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Ladder of Inference

The ladder of inference describes the largely automatic mental steps from selecting data, through adding meaning and assumptions, to reaching a conclusion and acting on it, often within seconds and without noticing the intermediate steps. You will learn to climb back down your own ladder in a tense conversation to check which data you actually observed versus which assumptions you added. You will practice stating your observations and reasoning explicitly so others can test them.

Chief Galen Tyrol Video

Ed Muzio on Climbing Down Argyris's Ladder of Inference

Author Ed Muzio walks through Chris Argyris's Ladder of Inference model, showing how people leap from selected data to conclusions and how to check which data was actually observed versus assumed.