how to do speech and debate

How To Debate: Mastering the Art of Persuasive Discourse

A debate is a form of persuasive communication involving two sides arguing for and against a specific position. The exercise is structured with many rules and conventions that a debater must follow. Knowing the ins and outs of how to debate is crucial for success.

Being able to engage in a spirited debate is an essential skill in today’s complex and interconnected world.  Whether in academic settings, professional environments, or personal conversations, the ability to present and defend your ideas effectively significantly affects your reputation and influence.

This article explores key principles and practical tips for developing your debating prowess . It will enable you to articulate your views persuasively, handle counterarguments gracefully, and foster a constructive exchange of ideas. With these tools at your disposal, you’ll be ready to navigate the realm of debates with confidence and intellectual agility.

Table of Contents

What Are The Five Types Of Debates?

Debating is more than just expressing your opinion; it involves the art of persuasive discourse , where logical reasoning, compelling evidence, and respectful communication converge.

Here are five common types of debates:

• Policy debates focus on  analyzing and evaluating specific courses of action  or proposed policies. Participants delve into the potential benefits, drawbacks, and impacts of different policy options, often employing research and evidence to support their arguments.
• Value debates revolve around  discussing and weighing moral, ethical, or philosophical principles.  Participants explore abstract concepts such as justice, liberty, or equality to establish which values should be prioritized and why.
• Fact-based debates center on  examining empirical evidence  and verifying the truth or accuracy of a given statement or claim. Participants present data, research, and expert opinions to support their arguments, often engaging in a rigorous analysis of facts and evidence to determine the most accurate interpretation.
• Team debates involve groups of participants working collaboratively to present arguments and counterarguments. Typically structured as a competitive event, these debates require coordination and strategy, with each team member contributing their unique perspective to put forward a cohesive and persuasive case.
• Formal debates  adhere to specific rules and protocols, often following established formats such as parliamentary or  Lincoln-Douglas debates . These debates emphasize structured discourse, timed speeches, and strict guidelines for rebuttals and cross-examinations.

What Are The Three Main Parts Of A Debate?

The three main parts of a debate are the opening statements, the rebuttals, and the closing statements.

• The  opening statements serve as the foundation of a debate. Each participant or team presents their initial arguments and outlines their main points. This is the opportunity to establish a clear position, provide supporting evidence, and capture the audience’s attention .
• Opening statements should be concise and persuasive and set the stage for the rest of the debate.
• Rebuttals are the heart of a debate,  where participants directly address and challenge the arguments put forth by their opponents. During this phase, debaters critically analyze the opposing views, identify flaws or weaknesses, and present counterarguments supported by evidence and logic.
• Rebuttals require quick thinking, effective communication, and the ability to dismantle opposing claims while maintaining a respectful tone .
• The  closing statements  are the final opportunity for participants to leave a lasting impression. In this phase, debaters summarize their main points, reiterate their strongest arguments, and emphasize why their position is superior.
• Closing statements should leave the audience with a compelling reason to support the debater’s position. You must also reinforce the key points and provide a sense of closure to the debate.

Is Debating A Skill?

Debating is like mental gymnastics that strengthens several areas. Here’s why:

• Sharpens Thinking: Deft debaters research, analyze arguments, and build strong cases. This hones critical thinking and the ability to see different perspectives.
• Communication Powerhouse: Debating builds confidence in public speaking and clear communication. You learn to organize thoughts, present arguments logically, and use evidence effectively.
• Adaptability on Point: Debates are like intellectual sparring matches. You have to think on your feet, respond to counter-arguments, and adjust your approach as needed.

These skills are valuable in any field, from academics to law to business. So, debating isn’t just about winning arguments, it’s about training your brain to be a stronger, more versatile thinking and reasoning tool.

What Are The Five Basic Debating Skills?

• Researching and gathering relevant information is a fundamental debating skill. It involves conducting thorough investigations, analyzing sources critically, and understanding different perspectives to develop well-informed arguments supported by evidence.
• Critical thinking is crucial for effective debating. It encompasses evaluating arguments objectively, identifying logical fallacies, spotting inconsistencies, and constructing well-reasoned counterarguments. Developing necessary thinking skills enables debaters to approach complex topics with analytical precision and form persuasive responses.
•  Debating necessitates clear and articulate communication skills. Debaters should be able to express their ideas coherently, use appropriate language and tone, and engage the audience. Active listening and responding thoughtfully to the points raised by opponents are also key components of effective communication in debates.
• Persuasive speaking is the art of influencing the audience and convincing them of the validity of one’s arguments. Debaters should employ rhetorical devices , such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to appeal to their listeners’ emotions, credibility, and logic.
•  Time management is critical in debates with limited time constraints. Debaters must learn to structure their arguments effectively within the given timeframe, allocate appropriate time for each point, and deliver concise and impactful speeches.

Do’s And Don’ts Of A Debate

How To Debate Step By Step?

• Understand the topic:  Familiarize yourself with the subject matter, including key terms, concepts, and relevant arguments.
•   Research and gather evidence:  Conduct comprehensive research to support your position. Collect data, facts, examples, and expert opinions that strengthen your arguments.
•   Structure your arguments:  Organize your thoughts by outlining your main points and supporting evidence. Ensure a logical flow and coherence in presenting your ideas.
•   Engage respectfully:  Maintain a respectful and professional demeanor throughout the debate. Listen actively to your opponents, address their points directly, and avoid personal attacks.
•   Deliver compelling speeches:  Present your arguments confidently using clear and persuasive language . Employ rhetorical devices, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to appeal to the audience’s emotions, credibility, and logic.
•   Rebut opposing arguments:  During rebuttal, deconstruct and challenge your opponents’ arguments. Offer counterarguments supported by evidence and logical reasoning.
•   Stay focused and concise:  Remember time constraints and prioritize your strongest points. Keep to the topic at hand and avoid digressions.
•   Adapt to feedback:  Pay attention to comments from the audience, judges, or moderators. Adjust your approach, if necessary, and address any weaknesses or gaps in your arguments.
•   Conclude with impact:  Summarize your main points and reiterate the strength of your position in the closing statement. Leave a lasting impression on the audience and reinforce the key takeaways from your arguments.
•   Reflect and improve:  After the debate, analyze areas for improvement, learn from your experiences, and continue to develop your debating skills.

How Do You Begin A Debate?

To begin a debate , start with a compelling opening statement that captures the audience’s attention. Clearly state your position or proposition and briefly summarize your main arguments.

Hook the audience by using a thought-provoking question, a powerful statistic, or a relevant anecdote to establish the importance and relevance of the topic.

How Do You Structure A Debate?

When structuring a debate, begin with an introduction that clearly defines the topic and provides context for the discussion. Next, present your main arguments logically, ensuring each point builds upon the previous one.

Different Roles

High school students often become debate team members, taking on different roles such as the first affirmative, second speaker, or third affirmative.

In a parliamentary debate, the first speaker, often the prime minister, sets the tone by introducing the debate topic and outlining the team’s case. This crucial role requires thorough research, brainstorming new arguments, and presenting them coherently.

Affirmative And Negative Teams

Once the affirmative team presents its arguments, it’s time for the negative team to respond. The negative speaker must listen attentively, analyze their opponent’s arguments, and provide strong refutations.

Avoid constructing straw man arguments  and instead engage with the core of the affirmative team’s points. To strengthen their position, the opposing team should use analogies or points of information to challenge the other side effectively.

Speakers use transition phrases to smoothly guide the audience from one point to another, concluding the debate by summarizing key points and reiterating their position.

How Does Teamwork Function In A Debate?

Teamwork plays a vital role in public speaking.

The affirmative speaker should work seamlessly with their team, ensuring a well-structured, logical debate. Each team member contributes to the overall coherence and success of the discussion, taking turns to present their viewpoints and plugs any gaps in the team’s arguments.

Collaboration and effective time management, facilitated by the timekeeper, are key elements in achieving a strong performance.

What Should Be Your Goal In A Debate?

Ultimately, the goal of a debate is to persuade the adjudicator and the audience. Debaters should present the team’s case clearly and confidently.

They can build a solid foundation by analyzing the opponent’s argument and offering well-reasoned refutations. Avoiding filler and staying focused on the main points ensure a persuasive and impactful performance.

Mastering the art of persuasive discourse in debates requires dedication and practice . Aspiring debaters should embrace teamwork, understand the debate structure, and hone their research, refutation, and public speaking skills.

How Do You Debate Successfully?

Thorough preparation is the key to defeating your opposing team! Conduct research and gather evidence to support your arguments. Develop strong critical thinking skills to evaluate and respond to opposing viewpoints effectively.

Communicate confidently and respectfully, utilizing persuasive speaking techniques and positive body language (make eye contact!) to engage the audience and convey the strength of your position.

How To End A Debate

Ending a debate gracefully shows respect and leaves a lasting impression. Here’s how to do it effectively:

• Summarize Your Key Points: Briefly remind everyone of your main arguments and why they’re strongest.
• Reiterate Your Stance: Clearly restate your position on the topic.
• Address Your Opponent (Gracefully): Acknowledge their strengths (if possible!), but explain why yours hold more weight.
• Conclude with a Broader Point: If appropriate, connect your debate topic to a larger issue or implication.
• End on a Positive Note: Thank your opponent and the audience for their time and engagement.

By following these steps, you can leave the debate on a high note, demonstrating your sportsmanship and the strength of your arguments.

Adam Howarth

Adam covers the topic of Public Speaking for Digital Authority. From his first experience of oratory with his school debating society to his more recent experiences of promoting the local business scene in Wrexham, Wales, he has always been involved in public speaking.

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A Guide to Excelling at Speech and Debate

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No matter which path you wish to pursue in college or in your career, being able to communicate with others in a clear, confident , and concise way is a skill that you’ll use all your life. When you’re in high school, you’ll likely have access to a number of different extracurricular activities that involve developing your public speaking abilities or debate skills, from Mock Trial to Drama Club. One of these options may be to join your school’s Speech and Debate team.  

