What Are Critical Thinking Skills, and Why Are They Important?

We often use critical thinking skills without even realising it. When you make a decision, such as which cereal to eat for breakfast, you're using critical thinking to determine the best option for you that day.

Critical thinking is like a muscle you can exercise and build over time. It's a skill that can help propel your career to new heights. You'll be able to solve workplace issues, use trial and error to troubleshoot ideas, and more.

Discover more about critical thinking and explore some examples so you can begin or continue mastering this skill.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to interpret, evaluate, and analyse facts and information that are available, to form a judgement or decide if something is right or wrong.

More than just being curious about the world around you, as a critical thinker, you make connections between logical ideas to see the bigger picture. Building your critical thinking skills means being able to advocate your ideas and opinions, present them in a logical fashion, and make decisions for improvement.

Why is critical thinking important?

Critical thinking is useful in many areas of life, including your career. It helps you to be a well-rounded individual who considers all of your options and possible solutions before making a choice.

According to the University of Edinburgh, critical thinking skills are important because they allow you to think actively when gathering evidence to reach a considered conclusion. Critical thinking means considering questions such as who, what, where, how, and when, allowing you to examine all sources of information [1].

Critical thinking skills are used daily in myriad ways and can be applied to situations such as a CEO approaching a group project or a nurse deciding in which order to treat their patients.

Examples of common critical thinking skills

Critical thinking skills differ from individual to individual and are utilised in various ways. Examples of common critical thinking skills include:

• Identification of biases: Identifying biases means knowing that certain people or things may have an unfair prejudice or influence on the situation at hand. Pointing out these biases helps to remove them from contention when solving the problem and allows you to see things from a different perspective.

• Research: Researching details and facts allows you to be prepared when presenting your information to people. You’ll know exactly what you’re talking about due to the time you’ve spent with the subject material, and you’ll be well-spoken and know what questions to ask to gain more knowledge. When researching, always use credible sources and factual information.

• Open-mindedness: Being open-minded when conversing or participating in a group activity is crucial to success. Dismissing someone else’s ideas before you’ve heard them will inhibit you from progressing to a solution and often create animosity. If you truly want to solve a problem, you need to be willing to hear everyone’s opinions and ideas if you want them to hear yours.

• Analysis: Analysing your research will give you a better understanding of what you’ve heard and read. As a true critical thinker, you’ll want to seek out the truth and get to the source of issues. It’s important to avoid taking things at face value and always dig deeper.

• Problem-solving: Problem-solving is perhaps the most important skill that critical thinkers can possess. The ability to solve issues and bounce back from conflict helps you succeed, be a leader, and effect change. One way to properly solve problems is to first recognise a problem that needs solving. By determining the issue, you can then analyse it and come up with several potential solutions.

How to develop critical thinking skills

You can develop critical thinking skills every day if you approach problems in a logical manner. Here are a few ways you can start your path to improvement:

1. Ask questions.

Be inquisitive about everything. Maintain a neutral perspective and develop a natural curiosity so you can ask questions that develop your understanding of the situation or task at hand. The more details, facts, and information you have, the better informed you will be when making decisions.

2. Practise active listening.

Utilise active listening techniques, which are founded in empathy, to really listen to what the other person is saying. Critical thinking, in part, is the cognitive process of reading the situation: the words coming out of their mouth, their body language, and their reactions to your own words. Then, you might paraphrase to clarify what they're saying so both of you agree you understand each other.

3. Develop your logic and reasoning.

This is perhaps a more abstract task that requires practice and long-term development. However, think of a teacher assessing the classroom to determine how to energise the lesson. They have options such as playing a game, watching a video, or challenging the students with a reward system. Using logic, you might decide that the reward system will take up too much time and is not an immediate fix. A video is not exactly relevant at this time. So, the teacher decides to play a simple word association game.

Scenarios like this happen every day, so the next time you're faced with a similar situation, you can be more aware of what will work and what won't. Over time, developing your logic and reasoning will strengthen your critical thinking skills.

Learn more with Coursera.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyse information, identify biases, and solve problems effectively. It's a valuable skill in all aspects of life, from making everyday decisions to succeeding in your career. You can develop critical thinking skills by asking questions, actively listening, and practising logical reasoning.

Learn tips and tricks for becoming a better critical thinker and problem solver through online courses from notable educational institutions on Coursera. Start with Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking from Duke University or Mindware: Critical Thinking for the Information Age from the University of Michigan.