5 Critical Thinking Activities and Exercises for Workplace Training

These critical thinking activities are workplace exercises that you can use in workshops and training sessions to encourage participants to examine information carefully before deciding what they think or what action they should take. The activities can help participants become more aware of assumptions, question the evidence available to them, and recognize when they need more information.

Quite often, our first interpretation of a situation feels very convincing. We see something happening, try to explain why it has happened, and may quickly reach a conclusion. The problem is that what seems obvious at first is not necessarily supported by the facts.

This is what the following five activities explore. Through workplace scenarios, questions, and discussion, participants can practice looking at situations from different angles and thinking more carefully about how they reach their conclusions.

For an overview of the topic, see our guides to critical thinking skills in the workplace.

1. What Do We Actually Know?

Purpose of the Activity

When we try to interpret a situation that we are facing, quite often many of us tend to make assumptions too quickly.

In other words, we observe what’s in front of us, and rather than pausing and trying to assess the facts first, we naturally feel the need to give it meaning.

So, we try to interpret what it means and, in doing so, we may make assumptions that may not be fully supported by the facts. Making assumptions too quickly can lead us astray and into making the wrong decisions.

This activity can help your participants understand when this process of interpretation and assumptions happens and how to slow this process down.

The aim is to help participants distinguish between what they actually know about a situation based on facts and what they are instead inferring or assuming.

Skills This Activity Helps Develop

Being able to:

• Distinguish between evidence and our interpretation of facts
• Recognize when we are making assumptions
• Avoid jumping to premature conclusions

Activity Setup

For this activity, you will need a short workplace scenario, ideally on a handout to share either in paper form or electronically.

The scenario needs to include some factual information, as well as some details that are open to interpretation.

For instance, a manager is faced with a situation at work, and they reach a conclusion that may or may not be based on observable facts.

Task for Participants

Your participants will work in pairs or in small groups of up to 4 people.

Then, you will share the scenario with them and ask each group to discuss the scenario and identify:

• What facts do we know?
• What are we inferring?
• What are we assuming?

The participants will first discuss in small groups and make notes, before sharing their thoughts with the rest of the class.

Scenario Example

A team misses their target for two months.

At the same time, a very experienced employee, whom the team tends to rely on a lot, has recently been late several times and missed two meetings.

Also, customer complaints have increased during this period.

The manager is trying to assess the situation and has come to the conclusion that the experienced employee in question has become disengaged and that this is negatively affecting the team’s performance.

Things to Draw out from the Scenario

Facts:

• Employee arriving late
• Team missing targets
• Customer complaints increasing

Things we don’t know:

• Why the employee has been late recently
• Why the team has been missing its targets

Interpretation:

The employee is disengaged (we don’t know this for sure; there may be other reasons why they were late several times).

Assumption:

The employee’s behavior is causing the team’s poor performance.

We don’t know this for sure. While some assumptions may turn out to be correct, we don’t have enough evidence yet.

You may find that participants do not always agree on whether something is an inference, an interpretation, or an assumption. This is fine, as there may not always be one clear-cut answer. What matters is that participants explain why they classified something in a particular way and consider how much evidence there is to support it.

Possible Debrief Questions

To help participants during the discussion, you can ask them the following questions:

• What do we know for certain based on what the scenario describes?
• Where do you think we are starting to interpret the facts?
• Which assumptions might seem plausible?
• What else would you want to find out?
• What might happen if the manager acts before checking?

Further Considerations

Assumptions are not always bad. Sometimes they can be helpful, as they can give us hypotheses that we can then test.

The problem arises when we are not aware that something is an assumption and we accept it as a fact.

If you want to explore this process in more detail, the Ladder of Inference shows how we can move from facts to assumptions and conclusions without always noticing it.

2. What Are We Missing?

Purpose of the Activity

Another obstacle to critical thinking lies in not knowing exactly when we need to get more information.

