I marvel when I encounter someone who has a unique mastery of language.
Communication can be an instrument for good when it's practiced well
In my experience, all great communication stems from a primary source. The ability to think critically.
From my perspective, too many of us react to things. I get it. It seems to be human nature. When we see things that make us (pick a negative emotion...scared, angry, anxious...), we can get sloppy
The problem I see with this is that most big decisions are better made through a lens of objectivity, not emotion.
As I was thinking of this topic, I thought a framework would be good because frameworks are good:)
So I identified 9 steps in the process of thinking critically and have expanded minimally on each below
I think, if you can take these 9 steps when you are contemplating a response to a comment or circumstance, particularly a distasteful one, you'll be uncommonly effective
Some of these are attitudes and some are steps. A willingness to take on these attitudes and steps is often enough. It's a great start and with practice you'll feel yourself becoming more effective
I'm not sure if the order of these 9 keys is important, but this is the order that made sense to me
The 9 Keys To Thinking Critically
- Fairness - Life isn't fair so this one's interesting. I think fairness could be considered reasonable or just. When considering your response to a situation, to ask yourself, "am I being fair to both sides of the argument? Am I considering even those factors I don't like?"
- Objectivity - Closely related to fairness, I see this one as having the ability to remove as much emotion from your person as possible. I've developed an internal trigger in response to negative emotion. I pause, step back and ask myself, "what is this and where's it coming from". Sometimes I think of another person I know, love and trust and ask myself, "what would he do? how would he react?" This keeps me grounded and more objective
- Flexibility - I think it's helpful to get into a mindset of flexibility. To take the position that if new information is entered in, that you remain open to the possibility that you might change your position or your mind. An unwillingness to change your mind based on new information is unreasonable from my point of view
- Skepticism - I question everything. When I was a teenager I had a conversation with my dad who is a devout Catholic about my doubts about God. I was prepared for serious pushback. To my surprise he said just that "question everything, that's how your faith gets stronger". When I question things, I'm forced to think more deeply
- Listening - By far the most important communication skill of all. He who speaks last usually "wins" figuratively speaking. When I started out as a recruiter my boss made us ask direct questions (how much do you make?) and then shut up until the other person spoke. It was excruciating. I found that most people caved in and filled in the quiet space. When you fill in the silence, you miss critical info. Give people time to reflect before answering.
- Explanation - Context and time uncover truth. Adding proper context to a discussion can help people understand what you are trying to say. What I see far too often are partial truths, missing timelines and too little context. Clear and concise language motivates people to do the same
- Research - The challenge I see here is how do you know who to trust? Formerly reputable institutions have been compromised. Most of our leaders are not leaders, they're people in positions of authority. If you care about an issue, unfortunately, you have to dig and you need multiple verifications. I look for patterns and consistencies. Things need to make sense
- Evaluation - Who are the sources? What motivates them? Who benefits one way or the other? Who makes money one way or the other. Who might gain control, power, influence or celebrity?
- Analysis - Taking everything into consideration, playing devil's advocate and bouncing your conclusions off trusted loved ones are some of my go-to moves. I like to ask myself at this point, "what do I stand to gain or lose if I claim my position as fact. What if I claim opinion?
I was talking with my daughter a little while ago about something polarizing that we disagreed about (actually can't remember the issue:) After some time she said "daddy let's stop, my head hurts". I told my brother about this and his comment was telling.
"Yeah, that's cause she's thinking"
As funny as that is, it's true. Perhaps we don't do enough critical thinking because it makes our heads hurt
In my experience, the more you think critically, the more you develop that muscle and the less your head hurts
In my opinion we all have a collective responsibility to have better discussions than we're having now
I think critical thinking is the way
Jim and I recorded our 52nd episode of The Imperfect Mens Club podcast "What Exactly Is Critical Thinking And Are You Doing Enough?" If this article resonated with you, you'll likely enjoy listening
