How to improve your deductive reasoning skills and ways to boost your decision-making skills

Deductive reasoning is an important skill used to draw conclusions about the world around us and to improve our performance in life. The learning and development of the Deductive reasoning skill, through logical thinking, can help us to make meaningful and quicker decisions, predict behaviours, find solutions for unfamiliar situations, solve conflicts, and increase our perception of our surroundings, increasing self-confidence. Improving your deductive reasoning skills can take time and practice. So let start learning them, in a simple way.

• What is deductive reasoning?

Deductive reasoning is a type of reasoning, also known as top-down reasoning. It is used in the scientific method, and can also be used in everyday life. This method starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis, and follows some steps to reach a specific logical conclusion. For deductive reasoning to work, there must be two true statements and inference based on those statements. First, there is a premise, followed by a second one, and finally a logical conclusion. Deductions or statements are inferences that must be true. So, if you assume that the general statement, the hypothesis, must be true, the second statement must also be true. This is called a deductive conclusion. 

What does deductive reasoning look like? 

Seeing examples of deductive reasoning can help give you a better understanding of how the process works, and to better understand this reasoning in a practise way. Here we go:

• “If ducks are birds, and all birds have wings, one can conclude that ducks have wings”. 
• Numbers that end in 0 or 5 can be divided by 5. The number 30 ends with a 0, so it is, therefore, divisible by 5.
• Redwood trees are plants, and all plants perform photosynthesis. So, we can conclude that redwood trees also perform photosynthesis.
• Noble gases are stable. Since helium is a noble gas, we know that helium is stable.

As this type of reasoning is commonly used in the workplace, another practical example could be: A company that sells nail polish which assumes that professional women are overloaded with family and work responsibilities, and who generally do not have much time. Analysing this situation, they deduce that the better successful marketing and product is a nail polish that can be applied and dries faster than their competitors, and therefore be successful among their customers.

1.2 What Is the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning?

Now that we already know the definition of Deductive Reasoning, let see the difference with Inductive Reasoning. The main difference between these two types of reasoning and logic skills, is that deductive reasoning is a top-down form of thinking, and inductive reasoning is a bottom-up type of thinking. This means that with Inductive thinking, you’ll first form a conclusion, or hypothesis, then seek the evidence to support your conclusion. In contrast, deductive reasoning analyses two true statements before forming a conclusion.

1.3 Tips for improving deductive reasoning skills

At this point, let’s go further, and let see some basic tips that could help to improve our deductive reasoning skills, their development, and assimilation. 

• Be curious

To follow the steps of the deductive thinking methodology discussed above, Curiosity is an important factor. This will make us be attentive to our surroundings and investigate the premises from which we will start and which will lead us to the final conclusion. 

• Be observational

Curiosity leads us to observation, asking questions, gathering information and reflecting in order to understand the world around us or the topic in question. Carefully observe everything, always take the time to look at things a second time, and try looking at things from a different angle if you’re getting stuck will help us in this purpose.

• Increase your knowledge

The more knowledge you acquire, whether by reading books, listening to podcasts, or doing the activity that interests you, the more prepared you will be to make connections between the information you have analysed and possible conclusions. In this way, you will be naturally “trained” and prepared for deductive thinking. 

• Break problems into smaller pieces

If the task seems complicated at first, a good way is to break down the information you have into small pieces and then see if you can form any premises from those pieces, until we can determine what the problem really is. Sometimes the easiest answer is the right one.

• Question what you hear

Don’t take literally all what you hear, and be critical. Deductive reasoning is about controlling your emotions and listening to reason, and if you don’t understand something, ask questions. Don’t let your emotions guide your conclusions, and always look for facts.

• Trust your instincts 

Your body is sometimes “smarter than your mind”. When you have these powerful feelings, trust them. Often there are subtle signals that we may pick up unconsciously and not realize until later. With practice, we can develop and pay attention to these signals and use them to our advantage in deductive reasoning.

• Work alongside a friend

Talking about things goes a long way towards dissecting and understanding them better. When sometimes we don’t have the answer or don’t see it clearly, it is important to trust a friend who gives us another point of view that we hadn’t considered before. It opens up a new way of thinking, which can help us to reach our goal.

Decision-making skills are valuable because they show your leadership capacity, develop it, and portray your ability to think objectively and relate concepts to achieve your goals. Your ability to make good decisions quickly can be helpful in many situations in life, beyond the workplace, as we all face small and big decisions in our daily lives.

•  What is decision-making skills?

A simple definition of this concept could be the ability to select between two or more options or alternatives and achieve the best outcome in the shortest possible time. Decision-making takes place once you have collected and analysed the information available for each specific situation. For the development of this skill, it is important to identify the process involved and to make the most of it so that it leads to making the right decision. So, let’s learn a bit more about it.

• How to improve decision-making skills?

People spend a lot of time making all kinds of decisions, but even if we try, they will not always be the right ones.  What we can do, however, is to look at ways to improve this skill and develop it, to get closer to our goal.

