13 Effective Ways to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

We are constantly being flooded with information in the modern world. The accuracy and quality of the information are equally as important as the quantity when it comes to raising concerns. It is challenging to develop a critical and inquiring mind in today's more polarized society due to fake news, social media bubbles, and other factors. More than ever, it is crucial to practice critical thinking. It's the capacity to consider the facts, assess the reliability of sources, and analyze problems using objective data rather than one's own biases and opinions. We must use critical thinking if we are to develop a complete understanding of what is actually occurring. We can make judgments and deal with issues more successfully when we do so from a position of deep understanding.

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Here are 13 steps you can take to improve your critical thinking skills:

Step 1. Always Vet new information with a cautious eye: Whenever you come across new information, whether it's an article someone has shared with you online or any information related to a job, always check where the information is coming from. Good questions to ask include: "Is this information complete and up-to-date?" "What evidence is being presented to support the argument?" "Whose voice is missing here?"

Step 2. Question the source: Look at where the information has come from and question whether the source is trustworthy. What is their motivation for presenting this information? Are they trying to sell you something or get you to take certain actions like vote for them?

Step 3. Consider more than one point of view: Everyone has their own opinion and motivations. Even highly intelligent people making reasonable-sounding arguments have personal opinions and biases to shape their thinking. When someone presents you with information, consider whether there's any other side of the story.

Step 4. Practice active listening: Listen carefully to what others are telling you and try to build a clear picture of their perspective. Empathy is really useful here since putting yourself in the shoes of another person can help you understand where they're coming from and what they might want. Try to listen without judgment. Always remember, critical thinking is about keeping an open mind.

Step 5. Gather additional information: Whenever you identify gaps in the information or data, do your own research and fill those gaps. The next few steps will help you to do this objectively.

Step 6. Ask lots of open-ended questions: Curiosity is a key trait to critical thinking. Channel your inner child and ask lots of who, what, and why questions.

Step 7. Find your own reputable sources of information: Such as established news sites, not-for-profit organizations, and education institutes. Try to avoid anonymous sources or sources that have an axe to grind or a product to sell. Also, be sure to check when information was published. An older source may unintentionally offer up wrong information just because events have moved on since it was published. Try always to verify any information with more up-to-date and recent sources.

Step 8. Don't get your news from social media: If you do see something on social media that grabs your interest, check the accuracy of the story via reputable sources of information, especially before you share any of this.

Step 9. Learn to spot fake news: It's not always easy to spot false or misleading content, but it's a good rule of thumb to look at the language, emotions, and tone in any piece. Is it using emotionally charged language, for instance, and trying to get you to feel a certain way? Also, look at the sources of facts, figures, images, and quotes. A legitimate news story will clearly state its sources.

Step 10. Recognize skewed information and avoid it. Similar to fake news, biased information could try to appeal to your emotions rather than reason or might give you a skewed perspective on the issue. Hence, ask yourself if there is more to this subject than what has been covered here. Conduct your own research on the subject to get the complete picture.

Step 11. Examine your own biases as well. There is no point in pretending that no one has biases. The key is to analyze how your preferences, opinions, and likes could affect your thinking while keeping an impartial mindset.

Step 12. Make up your own mind. Always keep in mind that critical thinking involves autonomous thought. Hence, after evaluating all the data, come to your own opinions about it.

Step 13. Maintain your critical thinking development. For classes on basic critical thinking abilities as well as courses on particular topics like cognitive biases, I suggest taking a look at online learning platforms like Udemy and Coursera.