Whether you’re already comfortable performing publicly, or you want to get over your fear of public speaking, participating in Speech and Debate offers opportunities to hone your communications skills. Its different events allow you to tailor your participation to your interests and talents, and its competitive nature adds a motivating factor that many students enjoy along with the possibility of honors and awards .

Does Speech and Debate sound like an interesting extracurricular activity to add to your resume ? In this post, we’ll go over what you can do in Speech and Debate—and what Speech and Debate can do for you.

What is Speech and Debate?

As a specific group or team, Speech and Debate usually refers to a particular, organized form of competitive public speaking and debate. This activity or field is also sometimes known as forensics, although it’s not related to forensic science.

In the United States, much of competitive high-school speech and debate takes place under the National Speech and Debate Association, formerly known as the National Forensics League, as well as state-level organizations. (Not every state participates in the NSDA.) Other national-level Speech and Debate organizations include the National Catholic Forensics League , the National Christian Forensics and Communication Association , and Stoa, an organization for Christian homeschool forensics.

In competitive debate,  two students (or two teams of students) argue the different sides of a given issue or question according to a certain set of procedures and rules. One or more judges observes and eventually decides which student or team has won the debate. Speech and Debate competitions usually offer several variations on the debate structure, each with its own particular regulations.

Competitive speech may be less familiar to you, but it’s an equally important part of Speech and Debate. The speech category encompasses a wide range of competitive events, but what all these events have in common is that they involve high-school students, alone or in pairs, competing against other students by speaking in public. Later in this post, we’ll go over details about what competitions actually involve.

In both categories, the available events vary by state. Debate events might include Lincoln-Douglas Debate, which is a one-on-one competition with a focus on philosophical topics and traditional logical argumentation. Another debate event is Public Forum Debate, a pairs event with a more modern structure that emphasizes independent research, current-events-based topics, and accessibility to a wider range of audiences.  

Speech events at a tournament might include Original Oratory, in which you write and perform your own speech on a topic, or Duo Interpretation, in which you and a partner perform a short dramatic piece from an existing play or other literature.

While Speech and Debate competitors perform alone or with a partner, they’re also part of a team, much as they would be in a sport like tennis. Your high school’s team will often be coached by one or more teachers, and you’ll practice and prepare as a group. Tournament awards are given not only to individual competitors, but to the teams with the highest total achievement at a tournament.

What does joining Speech and Debate involve?

As with many extracurricular activities, Speech and Debate can vary a great deal from school to school. Some high schools have notably rigorous preparation and high-achieving Speech and Debate teams; others are not yet so established, or participate more casually.

If you want to compete in Speech and Debate, you’ll need to choose an event that suits you. Certain events are generally considered easier for those just starting out, and your coach and older members of your team can help you decide on one that is best for you.

Once you have chosen an event, you’ll need to prepare for it. For Debate events, you’ll generally be given one topic in advance that will be your topic for an extended period of time. With your coach’s help, you’ll need to research, write, and practice presenting arguments for both sides of the issue or question to be used (with adjustments) for as long as that topic remains in effect.

The necessary preparations for Speech events differ based on the event. In some events, you’ll need to research and write your own material. In others, you’ll memorize and practice performing a given piece. In still others, you’ll practice coming up with a compelling speech on a topic given limited preparation time.

In all events, you’re likely to spend a lot of time practicing your vocal delivery, including speed, tone, volume, and diction. You’ll also work on editing your piece so that it can be performed within the allotted time. Since you’ll typically stick with one piece for the entire school year, there’s a great deal of room for refinement over the course of the year.

Once you’ve prepared thoroughly, it’s time to compete. Most often, you’ll be attending tournaments held at high schools in your local area, which are held on a Saturday and take up most of the day. You’ll go through several rounds of competition against other students, scores will be tallied, and awards will be presented to the top competitors at a concluding ceremony. At the end of the competition season, district tournaments determine who is eligible for state-level and possibly national-level tournaments.

At all Speech and Debate tournaments, professionalism is key. Most competitors wear suits, and some even carry briefcases. Your professional presentation and behavior are explicitly part of the rubrics that the judges use to determine scores and winners. However, it’s not all serious, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to socialize and have fun with your team.

Depending on your high school, you may have access to additional Speech and Debate opportunities. For instance, a number of colleges host annual Speech and Debate tournaments for high-school students, and you may travel for some tournaments.

As with many high-school extracurriculars, you may also need to organize and participate in fundraising as part of your involvement with Speech and Debate, since schools vary in their ability to pay for the needs of their teams, such as transportation to local tournaments and the additional expenses of competing on the state or national level.

What do I need to do to excel in Speech and Debate?

First of all, you should think carefully about choosing the event in which you’ll compete. It’s a good idea to try several events, especially when you’re just getting started , but since participants often refine one debate topic or one dramatic piece over the entire year, your performance will benefit from a long-term commitment once you’ve tried a few.

Choose an event that’s a good match for your skills, whether you’re best at dramatic performances, arguing persuasively, or thinking on the fly. You may also want to think strategically. If your local area already has a large number of strong competitors in one event, it could be beneficial to your chances of advancement to choose a different event.

Keep in mind that your competitive prospects may be somewhat limited by what event you choose. As we’ve mentioned, the events offered in Speech and Debate vary from state to state. Only certain events, such as Policy Debate, have the potential to advance all the way to the prestigious national tournament; others are only available in particular areas at the state or regional level.

The most important factor in excelling at Speech and Debate is practice. While students often choose to participate in events that mesh well with their existing talents, preparing and performing on a high level in Speech and Debate events takes a great deal of work. The more effort you invest in Speech and Debate, the better you’re likely to do.

While you’re competing, you’ll have the opportunity to observe the performances of others in your event. It’s helpful to keep track of which of your opponents regularly rank highest and to recognize the ways in which their performances impress the judges. Judging styles may vary from region to region, and you’ll need to adjust your performance to meet your judges’ standards.

When you have the opportunity to receive direct feedback from your judges, you should take it seriously. After many tournaments, you’ll receive your judges’ scores and comments, and these can be a helpful source of advice for how to adjust your performance for the next tournament.

Since judges at local tournaments are often parents or other volunteers, not Speech and Debate experts, you may need to take some of their comments with a grain of salt. However, your coach should be able to help you figure out which advice is the most relevant.

Your coach and the more senior members of your Speech and Debate team are also valuable sources of information on topics from how to dress appropriately to how to succeed in your event. This is one of the major benefits of having a team on which to depend: other team members can give feedback and suggestions that you can’t get from practicing alone.

Once you’ve participated in Speech and Debate for several years, you may have the opportunity to take on leadership roles , such as president, debate captain, or a less formal role coaching younger students. Improving your leadership skills is always a good idea, both for college application purposes and for your own personal development.

You may also want to get involved with or spearhead efforts to fundraise for the Speech and Debate team. Effective fundraising is a must, especially at schools with limited funds, and a larger budget may allow your team to attend higher-profile competitions. (For more advice on fundraising for a high school extracurricular, check out CollegeVine’s blog post How to Plan and Execute an Effective Fundraiser for a High School Extracurricular. )

What are the benefits of participating in Speech and Debate?

There are a number of different ways in which Speech and Debate can benefit you. First of all, like most extracurriculars, your commitment to and success in Speech and Debate are markers of personal qualities like dedication, hard work, and leadership. When colleges consider your applications, they’ll see evidence of these qualities.

In addition, no matter what academic or career field you wish to enter, communication skills are incredibly important to your future. Participating in Speech and Debate can help you learn how to craft a persuasive argument and present it convincingly, which will be helpful to any college paper you’ll ever write and every academic or professional presentation you’ll ever give.

You’ll also learn important public speaking skills through Speech and Debate. Fear of public speaking is very common, but that skill is essential in college and the workplace. The exposure and coaching that Speech and Debate provides can help you get past your fear of public speaking and become a more confident participant in discussions and presentations.

Speech and Debate can be great for students who have an interest in performing or speaking publicly, but aren’t drawn to drama club, student government , or Mock Trial . It offers the motivating benefit of competitiveness, which is a significant plus for some students, especially those who wish to compete on a primarily individual basis. Of course, aspiring lawyers, actors, and politicians will make use of the skills taught in Speech and Debate, but improved communication skills are also important for any high school student.

Some students will want to extend their high school participation in Speech and Debate into their college years. Many schools have debate teams or clubs, and some schools also offer some form of competitive public speaking, as well as related extracurriculars like drama, spoken word poetry, or campus politics. Whether for your extracurricular activities, your academic goals, or your career plans, participation in Speech and Debate can help prepare you for what lies ahead.

Does Speech and Debate sound like a fit for you? Talk to your high school’s Speech and Debate coach about joining the team. If your school doesn’t have an established team, but you can find interested students and a willing coach, you may even be able to start a team from scratch.

You can get more information about Speech and Debate from the website of the National Speech and Debate Association or the website of your state’s own Speech and Debate league. Remember, events and policies vary from state to state, so be sure to determine what your options are in your state.

Do you have more questions about extracurriculars, both in high school and on your college applications? CollegeVine has you covered. Check out our blog for more posts on what defines an extracurricular activity , how to get involved in various extracurriculars, and a grade-by-grade breakdown of what you should know about extracurriculars in each year of high school.

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Complete Guide to Debating: Improve your Debating Skills

In the world of communication and persuasion, mastering the art of debate is a skill that can truly set you apart. Whether you're a student, a professional, or simply someone who wants to express their opinions more effectively, understanding how to speak during a debate and how to develop debating skills is essential.

After all, debates provide a platform to express ideas, challenge perspectives, and influence others through logical arguments and persuasive communication. If you've ever wondered how to do a debate or how to become a more skilled debater, you've come to the right place.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the intricacies of debating skills, explore the debate rules, and provide valuable insights on improving your performance. SoME, your go-to source for professional courses, is here to equip you with the tools and techniques you need to excel in the world of debating.