So, we might think we know enough to proceed with making a decision or solving a problem, but we don’t. This lack of information can then lead us to decide without having considered everything that might be important.

That’s why, before we make a decision, we need to ask questions.

Skills This Activity Helps Develop

This activity can help participants develop the ability to identify information gaps; ask useful questions and prioritize information by deciding which pieces of information matter most.

Activity Setup

For this activity, you need a scenario that is left deliberately incomplete, but with enough information to tempt people into deciding too soon.

Task for Participants

Participants can work in pairs or small groups.

They will need to analyze the information available in the scenario and, pretending they are the manager in charge of making the decision, make a list of the questions they would like to ask before proceeding.

Then, they will have to allocate each question to one of these categories:

• Essential
• Useful
• Interesting but unlikely to affect the decision

After they have done that, they will compare their ideas with the other groups and start a discussion.

Scenario Example

A company is thinking of replacing its current project-management software.

The manager has asked an employee to find new software to purchase, and the employee has found a package that looks very promising.

It is cheaper than the company’s current software and also offers many more features.

The manager wants the switch to happen at the end of the month.

Before adopting this new system, though, what questions does the manager need to ask to make sure this is the right choice?

Some of the questions that the participants might think of asking include:

• What exactly are the problems with the current system?
• Who uses it?
• Is the system currently integrated with other systems, and how would the switch affect this?
• What kind of training is needed to be able to use the new system?
• How user-friendly is the new system?
• How easy is it to migrate data into the new system?
• What are the cancellation costs if we find out the system is not suitable?
• What are the actual implementation costs?
• What do the employees who will use it think of it?
• Are there any security or data issues?
• Are all the new features needed?
• How much time do we need for the switch?
• Can the company trial or test the software before committing to it?

Takeaways from the Activity

The activity helps participants reflect on the following points:

• Gathering more information does not necessarily help if the information is not relevant to the decision.
• Some information matters much more than other information.
• Good critical thinking includes knowing what questions to ask.

Possible Debrief Questions

To help participants during the discussion, you can ask some of these questions:

• Which question do you think mattered most?
• Which missing fact could completely change the decision?
• Did different groups prioritize the questions differently? Why?
• Were any questions interesting but not really useful?
• When are people most at risk of rushing decisions at work?

Tip for the Trainer

The point of this exercise is to decide first what is important to know before we make a decision.

So, if the participants immediately start debating whether they should change the software or not, stop them and steer them toward asking questions and prioritizing them first.

3. Which Evidence Deserves Most Weight?

Purpose of the Activity

An important part of critical thinking is deciding what counts as evidence. How do we know if the evidence is strong enough to be useful?

In actual fact, different pieces of evidence may not deserve equal weight. In addition, something might sound convincing but still not constitute strong evidence.

Skills This Activity Helps Develop

How do we know what evidence is strong?

This activity helps participants make that decision by becoming able to evaluate:

• The quality and type of evidence
• Its reliability
• Its relevance
• The quality of the source
• The limitations of the evidence

Activity Setup

To run this activity, prepare a brief scenario presenting a workplace question or decision to be made.

The scenario will also include a few pieces of information (maybe 5 or 6), making sure they are of mixed quality.

Task for Participants

Participants will work in small groups.

You will give them the scenario and ask each group to rank the evidence according to how much weight they think each piece should have when making this particular decision, from most useful to least useful.

After each group has come up with a ranking, ask them to share their rankings and their thought process with the other groups.

In this activity, there is not necessarily one perfect answer. What matters is that participants can explain the reasoning behind their ranking and justify why they gave some evidence more weight than other evidence.

Scenario Example

A company is considering increasing remote working from two to three days a week. Should they do it or not?

