Critical thinking for communications professionals

Overview

This half-day online course examines why critical thinking has become the defining capability for communications practitioners in an age of AI-generated content, synthetic media and institutional distrust. The programme draws on academic research and practice-based evidence to equip participants with habits and frameworks for evaluating information, questioning assumptions and forming reasoned judgments before acting.

The course is designed for practitioners who are expected to advise leadership on issues where the facts are unclear, the stakes are high and the sources are unreliable. It addresses the growing tendency toward information shortcuts and reframes critical thinking as a set of habits that can be developed through deliberate practice.

Who should attend

The course is designed to help practitioners strengthen their advisory credibility and build genuine expertise. This includes:

  • Mid-career and senior in-house communications professionals

  • Agency practitioners and consultants advising clients on complex issues

  • Independent practitioners seeking to differentiate through depth of counsel

  • Practitioners who regularly brief leadership or contribute to strategic decisions

  • Anyone concerned about over-reliance on AI-generated summaries and shortcuts

It is not suitable for early-career practitioners seeking foundational skills training; anyone looking for AI prompt engineering or tool-specific instruction; and teams seeking media relations or tactical content skills.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Explain why the current information environment demands critical thinking as a core professional capability

  • Identify bias, commercial interest and methodological weakness across different source types

  • Triangulate claims across multiple independent sources before drawing conclusions

  • Assess the credibility of sources using a structured framework

  • Recognise how large language models synthesise information and where they introduce risk

  • Apply techniques that separate reading from writing to strengthen synthesis and retention

  • Translate critical analysis into clear, confident counsel for senior leaders

Topics covered

  • The changed information environment: AI, polarisation, speed and contested truth

  • The cost of shortcuts: poor counsel, reputational risk and diminished credibility

  • Triangulation: cross-referencing sources and identifying convergence and divergence

  • The hierarchy of evidence: peer-reviewed research, primary data, trade media and opinion

  • Credibility assessment: expertise, methodology, transparency and motive

  • How LLMs work: probabilistic synthesis, flattened nuance and obscured provenance

  • Separating reading from writing: techniques for forcing cognitive engagement

  • From sensemaking to counsel: communicating uncertainty with confidence

Programme structure and timings

Welcome and context
Module 1: Why critical thinking matters now
Module 2: Triangulating sources
Break
Module 3 Evaluating credibility
Module 4: From analysis to counsel
Wrap-up and action planning

What participants will leave with

  • A clear understanding of why critical thinking is essential for professional credibility in 2026

  • A credibility assessment framework for evaluating any source

  • Practical techniques for triangulating claims and identifying bias

  • Habits for separating reading from writing to strengthen synthesis

  • A briefing note template for translating analysis into counsel

  • A recommended reading

  • A certificate of completion for continuous professional development records and internal reporting

Course tutor

Stephen Waddington is a professional advisor at Wadds Inc. and PhD researcher at Leeds Business School who supports agencies and in-house teams on a range of management, corporate communications and public relations issues.

His agency career includes leadership roles at Metia, Ketchum, Rainier PR and Speed. He has worked for clients including The Economist, HM Government, Intel, Microsoft, The Press Association, NHS, Tesco and Virgin Media Business.

Stephen co-founded Socially Mobile, a social enterprise that supports public relations practitioners in increasing their earning potential. It delivers management training to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and underrepresented and underserved groups.

He has written and edited more than ten books, including Brand Anarchy, Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication and Share This, and served as President of the CIPR.

Terms and conditions

  • Maximum of 12 participants per course

  • Full payment required on booking

  • Places are non-refundable and non-transferable upon booking

Available dates

  • 9:00am–12:30pm – Thursday, 13 February

  • 9:00am–12:30pm – Tuesday, 4 March

Course cost and booking

£295+VAT (£245+VAT booked before the end of January 2026 using discount code NEWYEAR). You can book directly via our online store or email us and we’ll invoice you.