Let's dive in and discover the secrets to becoming a confident and compelling debater.

Understanding the Basics of Debating

Are you ready to delve into the fascinating world of debating?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of improving your skills, it's essential to grasp the fundamentals.

In this section, we'll explore the definition of debating, the different types of debates you might encounter, and the key elements that make up a successful debate.

So, let's get started!

Definition of Debating

Debating can be defined as a structured discussion where participants present arguments and counterarguments on a specific topic.

It's a dynamic exchange of ideas, where individuals express their viewpoints while actively engaging with opposing perspectives.

Debating goes beyond mere persuasion; it requires logical reasoning, research, and effective communication to make a compelling case for your side.

Different Types of Debates

1. formal debates.

Formal debates follow a predefined structure and set of rules. These debates often take place in academic or competitive settings.

They involve teams representing different sides of an argument and follow a specific format, such as the Oxford-style or the Karl Popper-style debates.

Formal debates typically have designated speakers and time limits for each segment, ensuring a fair and organised discussion.

2. Parliamentary Debates

Parliamentary debates mimic the proceedings of a legislative assembly, where participants engage in a lively discussion on a given topic. These debates involve teams or individuals representing different political parties or viewpoints.

Parliamentary debates focus on persuasion, reasoning, and the ability to think on your feet. They require quick thinking and adaptability to address the arguments presented by opponents.

3. Public Debates

Public debates are open to a larger audience and often occur in community settings or as part of public events. They aim to engage the public in important social, political, or environmental discussions.

Public debates allow individuals from diverse backgrounds to voice their opinions, learn from others, and foster understanding.

4. Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Originating from the famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln-Douglas debates focus on moral and philosophical topics.

They typically involve two individuals presenting their arguments and engaging in a detailed discussion. These debates emphasise logical reasoning, ethical considerations, and the ability to develop a coherent and persuasive case.

Key Elements of a Debate

1. opening statements.

The debate begins with opening statements, where each participant introduces their position and outlines their main arguments.

The opening statements set the stage for the ensuing discussion and provide an initial overview of each side's perspective.

2. Arguments and Counterarguments

A debate revolves around presenting strong arguments and countering the opposing arguments.

Participants must support their claims with evidence, statistics, expert opinions, or logical reasoning.

Anticipating and effectively addressing counter arguments is crucial to strengthening your position.

3. Rebuttals

Rebuttals allow participants to challenge and refute the arguments presented by the opposing side.

This is an opportunity to address weaknesses in the opposing case and reinforce the strength of your own arguments.

4. Cross-Examination

Cross-examination involves questioning the opposing side's arguments or seeking clarification on their position.

It requires critical thinking, active listening, and the ability to think on your feet. Cross-examination can help uncover flaws in opposing arguments and strengthen your own position.

5. Summation

At the end of the debate, participants deliver closing statements summarising their key points and reinforcing the overall strength of their arguments.

Summation provides a final opportunity to leave a lasting impression and persuade the audience.

How to Speak During a Debate: Command the Room with Conviction

Speaking during a debate is an art that can make or break your persuasive abilities. It's not just about expressing your ideas; it's about capturing the attention of your audience, delivering your arguments effectively, and leaving a lasting impact.

In this section, we'll explore valuable tips and techniques to help you speak with confidence and authority during a debate.

So, let's dive in and learn how to speak during a debate!

1. Structure Your Speech

Start with a clear and concise introduction that grabs the audience's attention and clearly states your position. Organise your arguments logically, presenting each point in a structured manner.

Use transitional phrases to guide the flow of your speech and make it easy for the audience to follow your line of reasoning.

2. Use Rhetorical Devices

Employ rhetorical devices such as metaphors, analogies, and rhetorical questions to make your speech more engaging and memorable. These devices help convey your message effectively, evoke emotions, and emphasise key points.

3. Speak with Conviction

Project confidence and conviction through your tone of voice and body language. Maintain good posture, make eye contact with the audience, and use gestures to enhance your delivery.

Speak clearly and articulate your words to ensure that your message is easily understood.

4. Emphasise Key Points

Highlight the most important aspects of your arguments by using vocal emphasis.

Modulate your tone, volume, and pace to draw attention to key points and make them stand out. This technique helps the audience remember and internalize your strongest arguments.

5. Use Evidence and Examples

Back up your arguments with evidence, facts, and real-life examples. Providing concrete evidence strengthens your position and lends credibility to your speech.

Incorporate relevant statistics, expert opinions, and anecdotes to support your claims.

6. Address the Opposing Side

Acknowledge and address the arguments presented by the opposing side. Refute them with well-reasoned counterarguments while maintaining a respectful tone.

Anticipating and addressing counter arguments demonstrates your thorough understanding of the topic and strengthens your position.

7. Maintain Clarity and Simplicity

Avoid using jargon, complex terminology, or convoluted sentences that may confuse the audience.

Aim for clarity and simplicity in your speech to ensure that your message is easily comprehensible to everyone in the room.

8. Practise Active Listening

Demonstrate active listening skills during the debate by attentively listening to the opposing side's arguments. Take notes and prepare thoughtful responses to effectively engage in the discussion.

Active listening also allows you to identify potential weaknesses in the opposing arguments that you can exploit during your rebuttal.

9. Adapt to the Audience

Consider the demographics and knowledge level of your audience while crafting your speech.

Tailor your language, examples, and explanations to resonate with the audience and make your arguments more relatable and compelling.

10. Conclude with Impact

End your speech with a strong and memorable conclusion. Summarise your key points, reiterate the strength of your arguments, and leave the audience with a compelling final thought. A powerful conclusion reinforces your position and leaves a lasting impression.

How to Develop Debating Skills: Unlock Your Potential as a Persuasive Communicator

Are you eager to enhance your debating skills and become a more persuasive communicator?

Developing strong debating skills requires dedication, practice, and a strategic approach. In this section, we'll explore how to develop debating skills and unlock your potential.

1. Research and Stay Informed

Start by researching a wide range of topics and staying up-to-date with current events.

Read reputable sources, explore different perspectives, and deepen your knowledge on various subjects. A well-informed debater is better equipped to present compelling arguments.

2. Analyse Debates and Study Expert Speakers

Watch and analyse debates featuring experienced debaters or renowned public speakers.

Observe their speaking styles, argumentation techniques, and delivery. Take notes on their strengths and strategies, and learn from their successes.

3. Practise Constructive Listening

Develop active listening skills during debates or public discussions.

Pay attention to the arguments presented by both sides, analyse their strengths and weaknesses, and formulate your own counterarguments. Listening critically helps refine your thinking and prepares you to respond effectively.

4. Join a Debating Club or Society

Seek out debating clubs or societies in your community or educational institution.

Participating in regular practice sessions with like-minded individuals provides opportunities to engage in debates, receive feedback, and learn from peers who share your passion for debating.

5. Engage in Mock Debates

Organise or participate in mock debates with friends, classmates, or colleagues. Practice presenting arguments, countering opposing viewpoints, and refining your delivery.

Mock debates allow you to experiment with different strategies and build confidence.

6. Seek Feedback and Learn from It

Welcome constructive criticism from peers, mentors, or debate coaches. Feedback helps identify areas for improvement and guides your development as a debater. Incorporate the feedback into your practice sessions and continuously strive to enhance your skills.

With these strategies, consistent practice, and a passion for self-improvement, you can develop your debating skills and become a persuasive communicator.

SoME, your trusted source for professional courses, offers comprehensive programmes designed to sharpen your debating abilities and boost your confidence in public speaking. Unleash your potential and excel as a debater with SoME's expert guidance and practical training.

How to Do a Debate: Unleashing Your Persuasive Power on the Stage

Ready to step into the world of debating?

Whether it's for a school competition, a professional setting, or simply to sharpen your persuasive skills, learning how to do a debate effectively is a valuable asset.

In this section, we'll guide you through the process of preparing, organising, and executing a successful debate. So, let's dive in and unlock your persuasive power on the stage!

1. Understand the Debate Format

Familiarise yourself with the specific format of the debate you'll be participating in. Whether it's a formal or informal setting, understand the structure, time limits, and rules to ensure a smooth and coherent debate.

2. Choose an Engaging Topic

Select a topic that is relevant, thought-provoking, and sparks interest among the participants and audience. Consider both sides of the argument to create a balanced and engaging debate.

3. Research Thoroughly

Dive into extensive research on the chosen topic. Gather credible sources, statistics, and examples to support your arguments. Develop a deep understanding of the subject matter to present well-informed viewpoints.

4. Construct a Strong Opening Statement

Craft a compelling opening statement to capture the audience's attention. Clearly state your position, introduce key arguments, and establish a solid foundation for your case.

5. Organise Your Arguments

Structure your arguments in a logical and coherent manner. Present each point with clarity, supporting evidence, and persuasive reasoning. Use subheadings or numbering to help the audience follow your flow of thought.

6. Engage with Confidence

Present your arguments with confidence and conviction. Maintain eye contact with the audience, use gestures to emphasise key points, and project your voice effectively. Engaging with confidence enhances your persuasive impact.

7. Summarise and Conclude Strongly

End your debate with a concise summary of your key arguments and a powerful conclusion. Recap your main points, reinforce your position, and leave a lasting impression on the audience.

Understanding Debate Rules and Etiquette: Navigating the Path to Civil Discourse

Debate rules and etiquette provide the framework for a constructive and meaningful exchange of ideas. To engage in debates effectively, it's crucial to familiarise yourself with these debate rules and follow proper etiquette.

In this section, we'll delve into the essential debate rules and etiquette of debates, equipping you with the knowledge to navigate the path to civil discourse.

So, let's explore the debate rules that ensure debates remain respectful, informative, and engaging!