• Learn from experience

When we have to face a new decision, we tend to think that each decision is unique, and we forget our valid experiences. Good advice that bests decision-makers follows is to analyse their decisions and the way they took them to improve the process. Take the time to reflect on your recent decisions and learn from them, giving the same attention to those which turned out well and those that did not. So, don’t forget to learn from the past to gain wisdom.  

• Entertain doubt

Let’s assume that there will always be doubts, and we may not find the certainty we want. Assuming this, we can focus on action, and test the decision in different scenarios, asking ourselves what would happen if it went wrong, and so continue the search for the best possible option.

• Give yourself options

Having options always brings peace of mind to our lives. In the case of decision making, the more options the better. But be careful not to go beyond the recommended limit of 3 or 4 options, otherwise, it will make the task more difficult. Three options to choose from will help you in your process.

• Argue it out

In order to improve decision-making, argumentation is fundamental. Whenever possible, encourage debate and argumentation to meet different points of view, understand them, and learn from them. Also rely on someone who can question your own arguments, challenge them and break down your own schemas.

• Understand the context of your decision

Collect and study all the background information you can get on the subject, this will help make your decision more reliable. You can do this by talking with people, reading reports, making visits and observing. 

• Try carrying out experiments

A good experiment is the best way to put our theories into practice, in a safe, win-win environment, because if it goes wrong, we learn from it, and if it goes right, we gain enthusiasm and confidence in our decision.

• Shatter your theory

This is as simple as, instead of trying to confirm that our possible decision is correct by looking for evidence that confirms it, look for evidence and theories that confirm that it is not, if you don’t find any, you are on the right track.

• Assume your decision is a failure

Put yourself in the situation that the decision you have made has gone wrong. Now start asking yourself questions about the reason that caused this failure. Examine now the answers and try to find out how this can help you find a better decision.

• Bring in outsiders

Bringing outsiders into the decision-making process can improve it, as by not being involved, they leave out egos and emotions, and bring in fresh and perhaps creative air from which we can benefit.

• Listening is better for decision making than talking

If you are in the middle of an argument, avoid contributing to it. The best option is to listen carefully before giving your opinion. Forget about right and wrong. By listening openly, you will be enriched by different facts, opinions and perceptions, and you will be able to create your own with all this new information.

2.3 7 Extraordinary ways to improve your decision-making skills

Now that we know more about decision-making skills, let’s check out some creative and healthy ways to improve them. By incorporating these tips into our regular routine, such as exercising or learning something new, we will not only improve the quality of our lives, but also improve our decision-making skills. 

• Get some arts and culture in your life

It can be anything from taking dance classes, learning to play an instrument, painting with watercolours, going to the theatre, cinema, or opera. You will feel more inspired and creative, focused, your abilities will be stimulated, and it will help you to make decisions without realizing it.

• Develop your programming or language skills

Train your brain by learning something more technical. You can learn a new language, train your writing skills, or improve your computer skills. 

• Hang out with people of all ages

Try to surround yourself with people of all ages, and not eliminate any age group. By getting to know different realities, you will practise active listening and, at the same time, feel more flexible and open.

• Do some exercise

As long as it is safe for you, you can choose the one you like best. Besides stimulate your brain and work your body, you will boost your energy levels, and your decision-making skills will be sharpened.

• Get experimental with your cooking

If you don’t do it regularly, don’t hesitate to start, and if you do, try new culinary horizons. You will see that while your hands are busy making a dish, you will be, without even realizing it, elaborating the process of the decision you are having so much trouble making.

• Just practice

By training your brain to make small daily decisions, you will gain practice and speed in this exercise. Once you feel more confident with small decisions, you will feel more confident when it comes to the bigger ones.   

• Write down the pros and cons

Return to the familiar and effective pros and cons list technique. Use a large piece of paper, and write down all the positive and negative aspects of the dilemma. You can ask for advice from people you trust or who have experience in the field if you feel you need it but remember to finally make the decision yourself.

1. What is deductive reasoning?

Deductive reasoning is a type of reasoning, also known as top-down reasoning. It is used in the scientific method, and can also be used in everyday life. This method starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis and follows some steps to reach a specific logical conclusion.

2. What is the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning?

The main difference is that deductive reasoning is a top-down form of thinking, and inductive reasoning is a bottom-up type of thinking. This means that with Inductive thinking, you’ll first form a conclusion, or hypothesis, then seek the evidence to support your conclusion. In contrast, deductive reasoning analyses two true statements before forming a conclusion.

3.Mention 3 ways of improving deductive reasoning skills

Be curious; Increase your knowledge; Break problems into smaller pieces.

4.What is decision-making skills?

It is the ability to select between two or more options or alternatives and achieve the best outcome in the shortest possible time. Decision-making takes place once you have collected and analysed the information available for each specific situation.

5.Mention 3 extraordinary ways to improve your decision-making skills

Get some arts and culture in your life; Do some exercise; Hang out with people of all ages.

Through the reading of the course contents, the student will acquire basic knowledge about “How to improve your deductive reasoning skills and ways to boost your decision-making skills”, which will be exemplified with visual support in PowerPoint and video format, and simple games to reinforce the learning process.