
1. Analytical thinking
Being able to properly analyze information is the most important aspect of critical thinking. This implies gathering information and interpreting it, but also skeptically evaluating data. When researching a work topic, analytical thinking helps you separate the information that applies to your situation from that which doesn’t.
2. Good communication
Whether you use it for gathering information or convincing others that your conclusions are correct, good communication is crucial in the critical thinking process. Getting people to share their ideas and information with you and showing your critical thinking are components of success. If you’re making a work-related decision, proper communication with your coworkers will help you gather the information you need to make the right choice.
3. Creative thinking
Being able to discover certain patterns of information and make abstract connections between seemingly unrelated data will improve your critical thinking. When analyzing a work procedure or process, you can creatively come up with ways to make it faster and more efficient. Creativity is a skill that can be strengthened over time and is valuable in every position, experience level and industry.
4. Open-mindedness
Previous education and life experiences leave their mark on a person’s ability to objectively evaluate certain situations. By acknowledging these biases, you can improve your critical thinking and overall decision process. For example, if you plan to conduct a meeting in a certain way and your partner suggests using a different strategy, you should let them speak and adjust your approach based on their input.
5. Ability to solve problems
The ability to correctly analyze a problem and work on implementing a solution is another valuable skill. For example, if your restaurant’s waitstaff needs to improve service speeds, you could consider reassigning some of their duties to bussers or other kitchen personnel so the servers can deliver food more quickly.
6. Asking thoughtful questions
In both private and professional situations, asking the right questions is a crucial step in formulating correct conclusions.
Open-ended questions:
Asking open-ended questions can help the person you’re communicating with provide you with relevant and necessary information. These are questions that don’t allow a simple “yes” or “no” answer, requiring the person who receives the question to elaborate on the answer.
Outcome-based questions:
When you feel like another person’s experience and skills could help you work more effectively, consider asking outcome-based questions. Asking someone how they would act in a certain hypothetical situation will give you an insight into their own critical thinking skills and help you see things you hadn’t thought about before.
Reflective questions.
You can gain insight by asking a person to reflect and evaluate an experience and explain their thought processes during that time. This can help you develop your critical thinking by providing you real-world examples.
Structural questions:
An easy way to understand something is to ask how something works. Any working system results from a long process of trial and error and properly understanding the steps that needed to be taken for a positive result could help you be more efficient in your own endeavours.
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