1. Research and Understand the Topic

Before engaging in a debate, thoroughly research and familiarise yourself with the topic. Understanding the subject matter enables you to present informed arguments and contribute meaningfully to the discussion. 

2. Respect Time Limits

Adhere to the designated time limits for each debate segment. Respect the speakers' time and avoid going over your allotted time, as it can disrupt the flow and fairness of the debate.

3. Follow Turn-Taking Protocol

Abide by the turn-taking protocol established for the debate. Wait for your turn to speak and avoid interrupting other speakers. Listen attentively to ensure a respectful and productive exchange of ideas.

4. Constructive Language and Tone

Use respectful and constructive language throughout the debate. Avoid personal attacks, offensive language, or derogatory remarks. Maintain a calm and composed tone, focusing on the arguments rather than attacking individuals.

5. Stay on Topic

Keep your arguments relevant to the debate topic. Straying off-topic dilutes the focus and can hinder productive discussion. Ensure that your points directly relate to the subject being debated.

Wrapping it up

Mastering the art of debating opens doors to numerous opportunities for personal growth, professional development, and intellectual engagement.

Remember, debating is not just about winning arguments, but also about fostering respectful dialogue and learning from diverse perspectives. Embrace the journey, embrace the challenge, and continue to refine your skills through practice and continuous learning.

So, why wait? Unlock your potential as a debater and embark on a path of self-improvement with SoME, your trusted partner in professional courses. Explore the range of programs offered and take the first step towards becoming a confident and persuasive communicator.

Start your journey today and let the world hear your voice through the power of debating.

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Complete Guide to Debating: How to Improve your Debating Skills

August 1, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

Debating can look intimidating from the sidelines, with speakers appearing confident, passionate and unwavering, but it consists of skills that anybody can learn. Debating may not be something that you encounter in your everyday work but these skills can be incredibly valuable. In this article we provide a guide to the basics of debating.

What is debating?

A debate is a structured contest over an issue or policy. There are two sides – one supporting, one opposing.

Benefits of debating include:

• Allowing you to think about aspects and perspectives you may not have considered.
• Encourages you to speak strategically.
• Improving  public speaking skills .
• Learning how to create a persuasive argument.
• When you have to argue against your personal view you realise that there are two sides to the argument.

Debating examples

The U.K. Prime Minister, Theresa May, answers questions:

This example video shows Theresa May answering questions from MPs in the House of Commons. Notice her strong debating skills and how she answers difficult questions under pressure.

Watch the full video here:  Prime Minister’s Questions: 16 May 2018

Debate structure

There are multiple formats a debate can follow, this is a basic debate structure:

• A topic is chosen for each debate – this is called a resolution or motion. It can be a statement, policy or idea. The motion is usually a policy which changes the current state of affairs or a statement which is either truth or false. The motion typically starts with “This House…”
• The Affirmative team support the statement
• The Negative team oppose the statement
• Sometimes you will be asked to take a position in the debate but in other debates you will be allocated your position.
• Teams are provided with time to prepare – usually one hour
• Each speaker presents for a set amount of time
• Speakers alternate between the teams, usually a speaker in the Affirmative team starts, followed by a Negative speaker, then the second Affirmative speaker presents, followed by the second Negative speaker etc.
• The debate is then judged.
• There may be an audience present but they are not involved in the debate

Once you have learned how to debate in one format you can easily switch to another.

Roles of the speakers

Each speaker must typically do the following:

First Affirmative

• Contextualise the debate – clearly set out your team’s interpretation of the topic and the significant issues they disagree with.
• Provide definitions if necessary.
• Outline the team line and the team split – this is where you outline your team’s case and summarise the way your arguments have been divided between your speakers.
• Provide 2-3 arguments supporting the motion.

First Negative

• Clearly state your definition
• Provide your arguments as to why this is the superior definition
• Rebut the Affirmative’s arguments supporting their definition
• Outline a team line and team split.
• Rebut the arguments made by the First Affirmative.
• Deliver 2-3 arguments against the motion.

Second Affirmative

• If needed, resolve any definitional issues.
• Rebut the First Negative’s arguments.
• Deliver 2-3 arguments supporting the motion.

Second Negative

• Rebut the arguments made by the Affirmative team up to this point, with a focus on the Second Affirmative’s arguments.

Third Affirmative

• Rebut specific issues raised by Second Negative and defend any other important attacks on your team’s case.
• Conclude your speech with a brief summary (1-2 minutes) of your team’s case. You should include the key issues which you and the Negative team disagreed on during this.
• You can introduce new material but this is interpreted as poor team planning.

Third Negative

• This is the same structure as the Third Affirmative.

There are many variations of the three against three debate, a commonly known one is Points of Information. This is used a lot in  university debates . During a speech the opposition is allowed to ask a question or make a point.

They stand up and say “point of information” or “on that point” etc. The speaker can choose to accept or reject the point. If accepted, the point of information can last around 15 seconds and the speaker can ask for it to stop at any time.

Debate definitions

Younger debaters tend to waste time defining terms so you must first decide whether you need to define a term. Ask yourself: will my speech be confusing if I don’t define this term? Could the opposition misinterpret what I mean without a definition? For example, the motion could be “we should ban plastic straws”. It’s clear what “plastic straws” are but what does “ban” mean?

Two factors which determine the definition of the debate:

1. Context  – what is happening in the area that relates to this issue? For example, maybe the government of a country is debating banning smoking in public buildings and you decide to define the term “passive smoking” during the debate. If a significant event related to the topic has occurred then it should be the focus of the debate, for instance, a shocking report may have recently been revealed in the media showing the widespread effects of second-hand smoking.

2. Spirit of the motion  – topics are chosen for a reason so what sort of debate was imagined when the topic was chosen? Looking at the spirit of the motion will ensure that you pick a definition that will produce a well-balanced and important debate.

If the topic is vague then you will have more choice of definitions. You have a duty to pick a clear definition and one that will create a good debate. If not, this may cause a definitional challenge which will ruin the debate and frustrate the judges.

For example, the topic may be “we spend too much money on the stars”. Stars can refer to celebrities or astronomy so you need to choose a definition.

• Look at the context and see if there has been a recent significant event related to either topics – the media is the best place to look.
• Then apply second test – which definition will lead to the best debate, which will be more interesting and debatable?

If one answer passes both tests then that’s your definition. If they tie then either is a good definition.

When providing your definition explain the context used to form the definition. This is important because your understanding of the context may be different from others due to various factors, such as, religion, culture, gender etc.

Learn more about using  AI to practice your debating skills .

Basic argument structure

There are various ways of dividing up cases according to groups of arguments, such as, social/economic/political etc. You could assign each speaker to handle a group.

Place the most important arguments first, for example, “The media has more influence on self-esteem than anybody else. This is true for three reasons. Firstly (most important argument)… Secondly…, Thirdly (least important argument)…”

To structure an argument follow these steps:

• Claim  – present your argument in a clear statement. This claim is one reason why you’re in favour of/against the motion.
• Evidence  – the evidence supporting your claim, such as, statistics, references, quotes, analogies etc.
• Impact  – explain the significance of the evidence – how does this support your claim?

Arguments are weakest at the evidence stage as it’s easy to argue against, for example, the evidence may consist of isolated examples or there may be counter evidence. But it’s not a good technique because the opposition can provide more evidence or rebut your criticisms.

It’s difficult to rebut claims because they are usually reasonable but if you can attack a claim then that speaker’s whole argument falls apart. So if you think a claim is vulnerable then rebut it but you will need a strong explanation to show why it doesn’t matter.

European  human rights debating  for sixth form students from across London.

There are common flaws you can look for to form a rebuttal:

1. False dichotomy  – this is where the speaker is trying to falsely divide the debate into two sides even though there are more alternatives than they state. It’s likely the speaker is doing this on purpose but in some cases they do not understand the debate.

2. Assertion  – this is when a speaker presents a statement which isn’t actually an argument because there is no reason to believe that the statement is valid. It may just be an assumption. You can point out that there has not been enough examination to prove this validity and then give a reason why the assertion is (probably) not valid.

3. Morally flawed  – arguments can be morally flawed, for example, “All criminals given a prison sentence should be given the death penalty instead, this will save the country money and space.” What has been argued is true but it’s clearly morally flawed.

4. Correlation rather than causation  – a speaker may suggest a link between two events and suggest one led to the other. But the speaker may not explain how one caused the other event which can make an argument invalid.

5. Failure to deliver promises  – sometimes a speaker might fail to complete a task they promised to deliver. For instance, they may state that they will provide evidence supporting a certain claim but they may lose track of what they have said and not actually do this.

6. Straw man  – the opposing team introduces an argument and then rebuts it. They may use an extreme example of your proposal or perhaps they were hoping that you would make this argument.

7. Contradiction  – an argument the other team presents may contradict one of their previous arguments. You must point out that the arguments cannot be true simultaneously and then explain how this reduces their case’s credibility.

8. Compare the conclusion to reality  – think “what would happen if what they (the other team) are suggesting is implemented right now?” This usually shows that it’s more complicated than they have suggested and the changes can cause secondary problems.

Judges generally score the speakers looking at this criteria:

• Content / Matter  – What the debaters say, their arguments and evidence, the relevance of their arguments.
• Style / Manner  – How the debaters speak, including the language and tone used.
• Strategy / Method  – The structure of the speech, the clarity and responding to other’s arguments.

