Key Takeaways vs. critical thinking

"Key Takeaways" are the boxes that summarize the insights found within a project. They’re the lists of exact steps to take after reading a longer piece.

Key Takeaways sections and lists have become so rampant in so much business content, they’ve damn near replaced the need for readers to critically examine the work. But that’s how we learn and grow best, in my opinion: find what pushes you and inspires you and engages you, and examine it. Interrogate it.

As makers, I’m urging you: create more things for others that force them to think critically. Put them in a new, uncomfortable space, and let the thoughts simmer a bit. Challenge their perceptions, shift their point-of-view, and help them see. Force them to sit and wonder — without spelling it all out to them.

If only for a moment, make something that omits the Key Takeaways. The world will be better for it.