Here is some possible evidence they might have:

• A senior manager says that remote workers are less productive
• A survey of 420 employees reveals that 78% want three days
• One team exceeded its targets while mostly working remotely
• A newspaper article says that remote work reduces collaboration
• Internal productivity figures show little difference between hybrid and office-heavy teams
• Two employees complain that communication is harder remotely

Factors that participants might consider include:

• Source of the evidence (how reliable is it?)
• Sample size (how many people have been involved in producing the information?)
• Is the evidence internal or external, and what does this mean?
• Is the evidence relevant to this company?
• How recent is the evidence?
• Is the evidence an anecdote or is it based on broader data?
• Possible bias that might affect those who provide or analyze the evidence
• What the evidence actually proves
• What it does NOT prove

Things You Can Point out During the Activity

There are a few takeaways that you can point out to your participants as a result of the activity.

For example:

• A large sample does not automatically mean that the evidence is relevant or reliable (for example, a survey of 420 employees could still be misleading if only a particular type of employee responded).
• Anecdotal evidence can sometimes be valuable and should not automatically be dismissed.
• Relevant internal data (provided it’s not poorly collected or biased) may matter more than general claims that are not specifically aimed at your situation.
• Employee preference tells you what they prefer, not necessarily what makes them more productive.

Possible Debrief Questions

There are several questions you can ask your participants to help them during the discussion, such as:

• Why did you put one item above another?
• Which looked convincing at first?
• Which evidence has limitations?
• What other evidence would you want?
• Did your ranking differ from those of the other groups? Why?
• Before ranking the evidence, do we need to know what the company is hoping to achieve?

Tip for the Trainer

During the activity, groups might disagree. Let that happen as there isn’t one right answer.

What’s more important is the reasoning that leads participants to give a certain ranking order.

4. Build the Strongest Alternative Case

Purpose of the Activity

When we assess a situation, we naturally tend to pay more attention to information or arguments that support our existing views. This phenomenon is called confirmation bias, which is a type of cognitive bias.

So, for example, if a manager believes that an employee is disengaged, they may tend to attribute every late arrival or absence to their supposed disengagement. At the same time, the manager may tend to ignore the instances in which the employee shows commitment.

This activity is designed to help participants challenge this type of bias by having them seriously explore opposite positions and points of view.

Skills This Activity Helps Develop

This activity is particularly suitable to help participants be more open to considering alternatives to their point of view, thus avoiding one-sided thinking.

The participants are encouraged to not only consider the alternative, but also to challenge their own reasoning and spot weaknesses in their initial stance.

Activity Setup

For this activity, you will need a workplace scenario in which people will need to take a stance on an issue that has reasonable arguments both for and against it.

Participants will choose one side of the argument as their own starting position.

Then, either individually, in pairs, or in small groups, depending on the number of participants you have, they will prepare an argument in favor of the opposite view and share it with the rest of the class.

They should make the opposite case as strongly as possible, including any evidence, reasons, risks, or benefits they can think of.

Afterward, they will return to their original position and consider it in a new light. Will they change their position? Maintain their original position in the same way? Or still support it but look at it differently?

Finish the activity with a whole-class discussion.

Scenario Example

A company is considering using an AI tool for drafting routine customer emails.

Some people support this idea; others don’t. Which side are your participants on?

Possible arguments FOR

Using an AI tool to draft routine emails can save employees a lot of time. This will allow employees to spend more time on complex cases.

In addition, the use of an AI tool can help reduce the amount of repetitive work employees do, so they can focus more on tasks in which problem-solving, creativity, and proactivity are needed.

Also, the responses to customers may become more consistent.

Possible arguments AGAINST

AI can make mistakes, which can lead to errors or inaccuracies in the information given to customers.

This means that employees still need to check the output carefully, so the time saved may be less than expected.

Employees will also need to be trained in how to use AI properly.

In addition, there are considerations relating to confidentiality, how the customers will react, and the company’s reputation if customers don’t like how the company uses AI.

Finally, employees might become over-reliant on technology.

Points to Draw Out from the Activity

This activity highlights some very interesting points. For instance, it shows that you can disagree with an argument but still understand it and even appreciate some of its points.