Debating event at  the Oxford Union

Important skills for debating

To meet the judges criteria you will have to develop certain skills, consider the following:

• You points must be relevant to the topic.
• Provide evidence whenever you can and not your personal opinion.
• You must put aside your personal views and remain objective when you debate so your argument remains logical. You can be passionate about a topic but interest can turn into aggression and passion can turn into upset.
• Consider the audience’s attention span – make it interesting, for example, don’t just present lots of complicated statistics.
• Ethos – the ethical appeal
• Pathos – the emotional appeal
• Logos – the logical appeal
• Use notes but keep them brief and well organised. Use a different piece of paper for rebuttals.
• Similar to looking at conclusions to create rebuttals, think comparatively by asking yourself “How does my plan compare to what’s happening now/what would happen in the world if the other team won?” You can win the debate if you can make comparative claims about why your arguments matter more than the other team.
• Only tell jokes if you’re naturally good at it otherwise this can backfire.
• Flexibility is important because you might get allocated the side of the argument you don’t agree with. You’ll have to work hard to overcome your views. Also use this insight to think of the potential arguments you might make and then plan for counter arguments.
• Speak clearly and concisely.
• You must talk fast enough to have the time to deliver your speech but slow enough so you can be understood.
• Project your voice to the back of the room.
• Incorporate dramatic pauses.
• Emphasise important words and vary your tone appropriately.
• Have a relaxed pose and posture.
• Avoid filler words.
• Know your material.
• Emphasise using gestures and avoid nervous gestures.
• Maintain eye contact with the audience.
• Keep your language simple to avoid confusion.
• Refer to the opposite side as: “My opponent”.
• When making a rebuttal say: “My opponent said…, however…”
• Don’t exaggerate – avoid the words “never” or “always” etc.
• Avoid saying that a speaker “is wrong”, instead say that “your idea is mistaken”.

What to avoid

• Falsifying, making up or altering evidence.
• Publicly disagreeing with the judges’ decision.
• Attacking a speaker rather than an idea.
• Acting aggressively or offensively towards debaters, judges, audience etc.
• Interrupting other debaters as this can suggest that your argument isn’t very strong.
• Disagreeing with facts or obvious truths.

British Parliamentary debating

British Parliamentary debating  is a popular form of debating so we will briefly explain it: There are four teams made up of two speakers each. Two teams are on the government’s side and the other two teams are the opposition but all the teams are trying to win rather than one side. The motion is given 15 minutes before the debate begins and teams are assigned to positions randomly. They alternate their speeches, with the government’s side starting. Speeches are usually 5-7 minutes.

The first two speakers on the government side are called the “opening government” and the first two speakers on the opposition’s side are called the “opening opposition”. The last two speakers on the government’s and opposition’s side are called the “closing government” and “closing opposition” correspondingly.

The speakers’ roles in the opening half of the debate are similar to the roles of the first and second speakers in the three against three debate described previously. The only difference is that the second opening government and second opening opposition speakers include summaries at the end of their speeches – this is because they will also be competing with the teams in the closing half of the debate.

The closing government and closing opposition aim to move the debate on but not contradict their side’s opening team. As well as rebuttal, the majority of the third speaker’s time consists of presenting either: new material, new arguments, a new analysis from a different perspective or extending previously presented arguments. This is called an “extension” which must be something that sets their team apart and makes them unique.

The last two speeches of the closing teams are summary speeches – they summarise the debate and disagreements between the team. Their most important goal is to explain why their side has won the debate. They are not allowed to present new arguments but they can present new evidence and rebuttal.

During the speeches points of information are offered regularly. Speakers should only accept a maximum of two points of information. The first and last minute is protected time where points of information cannot be offered.

Rather than a side trying to win, all the teams are trying to win – this allows different perspectives to be explored. The teams are then ranked 1st to 4th in the debate.

Debate topics

Almost anything can be debated, here are some popular topics – these have been written as questions but they can be easily adapted into statements:

• Is animal experimentation justified?
• Should we legalise the possession of cannabis for medicinal use?
• Should we recognise Bitcoin as a legal currency?
• Is torture acceptable when used for national security?
• Should mobile phones be banned until a certain age?
• Does technology make us more lonely?
• Should guns be banned in the U.S.?
• Should we make internet companies liable for illegal content shared on their platforms?
• Will posting students’ grades publicly motivate them to perform better?
• Should animals be used for scientific testing?
• Do violent video games make people more violent?
• Should the death penalty be stopped completely?
• Should smoking in public places be completely banned?
• Should doping be allowed in professional sports?
• Should all zoos be closed?
• Should consumers must take responsibility for the plastic waste crisis?
• Is euthanasia justified?
• Is the boarding school system beneficial to children?

Debate topics for children

If you’re trying to think of debate topics for a classroom, consider the following:

• Should mobile phones be allowed at school?
• Is global warming a problem?
• Should violent video games be banned?
• Is school detention beneficial?
• Are celebrities good role models?
• Does social networking have a beneficial effect on society?
• Are single sex schools more effective than co-ed schools?
• Do celebrities get away with more crime than non-celebrities?
• Is cloning animals ethical?
• Are humans to blame for certain animal extinctions?

Debating societies

If you’re interested in debating consider searching for a society or debating events near you:

• Most universities have a debating society and their webpages usually contain lots of useful information and tips.
• Toastmasters
• Use Meetup to find debates close to you

Specific to the UK:

• Sylvans Debating Club
• The Association of Speakers Clubs

Debating For Everyone | Debating Training for Schools | Set up Debating Club at School | Debating Advice School Students

How to prepare for a debate.

Silence falls on the room (unusually for debating). Everyone looks up, at one person, who for that moment has absolute power. She reads out a sentence, very, very slowly. She reads it out again. We hear nothing but the scratching of pens. She gives a signal. Everyone runs out of the room. That's how it is at short preparation or 'short prep' debates, where debaters are given 15 minutes to prepare a motion they have not heard until that moment. It's a pretty scary prospect, having to speak in front of a room full of people, half of whom will be disagreeing with every word you say, about something you knew nothing about until 15 minutes ago. Even more so when your phone and / or tablet has been surgically removed from you (as is the rule in all debating competitions), and you have nothing to rely on but your naked brains and those of your debating partner. Every minute - every second - counts in that prep time. So, how to make the best use of those precious quarter of an hour? Get to the room as fast as you can (this could easily use up two minutes, depending on how big the building you are competing in is and how good your sense of direction is). Make sure you have:

• Several pens or pencils
• Highlighters
• Index cards
• A bottle of water

Now you're in the room, alone with each other. What to do first? You should both keep quiet for five minutes. Why? Surely we should be discussing, sharing our ideas? Well, yes, but you have to have some ideas to share first. It's quite possible you will never have thought about the motion topic in your life. Even if the topic is one on which you have both deep knowledge and passionate convictions, you need some time to gather your thoughts. And if you gather your thoughts separately, you'll have twice as many thoughts by the end of the prep time. So, for five minutes silence should fall again, as you scratch away with your pens.

What are you writing about?

You need to be asking yourself questions; big questions. There are seven big questions which apply to every debate motion, which you should always ask. 1. What is the debate about? 2. What do we have to prove? 3. What do they have to prove? 4. What will be changed if the motion is passed? 5. Who are the actors? 6. Who are the stakeholders? 7. What is the mechanism? Write or type these questions out on a piece of card and bring them to every debate. (NB these questions only work with what we call 'policy debates', that is ones where the motion begins 'This house would ...' We'll cover how to prepare for 'principle debates', where the motion begins 'This house believes ...' in a later post.)

How might you answer these questions in practice?

Let's take an example; preparing the motion 'This house would tax meat', with you proposing. It's a nice big, broad motion (only four words long) with lots of scope for interpretation. 1. What is the debate about? This question is asking you to cut through all the practicalities and focus on the essential point of principle. Here, the debate is about whether the state has the right to intervene in the market for the benefit of society as a whole. It's about which is more important; the individual or the collective. 2. What do we have to prove? You are proposing a change to the status quo. First you have to prove there is a problem with the status quo; then you have to prove that your proposed change will solve the problem. There will always be both costs and benefits associated with any change, and you have to prove that the benefits of your proposed change will outweigh the benefits. So, you have to prove that: consumption of meat has bad consequences; taxing it is an effective way to lessen those consequences; the benefits of taxing meat will be greater than the costs. 3. What do they have to prove? As they're defending the status quo, they have to prove either that the status quo works and does not need changing, or that it does need changing but that your way of changing it will either not work or that its costs will be greater than its benefits. (They may also choose to propose a better way of dealing with the problem presented by the motion.) So, they have to prove either that the consumption of meat is not a bad thing (or is even a good thing), or that it is a bad thing but that taxing meat is not the way to deal with it, either because it will not work, or because the costs will be greater than the benefits. 4. What will be changed if the motion is passed? Most debate motions say, 'The world will be a better place if we take this action.' So, what will the world look like if your proposed action happens? It's worth considering both short and long (and sometimes medium) term effects. In the short term, everyone will eat less meat, and the government would have more money. In the long term, climate change will be greatly slowed down now that thousands of acres of land are filled with health giving plants rather than farting cows, and everyone will be slimmer and healthier thanks to their vegetable rich diet; those few who persist in eating meat will be treated for the diseases brought on by their diet in shining new hospitals paid for by the tax on their addiction. 5. Who are the actors? This means who is going to make the change happen. Here, it is the government, as they are the ones who are going to be setting and collecting the tax. 6. Who are the stakeholders? This means who is effected by the change. Here, it is the government collecting (and spending) the tax; meat farmers and retailers who are likely to see their income fall; consumers who will see the price of meat rise. 7. What is the mechanism? This means how will you make the change happen. Here, you get into the nitty gritty. How much tax? 5% of the price? 10%? 25%? Will you add it to the price in shops, or to the price retailers pay to farmers? Which is most likely to achieve the benefits you seek while minimising the costs? Having a high tax rate would be more likely to put people off buying meat; having a low tax rate would make it easier to get popular support for the measure, and would make black market evasion of the tax less likely.

