination. – Twain Click To Tweet

Question the default .  Internet Explorer was probably pre-loaded on your PC when you pulled it out of the box.  It was the default, and it does the job.  But that doesn’t mean that’s the one you have to use.  There are better browsers out there.  Similarly, re-look the default settings all around you.  Maybe there’s something better.

Sharpen Your Thinking – The Takeaway

When you have set the right conditions, primed the pump, and asked good questions, you sharpen your thinking, and chances are you may find your mind producing new, creative, and useful thoughts.

The more you do this, the better at it you will become, and the more and better ideas you may generate.

But here’s the thing:  be prepared for some discomfort.  By definition, if you are thinking independently, the answers you come up with will not necessarily agree with what “everybody else” is thinking.

If we all think alike, no one is thinking. – Benjamin Franklin Click To Tweet

If it turns out that some of your thoughts vary from those of the crowd, then good.  You might be doing something right.

Ken served for 26 years in the Infantry, retiring as a Colonel.  From leading patrols in the Korean DMZ, to parachuting into the jungles of Panama, to commanding a remote outpost on the Iran-Iraq border, he has learned a lot about leadership, and has a passion for sharing that knowledge with others.  Look for his weekly posts, check out his online courses , subscribe below, or simply connect , he loves to talk about this stuff.

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Sharpening Minds: Developing Critical Thinking Skills 

• Research & Insights

Navigating the complexities of the contemporary workplace demands more than routine problem-solving; it requires the mastery of critical thinking. In this exploration, we examine the profound impact of how building a team of critical thinkers impacts team dynamics and performance.  Read on for practical strategies to foster this indispensable skill within your team.  

The Essence of Critical Thinking  

Critical thinking is not just a catchphrase; it’s a strategic imperative. In today’s information-rich environment, the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information is vital for effective decision-making, problem-solving, and fostering innovation.  The key here is that these abilities cannot and should not only live and breathe at the leadership level.  Instead, critical thinking should be encouraged and celebrated at all levels of an organization.  The behaviors and processes of critical thinkers are captured in four core areas of application and impact:  

• Strategic Problem-Solving: Critical thinkers excel in breaking down complex problems and formulating innovative solutions.  
• Informed Decision-Making: Leaders armed with critical thinking skills can sift through information, making strategic decisions with unwavering confidence.  
• Adaptability: Critical thinkers navigate change with finesse, leveraging analytical skills to flourish in a dynamic business environment.  
• Innovation and Creativity: Teams with robust critical thinking abilities generate creative ideas, propelling innovation within the organization.  

Nurturing Critical Thinkers: Strategies for Success  

As leaders dedicated to excellence, we need to be mindful to foster an environment that is conducive to nurturing critical thinking. Here, we explore key insights into cultivating critical thinking within your team while avoiding a sales-centric approach.  

First – Connect the Dots  

Your team members are naturally motivated by challenges, learning opportunities, and problem solving.  Help them shine by first providing context to the work they do so that their efforts are moving the organization closer to achieving strategic goals.  Leaders can do this by transparently providing information that connects each individual’s work and role to larger objectives and explaining why that role is important to the success of the organization.  Further, providing clarity on vision (where we are going), strategy (how we will get there) and process (what we do and why) allows everyone to have a framework of information and direction to start problem-solving each day.  Leaders that communicate this information regularly and with candor encourage critical thinking with purpose and reduce or remove ambiguities that may impair a willingness to think outside the box.  

Second – Cultivate a Culture of Curiosity  

Once your team has a solid understanding of where you want to go, what you want to achieve, and why, it is time to foster a workplace culture that encourages curiosity. Inspire your team to ask questions and seek a deeper understanding of challenges by role modeling these behaviors.  For example, you can start a morning meeting with “what if” statements on a topic to practice open thinking.  You can share a thought with vulnerability such as, “I’ve always wondered why our customers don’t purchase as much on Thursdays.  What could be the reasons behind this buying behavior?  Ultimately the goal here is open thinking, with healthy boundaries, so that curiosity can spark the desire to explore alternatives and fuel the critical thinking process.  