Likewise, even if you still maintain your original position, taking the time to understand the opposite view can expose weaknesses in your original argument. This doesn’t mean you have to reject your original argument, but it’s useful to become aware of any weaknesses it may have.

Conversely, you might discover that your argument is stronger than you thought it was.

Whatever the outcome, understanding both sides of an argument can be very useful.

Possible Debrief Questions

During the debrief, you can ask participants some of these questions to help them along in the discussion:

• Was arguing the other side difficult?
• Did you find a good argument you had overlooked?
• Did your original view become weaker, stronger, or more nuanced?
• Did anyone make the other side deliberately weak?
• What assumptions were behind your first view?

Tip for the Trainer

As you facilitate the activity, watch for so-called “straw man” arguments.

A straw man argument happens when someone exaggerates, oversimplifies, or misrepresents an opposing argument so that it becomes easier to attack.

In order for the activity to be effective, participants have to genuinely try to make the opposite case as convincing as possible.

5. Update Your Decision

Purpose of the Activity

Critical thinking includes the ability to change your conclusions if the evidence changes or if you realize that you didn’t consider the evidence properly at the start.

There is nothing wrong with changing one’s conclusions if you can support the change with evidence or a reasonable argument. Initial decisions can be provisional rather than permanent.

Skills This Activity Helps Develop

The aim of this activity is to help participants develop the ability to revise judgments, respond to new evidence and weigh new information.

It also encourages cognitive flexibility, as participants have to adjust their thinking when the evidence changes.

An important part of this process is understanding that it is not helpful to be overly attached to your first decision, and that it’s okay to change your mind if there are strong arguments for it.

Activity Setup

Before you run the activity, you will have prepared a brief workplace scenario, but you will reveal the information in the scenario to your participants one piece at a time.

So, you will give your participants the first part of the scenario that will require them to make a decision.

Ask participants to work in small groups and to make the first decision together.

They will need to write down their initial decision, the reason for it, and how confident they are about it.

Then, reveal one extra bit of information at a time.

After each new piece of information, the groups will need to decide whether to keep, modify or reverse the decision. Ask them to explain why every time.

After they have seen all pieces of information, ask each group to compare their first and final decisions.

End with a whole-class debrief.

Scenario Example

You are a manager who has been told that attendance at a staff training program has fallen by 30%.

What do you do? Do you continue the program, stop it, or consider other options?

Information revealed gradually

1. Satisfaction among attendees remains high
2. New departmental deadlines clash with training times
3. This program costs more per participant than other courses
4. Employees who attended make fewer errors afterwards
5. Employees say they would prefer shorter sessions at different times

Things to Draw out from the Activity

Changing your mind after reviewing the evidence is not necessarily inconsistent. However, automatically changing your mind every time you receive a new piece of information is not good critical thinking either.

Good critical thinking involves evaluating every piece of evidence and every consideration before deciding whether you should change your mind.

So, participants should consider that not every new fact needs to change a decision and that some evidence may matter much more than other evidence.

Possible Debrief Questions

• Which information affected you most?
• Which made little difference?
• When did you first reconsider?
• Did you find yourself defending your original decision?
• What would have made you reverse it completely?
• At work, what might make people reluctant to revisit a decision?

Tip for the Trainer

One important point to remember as you start the activity is this:

Make sure that the participants record their initial decision before you start revealing the additional information.

If they forget to do so, hindsight might make it difficult for them to remember exactly what they originally thought.

For more exercises that focus specifically on making choices and evaluating options, see our decision-making activities for the workplace.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills at Work

There are many situations at work where critical thinking can be useful.

For example, we may need to decide whether the information we have is reliable, whether we are making assumptions, or whether there is something important that we have not yet considered.

By learning and practicing this kind of thinking, participants can begin to show much greater self-awareness when it comes to approaching problems and making decisions.

If you would like to use critical thinking as part of a longer workshop, our Critical Thinking Training Materials include editable slides, trainer notes, participant materials, and activities that you can use and adapt for your own sessions.