You need to have answers to these questions jotted down in the first two minutes. Yes, two minutes. You have to think fast as a debater. Next, you need to take up another sheet of paper and start brainstorming arguments for both sides (still without talking to your debating partner). Do this for three minutes. In this three minutes, you need to switch off the part of your brain that keeps telling you that what you're doing isn't very good. Don't worry whether the arguments are good or not; just get them down, as many of them as possible. Quantity is more important than quality at this stage. Selection comes later. The five minutes are up. You look up from your notepads. Your eyes meet. What do you do now? First, you share your answers to the big questions, and make sure you agree on the answers. If you're speaking first for the proposition, agree how you're going to define the motion (see our earlier post here on how to do that). With the big answers clear in your minds, you can proceed to the arguments. Go through the ones for your side of the motion first. Choose the six most persuasive. Then rank them by persuasiveness. The first speaker gets the top three in order of persuasiveness, the second speaker gets the next three in order of persuasiveness. Note, no more than three arguments each. Time to reach for the index cards now. Take one for each of your three arguments. On it, write a headline, which should be no more than a word or at most a phrase, and short points on how you're going to expand on it. With the motion we've picked, one of your cards might look like this: HEALTH Excessive consumption of meat = major cause of heart disease and diabetes Taxing it discourages consumption, nudges consumers towards healthier choices by making them cheaper Heavy taxation on tobacco = massive reduction in smoking = major health benefits; taxing meat = same. The smallness of index cards has two advantages: 1. It makes them easier to handle while you are speaking, ensuring you spend more time making eye contact and less time fumbling with your notes. 2. It ensures your notes are concise and focused. Boiling your speech down to three index cards will also help you to signpost it better; see our earlier post here on how to signpost. I'll just take a moment here to remind you that you should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER write out a debate speech in full. That isn't debating; it's essay writing. You can be good at writing essays and good at debating, and you can learn a lot about how to write essays from doing debating, but they are NOT THE SAME THING. I hope I made that clear. This sorting out of your own arguments should take another five minutes. Now it's time to consider the other side's possible arguments and how to rebut them. Do this by taking turns, one person stating the arguments, the other one rebutting them. As well as working out what you will say in rebuttal, this will both get you into the mind set of the other side (which is vital), while also sharpening up your rebuttal responses. It's a bit like footballers passing a ball around to warm up just before kick off. Your final task is to find the point of clash. See our earlier post here on the point of clash. This should be the thing you keep in mind all the way through the debate, your guiding star. You need to keep coming back to it, and keep showing the judge that you are on the winning side of it, particularly if you are speaking last. Very often, it will be the answer to the first question: what is the debate about? Here, the point of clash is the right of the state to intervene to protect the health of the community against the individual's right to make their own choices. You have to show that the damage that meat eating causes to health and the climate outweighs the loss of freedom entailed by a tax on meat. Say the point of clash to each other a few times, as a kind of mantra, to make sure it is at the front of your mind. By now, your brain should be singing, and you should be ready to talk for England (literally, if you are representing England in the Worlds Debating Competition). If you're feeling nervous, embrace it. As every actor, performer and sportsperson knows, that adrenalin rush will sharpen up your performance and make you more focused. Gather up your notes, take a swig of water, and head for the debating chamber. Into battle ...

The Debating Book

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What is Debating?

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: February 14, 2020

Debating is an extremely useful skill to have. Being a good debater can bring many benefits such as job success, leadership opportunities, as well as good grades in school. If you’re wondering how to debate successfully, we’ve got all the tips you need.

Photo by  Miguel Henriques  on  Unsplash

What is debating.

A debate is a structured contest where you try to win by creating the most convincing argument. Debates are oftentimes formal but can occur in informal settings as well.

Debate Structure

In a debate, there is usually a statement given, and participants must either choose the affirmative side or the negative side. Debate participants are given some time to prepare and then have the opportunity to speak for a set amount of time. The speakers switch turns between affirmative and negative sides, and finally a judge makes a decision on which side made the most convincing arguments and won the debate.

Roles of the Speakers

1. first affirmative:.

This person sets the scene for the rest of their team by defining terms, listing arguments they disagree with, and stating their interpretations of the topic. The first affirmative speaker also provides 2-3 arguments in their team’s favor.

2. First Negative:

They might try to change the tone of the debate by redefining definitions and then rebut the first affirmative arguments, followed by 2-3 arguments of their own.

3. Second Affirmative:

The second affirmative speaker resolves definition issues, rebuts the first negative speaker, and puts forth 2-3 new supports for the arguments.

4. Second Negative:

Continue to rebut the first affirmative arguments, but focus on rebuttal of the second affirmative arguments and deliver 2-3 new arguments against the notion.

5. Third Affirmative:

Rebut specific arguments from the second negative, and defend important attacks on their team’s arguments. Conclude the argument with a brief summary and try not to include any new information.

6. Third Negative:

Rebut specific arguments from the second affirmative, and defend important attacks on their team’s arguments. Conclude the argument with a brief summary and try not to include any new information.

Defining in the Debate

Many debaters often waste time trying to define terms within their speeches. Before you waste precious time doing so, take the time while writing your speech to determine if you really need to define a term.

Ask yourself, “Will it be confusing to judges and listeners if I don’t define this term?” and “Will the incorrect interpretation of this term be detrimental to my argument?”

That should help you narrow down the number of terms you need to define in your speeches. Stick to defining only the ones that are absolutely necessary.

How to Debate: Basic Argument Structure

Photo by  kristina paparo  on  unsplash.

There are a few ways to divide the argument structure. Try to do what makes the most sense for your topic.

For example, you could put each speaker in charge of one area where the argument takes place, such as social, political, and economical. No matter what structure you choose, try to put the most compelling of arguments at the beginning of each speech if you are listing multiple arguments.

Here is an example structure:

Claim : What is your team claiming? Present the argument in a clear statement.

Evidence : Add in any evidence you have to support the claim such as quotes, statistics, anecdotes, etc.

Impact : What impact does this evidence have on society? How does this support your claim?

The Rebuttal

The rebuttal is a very significant part of the debate process. If a team can pick apart the opposing team’s evidence, then their claim falls apart.

Here are some common argument flaws to help form a rebuttal:

1. False Dichotomy:

The speaker tries to falsely divide the argument into two sides, when there are in fact many. Sometimes the speaker does this on purpose, but other times it can indicate that they don’t understand the topic well.

2. Assertion:

An assertion is when a speaker makes an argument that is unfounded, or has no evidence. Give a reason why this is an assertion by showing how there hasn’t been enough evidence to prove the validity of a statement.

3. Morally Flawed:

A morally flawed argument can be rebutted against because, although it could be true, it might be severely morally flawed. An example of this could be, “All stray dogs should be put to sleep because it will save the state money and eliminate the need for animal shelters.”

4. Correlation Rather Than Causation:

This is a common favorite. A speaker may suggest that two pieces of information are linked, when there is no evidence to support that one caused the other.

5. Failure to Deliver Promises:

You can use this in your rebuttal if you notice a speaker has forgotten to follow up on evidence they claimed they would provide. This can happen sometimes if a speaker loses track of their own argument and is a valid item to bring up in a rebuttal.

6. Straw Man:

This is when the opposing team brings up an argument against their own case and then rebuts it.

7. Contradiction:

If a speaker contradicts something that was said previously either by themselves or by a teammate, point out this contradiction as it reduces the team’s credibility.

8. Compare the Conclusion to Reality:

Try to show what it would look like right now if what the other team suggests is implemented. This will likely show how the team’s suggestions are unrealistic or will cause further problems.

How to Prepare For a Debate

Photo by  edvin johansson  on  unsplash, 1. be a team: work together.

Remember that you are on a team and that means you work together. Read each others’ speeches, practice in front of one another, and make sure your arguments work together and follow a cohesive line of thought.

2. Write Individual Speeches

Before you come together, break off individually and have each person brainstorm on their own. This will help to bring together a larger assortment of arguments, and will help your team identify which arguments are the main ones and should be presented as such.

3. Analyze the Evidence

You will win the debate by being able to prove that you have the most sound evidence. Triple check the evidence you have to make sure it is accurate and can be proven. Find multiple sources to back your claim.

4. Arguments for Both Sides

Be prepared by having arguments ready in favor of the other side’s argument. In doing this, you are preparing for what the other team will say and can potentially foresee comments from them as well as flaws in their arguments.

5. Prepare Your Speeches

Preparing your speech is an important part of the process. Write it first by yourself, then have your teammates look over your evidence and arguments. Try to discuss your speech frequently with your team so that you are all on the same page about what may happen during the debate.

6. Be Confident

The more prepared you are, the more confident you will become! Every second you spend preparing puts you that much ahead of the competition, so know that preparing will bring you confidence. During the debate, even if you are nervous on the inside, you can fake confidence by always referring to the evidence, pausing when necessary, and making eye contact.

Preparing for a debate is all about studying the material. For more tips on study skills, check out our blog post on what study habits to keep and which to drop .

Tips to Win Every Debate Round

Photo by  wonderlane  on  unsplash, the art of rhetoric.

• Persuade through invention :

The first part of rhetoric is invention. This means knowing your audiences’ interests and desires and playing into them.

• Argument arrangement :

A good argument arrangement goes far. Try to organize your argument by making your claim, adding in evidence, and showing the impact to support the claim.

• Improve your style by remembering your speech :

If you know your speech by heart, you can start to work on your speaking style. A memorized speech gives you confidence, and with that confidence, you can focus your efforts on delivery.

• Amplify your performance by enhancing your delivery :

Gesture, body language, tone, and eye contact are all significant parts of delivery in debate. It’s not just what you are saying, but how you say it that will win over the judges.

Improve Your Speaking Skills

• Get rid of filler words :

As you practice, take note of when you use filler words such as “like” or “um.” Get in the habit of replacing these words with silence. This will make you look thoughtful, rather than unprepared.

• Find synonyms for overused words :

When you use the same words multiple times in your speech, you bore your audience, appear unprepared, and less well spoken. Avoid this by writing your speech with different words for commonly used ones, and having a list of synonyms for words you believe you will commonly use.

• Slow your pace :

Speaking slowly and calmly helps to deliver your points effectively.