Then – Encourage Healthy Dialogue and Constructive Debate  

Creating a team of critical thinkers is a win AND a challenge for leaders.  It means that you change the dynamic from being a leader that solves everything and provides sole direction for the team into an opportunity for shared ownership and contribution towards success.  You will need to accept, encourage, manage, and acknowledge the value of diverse perspectives within your team. Exposure to varied viewpoints enhances critical thinking by challenging assumptions and fostering a more comprehensive understanding of issues.  This also means there will be disagreements and debate, and you must ensure that all voices are welcomed but heard.  

Author Adam Grant, in his book Think Again , said, “ If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom. We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions. Strong leaders engage their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker.”  

Essential to this constructive dialogue and debate will be core elements of a healthy team like team norms to encourage active listening and respectful debate, high levels of thoughtful candor in communication, clear decision-making boundaries (who decides what and when) and constant emotional intelligence to balance needs of the individual with the team focus on achievement and growth.    

Comprehensive Approach to Critical Thinking   

Much like any culture change, creating critical thinkers takes time and mindful investments of time and individualized attention.  Each person on your team will have a different level of confidence and willingness to take the risk to think differently and in a much more vulnerable way as part of your dynamic team.  Ensure that you are investing in ongoing training and skill development, stretch assignments, and other resources that enhance each person’s critical thinking skills. As you increase opportunities and reinforce that constructive debate is welcomed, you will engage your team in discussions that encourage them to defend their ideas, challenge others, and refine their thought processes in a safe and productive way.  

Embark on the journey of unleashing excellence through the cultivation of critical thinking. For a more comprehensive approach talk to us about coaching, assessments and the Dame Leadership Academy , solutions for you and your team to develop detailed insights, practical applications and research-based approaches to sharpening minds and fostering leadership excellence.  

How to Begin? Contact Dame Leadership Today

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How to sharpen your students’ critical thinking skills.

For the most part, reasoning, deducing, inferring, and critical thinking are not skills that come naturally to our students. Rather, they must be nurtured and developed. We want our students to become critical thinkers so they can reason and apply logic to solve novel problems throughout their lives. These skills will set them up to be the scientists, engineers, researchers, and educators of tomorrow. Unfortunately, these skills are often lacking in many of our students.

Research shows that critical thinking ability is not widespread in students and that many scored poorly on assessments that required them to recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments, and make inferences. I have also seen this when my own students were faced with questions that asked them to infer, analyze arguments, and solve problems with a given set of rules.

The good news is that through practice, students can develop the tools to think critically.

One way to improve this skill is through logic puzzles .

Logic puzzles are a great tool because they stimulate the area of our students’ brains that help them to reason and think critically.

I get it. We barely have enough time to teach the required standards, let alone reinforce another skill. So, that’s why I want to share my Logic Puzzles and Brain Busters . The great thing about this resource is that it’s cross-curricular. It will hit the important critical thinking and reasoning skills (inductive, deductive, problem solving, etc.), and also reinforce important math concepts.

My Logic Games and Brain Busters include a variety of activities to rev up your students’ brains. A few puzzles contain pure logic-based clues that don’t require any prior knowledge.

Other puzzles require your students to apply their knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, geometry, digital time, and algebra along with their reasoning skills to solve problems.

They are perfect to pass out to your students at any time throughout the year.

These logic puzzles will require your students to apply a combination of inductive and deductive reasoning that is challenging enough to stimulate their thinking, but straight-forward so that they will be successful.

Click HERE or the button below to check them out. You can download the preview to see the entire resource!

This resource is now digital! You can go 100% paperless and assign these logic games through Google Classroom.

Grab the bundle of logic puzzles  HERE . 

Love these fun and cute quiz. Thank you for sharing!! Gonna let my kid try it!

This looks fantastic! Thank you

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• How to Sharpen Your...

