Critical Thinking

Test evidence, assumptions, and logic before you decide

Why It Matters

Workplaces are full of confident claims: a vendor's numbers, a dashboard trend, a colleague's certainty about why clients leave. Teams that accept them without question make costly decisions, while teams that question everything stall. Critical thinking strikes the balance. People learn to ask the right questions quickly, weigh evidence proportionately, and explain their reasoning. Organizations benefit from fewer avoidable mistakes, better use of data, and meetings where disagreement focuses on facts instead of personalities.

Course Description

Participants work through a series of realistic workplace cases: a proposal backed by a single success story, a report with a misleading chart, a hiring decision shaped by first impressions, and a policy debate with competing data. For each, they apply a consistent set of questions: what is the claim, what is the evidence, what is assumed, what else could explain this, and what would change my mind. Short teaching segments introduce common reasoning errors and cognitive biases such as confirmation bias, anchoring, and survivorship bias. Paired exercises have participants argue both sides of an issue and critique each other's logic respectfully. The course ends with each person applying the framework to a pending decision in their own work.

Key Focus Areas

Participants explore and practice:

Separating claims, evidence, and assumptions in workplace arguments
Evaluating data quality, sources, and misleading charts
Recognizing common cognitive biases and reasoning errors
Generating alternative explanations before reaching conclusions
Presenting reasoning clearly and challenging ideas respectfully

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

Identify the assumptions underlying a proposal or report
Evaluate the strength and relevance of evidence for a claim
Recognize common biases at work in real decisions
Build a reasoned recommendation that addresses counterarguments

Who Should Attend

Analysts and program evaluators
Managers making resource decisions
Policy and program staff
Early-career professionals building judgment

Delivery and Customization

Examples, scenarios, and activities are adapted to your audience and goals. Delivery is available in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format, as a standalone session or as part of a series. Format and length are agreed during scoping.

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Bring Critical Thinking to your team

Tell us about your audience and goals. We will follow up to scope objectives, format, and timing.

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