• Be calm when making rebuttals :

Making rebuttals can get exciting and heated, but overdoing the emotion is never a good idea. Remain calm but firm and confident during the rebuttals.

The Dramatic Effect

• Control your movement :

Make all your movements during your delivery neutral, open, defined, and strong. Don’t be afraid to use the full stage to your advantage, but make controlled movements.

• Maintain eye contact :

Try to connect with as many people as possible by moving your eye contact around the room. Practice doing so line by line so you increase the number of people you make eye contact with.

• Diversify your tone :

Don’t be a boring or monotonous speaker, change up your tone! Try to act as if you are talking to your audience, not reciting a speech from memory.

• The dramatic pause :

Dramatic pauses are extremely powerful, but when done at the wrong time can be detrimental to the argument. Master the dramatic pause and put it at the right time for your case.

• Close with passion :

Use a passionate tone of voice when closing — it’s something that will make your argument memorable.

A Class Debate

If you are a teacher looking to have a class debate, the format and rules can be a bit simpler than a formal, traditional debate.

First, introduce the topic to your students. Choose a topic that your students will be able to relate to. Then, allow students to choose, or assign affirmative or negative sides, making sure the number for each is even. Some teachers prefer to break those groups further in half so that the teams aren’t as big, which will give you two debates.

Give your students plenty of time for preparation, which will include research, speech writing, and practicing. Start the debate, and make sure you are keeping track of time for each speaker. Then, make your judgment. It might be worthwhile to use student judges, or teachers from another class to be the judge(s).

Debating is an important life skill that will help you in many facets of life. Hopefully our guide has answered all of your questions on how to debate, and has prepared you to win your next one!

At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone.

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The Power of Speech & Debate Education

Debate is a valuable activity for students of all skill levels.  Debate teaches useful skills for other academic pursuits and life more generally.   Most obviously, debaters build confidence speaking in public and expressing their ideas eloquently.  That comfort speaking in front of others is useful in so many areas of life, from interviews to school presentations to discussions in college seminars.

But the benefits of debating are not limited to the skills built while students are speaking—the preparation for competition teaches critical thinking and research skills, as well.  As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”  Debate tests and builds that ability by forcing students to see both sides of issues.  Debaters flex their analytical muscles, learning to find the weak points in opponent’s arguments.  They learn to explain their own ideas and assess different viewpoints, whether in a debate round, a political discussion, a classroom, or a written essay.  And debate requires students to research their ideas and support them with evidence, teaching them to conduct research and assess sources.  According to Arne Duncan, then-Secretary of Education , debate is “uniquely suited” to build skills required of a modern citizen, including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Those skills help students express their thoughts better in their academic work and their college applications (not to mention around your dinner table!).   The College Board recently revamped the SAT test to focus more on exactly the sorts of skills debate teaches.  As the New York Times explained , students taking the new version of the test must write “a critical response to a specific argument” based on analysis rather than personal experience.  Debaters are used to responding to unfamiliar arguments in time-sensitive situations; thinking critically about a written passage on the SAT is not so different from responding to an opponent’s argument in a debate round.  Debaters likewise outscore non-debaters on every section of the ACT .  Studies across the country have found that high school debate improves reading ability, grades, school attendance, self-esteem, and interest in school.  Duffin, Frank, Latitudes in Learning, “Debate Across the Curriculum Results” (2005).  Many universities even offer scholarships specifically for college debaters .

For those who commit to speech and debate, it offers a lifetime of benefits.  Forbes published an article titled “How to Find the Millennials Who Will Lead Your Company,” suggesting that the leaders of the future are ex-debaters.  As that article notes, debate teaches “how to persuade, how to present clearly, and how to connect with an audience,” exactly the skills businesses look for in their young employees.  You’ll find ex-debaters in every area of public life, from Bruce Springsteen to Oprah Winfrey to Nelson Mandela.  60% of Congressional representatives participated in debate, as well as at least a third of the Supreme Court.  There are ex-debaters excelling in business, law, politics, academia, and many other fields.

Perhaps most important of all, debate is fun!  You may have to cajole your son or daughter to go to their test prep class or do their homework, but debate makes learning a game; students build their critical thinking and speaking skills without it ever feeling like work.   Debate gives students a rare opportunity to take ownership over their own intellectual development.  And throughout the years of practice and competition, debate builds lifelong friendships and community, teaching teamwork as well. 

For help getting started with competitive speech & debate, please visit our how to select the right program & format guide .

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How to Write a Winning Debate Speech

What is a Debate?

A classroom debate involves students delivering persuasive speeches to present and support their opinions on a given subject. This activity helps develop critical thinking and communication skills, enabling students to gain a more comprehensive grasp of various topics.

Debate speeches are written according to a set of rules so a moderator can assess their effectiveness and allow others to question or challenge their statements within a formal debate.

A classroom debate is not an unruly fight or pointless argument but a structured formal conversation on a chosen topic in which two teams argue for or against it to convince the neutral moderator that they hold the stronger position.

Debating is a form of persuasive communication, and while we will be sticking to the fundamentals of how to write a debating speech, we also have a great guide to persuasive essay writing that elaborates on specific persuasive techniques.

Complete Teaching Unit on Class Debating

This unit will guide your students to write excellent DEBATE SPEECHES and craft well-researched, constructed ARGU MENTS ready for critique from their classmates.

Furthermore, this EDITABLE UNIT will provide the TOOLS and STRATEGIES for running highly engaging CLASSROOM DEBATES.

How To Run A Classroom Debate

Before jumping in headfirst to write your debating speech, ensure you understand how a debate is run to maximise your strategy and impact when it counts.

Debates occur in many different contexts, such as public meetings, election campaigns, legislative assemblies, and as entertainment on television shows. These contexts determine the specific structure the debate will follow.

This guide provides a basic step-by-step debate structure we can comfortably run with students in a classroom. By familiarizing students with this structure, they will effortlessly transition to other debate frameworks.

Running a classroom debate can be an engaging and educational activity that helps students develop critical thinking, communication, and research skills. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to organize and facilitate a successful classroom debate:

1. Choose a Topic For Your Debate.

Also called a resolution or a motion , the topic is sometimes chosen to debate. This is usually the case in a school activity to practice debating skills. 

The resolution or motion is usually centered around a true or false statement or a proposal to change the current situation. Often, the motion starts, ”This House believes that….”

Select a topic relevant to your curriculum and the students’ interests. Ensure that it is debatable and has multiple perspectives. Further down this article, you can find a list of popular classroom debating topics.

2. Form Two Debating Teams

Two teams of three speakers each are formed. These are referred to as ‘ The House for the Motion ’ or the ‘ Affirmative ’ team and ‘The House Against the Motion ’ or the ‘ Negative ’ team.

Preparation is an essential aspect of debating. The speech and debate team members will need time to research their arguments, collaborate, and organize themselves and their respective roles in the upcoming debate.

They’ll also need time to write and rehearse their speeches. The better prepared and coordinated they are as a team, the greater their chances of success in the debate.

3. Assign Roles to Students.

Each team member should have a specific role, such as speaker, researcher , or rebuttal specialist . This encourages teamwork and ensures that each student is actively involved.

4. Research and Preparation:

• Allocate time for teams to research and prepare their arguments. Encourage students to use multiple sources, including books, articles, and reputable websites. Make sure you read our complete guide to powerful student research strategies.

5. Set Debate Format:

• Define the debate format, including the structure of each round. Common formats include opening statements, cross-examination, rebuttals, and closing statements.

6. Establish Rules:

• Set ground rules for the debate, such as time limits for each speaker, etiquette, guidelines for respectful communication, and consequences for rule violations.

7. Conduct a Practice Debate:

• Before the actual debate, conduct a practice round. This helps students become familiar with the format and allows you to provide feedback on their arguments and presentation skills.
• On the day of the debate, set up the classroom to accommodate the format. Ensure that each round has a clear structure, and designate a timekeeper to keep the debate on schedule.

9. Facilitate Q&A Sessions:

• After each team presents their arguments, allow time for questions and cross-examination. This encourages critical thinking and engagement among the students.

10. Evaluate and Debrief:

• After the debate, provide constructive feedback to each team. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments, presentation skills, and teamwork. Also, please encourage students to reflect on what they learned from the experience.
• Have a class discussion about the debate, exploring different perspectives and opinions. This can deepen students’ understanding of the topic and enhance their critical thinking skills.

Consider integrating the debate topic into future lessons or assignments. This reinforces the learning experience and allows students to delve deeper into the subject matter.

Remember to create a supportive and respectful environment throughout the debate, emphasizing the importance of listening to opposing views and engaging in constructive dialogue.

Each speaker takes a turn making their speech, alternating between the House for the Motion, who goes first, and the House Against the Motion. Each speaker speaks for a pre-agreed amount of time.

Ensure your debate is held in front of an audience (in this case, the class), and occasionally, the audience is given time to ask questions after all the speeches have been made.

Finally, the debate is judged either by moderators or by an audience vote. 

Download our Debate Organizer

Stay fousssed with this handy template to keep all your ideas organized.

How To Write A Debate

How to start a debate speech.

In highly competitive speech and debate tournaments, students are only provided the topic on the day, and limited time is allowed for preparation, but this is not recommended for beginners.

Regardless of the stakes of your classroom debate, the speechwriting process always begins with research. Thorough research will provide students with both the arguments and the supporting evidence for their position on a topic and generate forward-thinking about what their opponents might use against them.

Writing Your Introduction

The purpose of the introduction in a debate speech is to achieve several things:

• Grab the attention of the audience,
• Introduce the topic
• Provide a thesis statement
• Preview some of the main arguments.

Grab The Attention Of Your Audience With Strong Hooks

Securing the audience’s attention is crucial, and failure to do this will have a strong, negative impact on how the team’s efforts will be scored as a whole. Let’s explore three proven strategies to hook your audience and align their thinking to yours.