How to Sharpen Your Critical-Thinking Skills

5 min read · Updated on October 21, 2021

A critical thinker looks at a situation from all angles. If you're looking to develop this key skill, we have some advice.

Tony Wagner, education expert and author of The Global Achievement Gap , argues that students need 3 basic skills in order to thrive in a knowledge economy:

1. The ability to do critical thinking and problem-solving.

2. The ability to communicate effectively.

3. The ability to collaborate.

What is true for students is true for all of us professionals, or 'students' of the world of work: These skills are invaluable and fall on the skills list of what employers look for. I'd recommend that anyone who cares about knowledge job performance strengthen and continuously exercise all of these skills. I can say they've served me extraordinarily well so far in my career, from teaching English as a foreign language, to helping organizations grow as a writer and editor for a marketing agency.

The supreme importance of critical thinking.

Wagner lists critical thinking first for a reason. It's paramount. In the classic cognitive skills of traditional education, it's the difference between the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy (memorization) and the top (evaluation). Along with the other indispensable skills of a knowledge-based economy, critical thinking is rooted in a rigorous and balanced approach to looking at the world, what many employers look for.

Whether in a classroom, laboratory, online program or live workshop (even self-study), the sharper your critical-thinking skills, the easier it will be for you to apply your knowledge to boost your career growth. To borrow from Bloom's taxonomy again, those who can use their knowledge to analyze, synthesize and ultimately evaluate, can adapt to any job situation and thrive within it. The particular knowledge itself is less important than the types of thought processes you're exposed to and practice on a regular basis.

Essentially, the critical thinker cultivates a mindset (grounded in awareness) that looks at all the angles of a given situation. How do you see more angles? How do you become more aware? Well, it's partly a function of experience, but it's also a habit of mind. Having a healthy curiosity and drive to understand the why behind things, not just the how, broadens perception and awareness. It's also a key skill for a resume.

How do you improve your critical-thinking skills?

To start, we've got no shortage of literary sources to turn to in the current exploding market for productivity advice. Some of these bestsellers can help you reevaluate many of your foundational choices, which translates directly to work choices. Being active and deliberate with your life choices requires critical thinking. A good book I'm reading right now is Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath; another I'm looking forward to reading soon is Charles Duhigg's just-published Smarter Faster Better . If you're only going to read one book, I'd start with Maria Konnikova's Mastermind , which uses modern neuroscience to explain the ways we can all learn to think like Sherlock Holmes. I have found her take on mental performance to be completely mesmerizing … and integral to my productivity in both work and life.

What employers look for.

At most places where you'd want to be working, employers are looking for people to ask the right questions. Indeed, being inquisitive is one of the fundamental principles of company culture where I work. This knack for probing deeper into what motivates an organization is exactly what smart employers seek. In fact, when I was last on the job market, I relied heavily on a book (maybe this one … sorry, too long ago) that helps job-seekers formulate the best questions to ask during an interview.

I got the job.

With no prior experience in the industry. And very little knowledge. Furthermore, I could tell before getting the formal offer that one reason I was on track was the quality of the conversation my questions enabled. Apparently I tricked them into thinking I was a legit candidate! In all seriousness, by demonstrating a leader's forward-thinking tendency while interviewing for an entry-level position, I showed my commitment and potential. Ultimately, I left a great impression, thanks in large part to my questions.

Ask intelligent questions.

One of the hallmarks of critical thinking is asking intelligent questions … not necessarily knowing the answers, but the best questions to ask. As indicated in the preceding section, the ability to articulate—and refine—a powerful question is a highly coveted job skill and a key skill for a resume. It indicates you care about outcomes and can take a long-term perspective, which are signs of professional maturity. And it starts from critical thinking.

So, ask more questions. Be open-minded. Learn as much as you can. Then debate, explore and play with your new knowledge. Practice thinking critically until it is as natural to you as breathing. This is what employers look for. Before long, you will start to look at the world differently. Even more exciting, your employer and colleagues will start looking at you differently, too.

Want to see how your resume stacks up? Try out our free critique today!

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