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Critical Thinking with Emotional Intelligence
Role Play
Rating: 4.5 out of 5(8,292 ratings)
24,841 students

Critical Thinking with Emotional Intelligence

Strengthen critical thinking, decision making and human judgement through emotional intelligence and awareness of bias
Created byRobin Hills
Last updated 11/2026
English
German [Auto],Greek [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Explain how critical thinking and emotional intelligence work together to support considered decisions.
  • Distinguish between fast, automatic thinking and slower, deliberate thinking, and recognise when to question your initial response.
  • Recognise unconscious bias and thinking distortions, and explain how they influence your thinking and judgement.
  • Use questioning, active listening and empathy to examine assumptions and consider different perspectives.
  • Apply a structured critical thinking process to evaluate information, explore alternatives and justify decisions.
  • Explain why human judgement, emotional awareness and context matter when considering AI-generated information and recommendations.

Course content

12 sections • 54 lectures • 3h 2m total length
  • Introduction to Critical Thinking and Emotional Intelligence2:29

    This video introduces the course on emotional intelligence and critical thinking.

  • Being Emotionally Intelligent about this Course on Udemy4:09

    This video is critical to watch as it provides valuable insights to help you get the most from this course on the Udemy platform.  It also helps address any potential criticisms and negative reactions through the application of emotional intelligence.

  • Critical Thinking and Emotional Intelligence Learning Outcomes1:08

    This video covers the learning outcomes of the course and what you will learn by completing the course.

  • How Critical Thinking Helped Define Emotional Intelligence3:19

    This video defines emotional intelligence, how it developed from academic studies, and how it has been defined through critical thinking.

  • Thinking about Critical Thinking5:24

    This video explores how thinking works, what it means and considers some valuable examples of critical thinking.

  • Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT and Emotional Intelligence6:34

    This lecture explores some of the limitations of artificial intelligence systems where emotional intelligence is concerned so that these technologies can be used effectively and responsibly.

  • Speaking in Emotionally Intelligent Ways7:47

    All too often a peculiar kind of business language is spoken at work.  This video gives some insights into how you may inadvertently be speaking in less emotionally intelligent ways with the language that you use and your use of TLAs - Three Letter Abbreviations. 

Requirements

  • Anyone interested in learning more about critical thinking as a skill within business
  • No previous training in critical thinking is required. An interest in emotional intelligence and its practical application will be helpful.
  • Bring a willingness to question your assumptions and consider perspectives that differ from your own.
  • Be prepared to complete practical activities and reflect on how you think, listen and make decisions.

Description

How do you make a considered decision when information is incomplete, emotions are involved and other people see the situation differently?

Critical thinking involves examining evidence, questioning assumptions and reaching a reasoned judgement. Emotional intelligence helps you recognise how feelings, values, expectations and relationships influence that process.

Critical Thinking with Emotional Intelligence brings these capabilities together to help you evaluate information, understand different perspectives and make more considered decisions at work.

You will explore how your thinking can be influenced by unconscious bias, emotional reactions and familiar patterns of interpretation. You will also consider how empathy and active listening help you understand what others mean, check your assumptions and respond constructively when views differ.

Understand what influences your thinking

The course explores fast, automatic thinking and slower, deliberate thinking, helping you recognise when an initial impression deserves closer examination.

You will investigate thinking distortions and cognitive biases, including jumping to conclusions, confirmation bias, emotional reasoning and all-or-nothing thinking. The emphasis is on recognising these influences in your own thinking and considering how they affect your decisions.

You will also examine the relationship between critical thinking and criticism, including how to question an idea without turning disagreement into a personal judgement.

Strengthen questioning, listening and judgement

Good questions help reveal missing information, unclear reasoning and untested assumptions. Active listening helps you check whether your interpretation reflects what someone actually said.

Through examples, quizzes and practical activities, you will explore how to:

  • Separate observations from interpretations.

  • Question assumptions and examine alternative explanations.

  • Recognise how emotions influence your response to information.

  • Consider evidence alongside the perspectives of people affected.

  • Explain your reasoning and remain open to revising a decision.

Consider critical thinking in the age of AI

The course also explores the relevance of critical thinking when using artificial intelligence.

A fluent or confident response still needs careful evaluation. You will consider why human judgement remains important when assessing information, interpreting context and considering consequences for people.

AI is one application of the course’s broader focus: developing your ability to think critically and make decisions with emotional intelligence.

Put your learning into practice

The course includes reflective activities, a decision-making thinking-style assessment, an unconscious bias activity, an active listening quiz and a practical critical thinking exercise.

A role-play activity provides an opportunity to practise critical thinking through emotional awareness and empathy. A critical thinking questions resource and an eight-step process support further application.

These activities are an essential part of the learning. You will be encouraged to connect the material with your own circumstances, examine your responses and apply what you learn beyond the videos.

Who this course is for

  • Managers and team leaders who want to make considered decisions and understand different perspectives.

  • Professionals who need to evaluate information, question assumptions and explain their reasoning.

  • Coaches, trainers and learning professionals interested in the relationship between emotional intelligence and critical thinking.

  • Anyone who wants to recognise bias, improve listening and develop more reflective thinking habits.

  • People using AI-generated information who want to understand the importance of human judgement and context.


This course is a Udemy highly rated course.  Despite this, it has recently received a few low ratings without comments.  I am not sure the reasons behind this.  Criticism and giving feedback with emotional intelligence is covered in the course (Critical Thinking and Criticism - free preview lecture 8).  Low raters who don't leave comments are not exercising their critical thinking skills nor their emotional intelligence!   


All PDFs can be completed online and are Section 508 / ADA Accessibility compliant.

All videos are High Definition recorded in 1080p.

All videos have grammatically correct English captions.

Interactive AI Role Play Exercise.

Latest update - November 2026

Who this course is for:

  • Anyone keen to develop their thinking skills.
  • Anyone who is interested in a deeper understanding of why emotional intelligence is a key component of critical thinking.
  • Anyone who wants to build upon their understanding of themselves and how to work better with other people.
  • Anyone with an interest in more information about the use and application of emotional intelligence with a business focus.