How to sharpen your critical thinking skills

- Psst, I'll tell you a secret. People think critical thinking skills are about having all the answers, but uh-uh, critical thinking skills rely largely on your ability to ask thoughtful questions. This way you can gather information that's relevant and make an informed decision about the next best move based on that information. Here are two types of thoughtful questions to think about when you're thinking about critical thinking and want to sharpen those skills. Number one, an open-ended question. These are questions that don't have a simple yes or no answer. They encourage a person to elaborate and add more detail, which gives you more information. For example, why do you think that is? Number two, the reflective question. These questions are helpful when you want to understand another person's thought process about a particular topic. A question such as, can you tell me how you came to that decision? Provides insight that may allow you to not only course-correct, but to think about a subject in a way you may not have previously. Give these critical thinking tips a try and let me know how it goes.