2. Asking and answering questions appropriately
This definition alone doesn’t get you very far down the road. But the process comprises finding and choosing the questions, skillfully asking them, and getting the story. Reporters employ critical thinking to prepare and conduct interviews. Like a reporter, you need to get to the bottom of things and—hopefully—shed some light on the solution.
You may think of a conclusion as the end of the line. But in the realm of critical thinking, the finished product—call it an action plan—is your argument. You’ve gathered and sorted the facts, come to a conclusion, and now can define the issues and suggest what should be done. Whether you recommend change or sticking to the status quo, you are making an argument for a course of action.
That means asking the right questions of the right people to find your answers and solve a problem. But, to paraphrase either Socrates or Donald Rumsfeld, you don’t know what you don’t know.
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In their textbook Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (Pearson, 2018), M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley define critical thinking as “evaluation skills activated by the following:
1. Awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions
2. Ability to ask and answer these critical questions in an appropriate manner
3. Desire to actively use the critical questions
The same five Ws can serve as a template to initiate your fact-finding. As you research and learn more, you’ll develop a better grasp of the topic—what you know about it, and, most important, what you don’t know and need to find out.
Talking to the stakeholders—workers, supervisors, executives, specialists, vendors, suppliers—you have your facts (so far), and you want to know what each person thinks, what they have to say, what they believe or suggest might be the solution, or how the system might be hindering their efforts. Ideally, this builds consensus and more clearly identifies problems.
When interviewing an expert (especially a gruff one, or maybe your boss), wrap your questions in modesty. “This might seem like a dumb question,” or “What do you think of A and B?” lets the subject know you value, in fact need, their opinion. Your subject may be more inclined to be charitable.
Early on as a reporter, I self-consciously worried about being the person who knew the least. “Welcome to my world,” an editor told me. Usually, reporters aren’t the experts; they’re writers searching for the nouns needed to build a story. If we already knew all the answers, questions would be unnecessary.
I’m reminded of an anecdote I read in journalism school: A newspaper sent a reporter out to interview actress Vivien Leigh on an anniversary of the film Gone With the Wind. It wasn’t a tough assignment; this was not hard news. But the first question the reporter asked was, “So, what part did you play in the movie?”
No matter what you’ve been told in an interview, you must evaluate what you’ve learned. You have to be more than a sponge soaking up information and opinions. Consider what you know to be true and apply the facts as well as the knowledge you ’ve gained—don’t rely simply on what you’ve been told. You have the facts you went in with, and perhaps different or contradictory views from interviewees. Define the differences as well as the common ground. Your power of reasoning is how you reach a conclusion.
Pick a problem—any problem. As soon as you have one without an immediate answer, we can begin.
You may not think of it as an argument until you have to present it to others. Then, as you know, others may disagree. See? Now you have an argument—and so do your clients or co-workers.
You may, and often must, ask questions that might make the subject of the interview uncomfortable or even defensive. No one wants to be blamed or take on more responsibility because of an interview. But these questions may be the best you ask.
To that I would add, “avoid one-stop thinking.” If you’ve arrived at a simple, airtight solution, look again. Keep trying to poke holes in it.
The interpretive interview
Critical thinking can be used to either defend or evaluate and reconsider your initial beliefs. Browne and Keeley refer to the “weak-sense critical thinking” used to defend your own ideas. Others call this “confirmation bias”; you have preconceived notions and enter the interview to prove them, or ask questions based on your own assumptions.
Management
If Getting the Facts Means Having to Ask
Solving problems with journalism techniques and critical thinking
1. Awareness
Ms. Leigh ended the interview and threw him out. Don’t be that guy.
Perhaps you’re a quality professional, an auditor, a systems analyst, or just the person your boss sent to find out what the heck is going on around here. Whether you have a problem on your plant floor or in your C-suite, if you’re the one tasked with finding a solution, you’ll have to talk to people and ask questions.
Critical thinking is essential to information-gathering and problem-solving.
How do you find the right questions? Throughout the fact-finding process, critical thinking is, well, critical. When you have to find facts and assemble a report, you can also look to journalism for advice and ideas on forming an interview and telling a story. News reporters do it every day.
If you’re familiar with the organization you’re serving, you already know the lay of the land. If not, ask around and learn who the principals are—the ones who know the most about the problems you’re tackling.
Let’s look at Browne and Keeley’s three basic tenets.
Those “why” questions lead to the next type of interview.
The information interview
So can you. If you’re on a fact-finding mission and expected to write up a report, that does make you a reporter. Go ahead, turn pro—here is some advice on doing interviews, asking the right questions, and finding answers.
Types of interviews
To establish facts and reveal opinions, use the basic “five Ws” approach—who, what, where, when, and why. For journalists, the Ws form the tip of the traditional “pyramid” story construction as those facts are brought out first thing.
3. Actively use the critical questions
Your approach to organizing the critical questions and answers should mirror the same selfless spirit with which you conduct your interview. If you merely use what you already know or believe to form the story, it probably won’t take as long. But the picture will be incomplete, and your report is likely to generate or propagate misconceptions and mistakes.
Reaching a conclusion—and starting an argument
If you are as knowledgeable as the person you interview, leave your expertise at the door. You’re not there to tell people what you know, however much that may be. Being an active listener begins with letting the other person do the talking, keeping your ears and eyes open, and reading between their lines.
For me, that would be my wife, Georgia. She’s always happy to point out what I missed, forgot, or got wrong. As an educator, she contributed valuable, additional views on information-gathering, critical thinking, and testing results. Her key points:
• Carefully define your terms. Do they mean the same to you as to others?
• Dig deeper: Ask what if, what might
• Pull it apart; examine and question all elements. (Reporter’s tip: This can irritate the interviewee, who may have already given you answers once.)
• Shift scenarios to apply the facts. Do they still hold up?
• Where people are involved in the narrative, try to put yourself in their place. What would you think? How would you feel? Empathy can be an avenue to discovery.
Once your interview is done and transcribed (my least favorite part), it’s time to form a conclusion based on the facts you’ve gathered.
News organizations like to promote reporting that asks the tough questions… holding feet to the fire… putting people on the spot… holding them accountable… It’s not a great way to make friends, though.
Quality Digest