Introduce Your Topic With Efficiency and Effectiveness

Once the audience’s attention has been firmly grasped, it’s time to introduce the topic or the motion. This should be done straightforwardly and transparently to ensure the audience understands the topic of the debate and the position you are approaching it from.

For example, if the topic of the debate was school uniforms, the topic may be introduced with:

Provide Your Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a concise declaration summarizing the points and arguments of your debating speech.

• It presents a clear stance on a topic and guides the reader on what to expect in the content.
• A good thesis statement is debatable and allows for opposing viewpoints and discussion.
• It serves as a roadmap for the writer, ensuring coherence and focus in the piece.
• It helps the audience understand the purpose and direction of the work from the beginning.

The thesis statement should express the student’s or the team’s position on the motion. Clearly explaining the speaker’s side of the debate. An example can be seen here.

Provide A Preview Of Your Arguments

The final part of the introduction section of a debate speech involves previewing the main points of the speech for the audience.

There is no need to go into detail with each argument here; that’s what the body of the speech is for. It is enough to provide a general thesis statement for each argument or ‘claims’ – (more on this to follow).

Previewing the arguments in a speech is especially important as the audience and judges only get one listen to a speech – unlike a text, which can be reread as frequently as the reader likes.

debate introduction examples for students

Attention grabbers task.

After explaining the different types of attention grabbers and the format for the rest of the introduction to your students, challenge them to write an example of each type of opening for a specific debate topic. 

When they’ve finished writing these speech openings, discuss with the students which one best fits their chosen topic. Then, they can continue by completing the rest of the introduction for their speech using the format described above.

You might like to try a simple topic like “Homework should be banned.” you can choose from our collection further in this article.

Writing T he Body of the Speech

The body paragraphs are the real meat of the speech. They contain the in-depth arguments that make up the substance of the debate, and How well these arguments are made will determine how the judges will assess each speaker’s performance, so it’s essential to get the structure of these arguments just right.

Let’s take a look at how to do that.

How to structure an Argument

With the introduction out of the way, it’s time for the student to get down to the nitty-gritty of the debate – that is, making compelling arguments to support their case.

There are three main aspects to an argument in a debate speech. They are:

• The Warrant

Following this structure carefully enables our students to build coherent and robust arguments. Ttake a look at these elements in action in the example below.

Brainstorming Arguments

Present your students with a topic and, as a class, brainstorm some arguments for and against the motion.

Then, ask students to choose one argument and, using the Claim-Warrant-Impact format, take a few moments to write down a well-structured argument that’s up to debate standard.

Students can then present their arguments to the class. 

Or, you could also divide the class along pro/con lines and host a mini-debate!

Concluding a Debate Speech

The conclusion of a speech or a debate is the final chance for the speaker to convey their message to the audience. In a formal debate that has a set time limit, the conclusion is crucial as it demonstrates the speaker’s ability to cover all their material within the given time frame.

Avoid introducing new information and focus on reinforcing the strength of your position for a compelling and memorable conclusion.

A good conclusion should refer back to the introduction and restate the main position of the speaker, followed by a summary of the key arguments presented. Finally, the speaker should end the speech with a powerful image that will leave a lasting impression on the audience and judges.

Examples of strong debate Conclusions

The Burden of the Rejoinder

In formal debates, the burden of the rejoinder means that any time an opponent makes a point for their side, it’s incumbent upon the student/team to address that point directly.

Failing to do so will automatically be seen as accepting the truth of the point made by the opponent.

For example, if the opposing side argues that all grass is pink, despite how ridiculous that statement is, failing to refute that point directly means that, for the debate, all grass is pink.

Our students must understand the burden of the rejoinder and ensure that any points the opposing team makes are fully addressed during the debate.

The Devils Advocate

When preparing to write their speech, students should spend a significant proportion of their team collaborating as a team. 

One good way to practice the burden of the rejoinder concept is to use the concept of Devil’s Advocate, whereby one team member acts as a member of the opposing team, posing arguments from the other side for the speaker to counter, sharpening up their refutation skills in the process.

20 Great Debating Topics for Students

• Should cell phones be allowed in schools?
• Is climate change primarily caused by human activities?
• Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
• Is social media more harmful than beneficial to society?
• Should genetically modified organisms (GMOs) be embraced or rejected?
• Is the death penalty an effective crime deterrent?
• Should schools implement mandatory drug testing for students?
• Is animal testing necessary for scientific and medical advancements?
• Should school uniforms be mandatory?
• Is censorship justified in certain circumstances?
• Should the use of performance-enhancing drugs be allowed in sports?
• Is homeschooling more beneficial than traditional schooling?
• Should the use of plastic bags be banned?
• Is nuclear energy a viable solution to the world’s energy needs?
• Should the government regulate the fast food industry?
• Is social inequality a result of systemic factors or individual choices?
• Should the consumption of meat be reduced for environmental reasons?
• Is online learning more effective than traditional classroom learning?
• Should the use of drones in warfare be banned?
• Is the legalization of marijuana beneficial for society?

These topics cover a range of subjects and offer students the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking debates on relevant and impactful issues.

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO DEBATING

The Ultimate Guide to Opinion Writing for Students and Teachers

Top 5 Persuasive Writing Techniques for Students

5 Top Persuasive Writing Lesson Plans for Students and Teachers

23 Persuasive writing Topics for High School students

How to Write Perfect Persuasive Essays in 5 Simple Steps

Debating strategies for students.

Research and preparation are essential to ensure good performance in a debate. Students should spend as much time as possible drafting and redrafting their speeches to maximize their chances of winning. However, a debate is a dynamic activity, and victory cannot be assured by pre-writing alone.

Students must understand that the key to securing victory lies in also being able to think, write (often in the form of notes), and respond instantly amid the turmoil of the verbal battle. To do this, students must understand the following keys to victory.

When we think of winning a debate, we often think of blinding the enemy with the brilliance of our verbal eloquence. We think of impressing the audience and the judges alike with our outstanding oratory.

What we don’t often picture when we imagine what a debate winner looks like is a quiet figure sitting and listening intently. But being a good listener is one of our students’ most critical debating skills.

If students don’t listen to the other side, whether by researching opposing arguments or during the thrust of the actual debate, they won’t know the arguments the other side is making. Without this knowledge, they cannot effectively refute the opposition’s claims.

Read the Audience

In terms of the writing that happens before the debate takes place, this means knowing your audience. 

Students should learn that how they present their arguments may change according to the demographics of the audience and/or judges to whom they will be making their speech. 

An audience of retired school teachers and an audience of teen students may have very different responses to the same arguments.

This applies during the actual debate itself too. If the student making their speech reads resistance in the faces of the listeners, they should be prepared to adapt their approach accordingly in mid-speech.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The student must practice their speech before the debate. There’s no need to learn it entirely by heart. There isn’t usually an expectation to memorize a speech entirely, and doing so can lead to the speaker losing some of their spontaneity and power in their delivery. At the same time, students shouldn’t spend the whole speech bent over a sheet of paper reading word by word.

Ideally, students should familiarize themselves with the content and be prepared to deliver their speech using flashcards as prompts when necessary.

Another important element for students to focus on when practising their speech is making their body language, facial expressions, and hand gestures coherent with the verbal content of their speech. One excellent way to achieve this is for the student to practice delivering their speech in a mirror.

And Finally…

Debating is a lot of fun to teach and partake in, but it also offers students a valuable opportunity to pick up some powerful life skills.

It helps students develop a knack for distinguishing fact from opinion and an ability to assess whether a source is credible or not. It also helps to encourage them to think about the other side of the argument. 

Debating helps our students understand others, even when disagreeing with them. An important skill in these challenging times, without a doubt.

Debating Teaching Strategies

Clearly Define Debate Roles and Structure when running speech and debate events: Clearly define the roles of speakers, timekeepers, moderators, and audience members. Establish a structured format with specific time limits for speeches, rebuttals, and audience participation. This ensures a well-organized and engaging debate.

• Provide Topic Selection and Preparation Time: Offer students a range of debate topics, allowing them to select a subject they are passionate about. Allocate ample time for research and preparation, encouraging students to gather evidence, develop strong arguments, and anticipate counterarguments.
• Incorporate Scaffolded Debating Skills Practice: Before the actual debate, engage students in scaffolded activities that build their debating skills. This can include small group discussions, mock debates, or persuasive writing exercises. Provide feedback and guidance to help students refine their arguments and delivery.
• Encourage Active Listening and Note-taking during speech and debate competitions: Emphasize the importance of active listening during the debate. Encourage students to take notes on key points, supporting evidence, and persuasive techniques used by speakers. This cultivates critical thinking skills and prepares them for thoughtful responses during rebuttals.
• Facilitate Post-Debate Reflection and Discussion: After the debate, facilitate a reflection session where students can share their thoughts, lessons learned, and insights gained. Encourage them to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments and engage in constructive dialogue. This promotes metacognitive skills and encourages continuous improvement.

By following these tips, teachers can create a vibrant and educational debate experience for their students. Through structured preparation, active engagement, and reflective discussions, students develop valuable literacy and critical thinking skills that extend beyond the boundaries of the debate itself.

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How to Write a Debate Speech

Last Updated: May 10, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,513,419 times.

So, you've joined debate, and it's time to write a debate speech. There are some tried and true methods to writing an effective debate speech. If you understand them, and the components that make up a standard debate speech, you will increase your chances of success.

Sample Speeches

Preparing for the Debate Speech

• You may be asked to stand affirmative or negative. In LD (Lincoln-Douglas debate), the first affirmative speech will be at most 7 minutes long, and the first negative speech will be at most 6 minutes. [1] X Research source
• The speakers then present arguments against the earlier affirmative or negative speech that was just read. Speakers must listen carefully and be able to counter arguments. There are two segments involving cross-examination (CX), in which the debaters are allowed to ask questions and openly debate the topic. This is most often called cross-examination, or cx for short, and occurs after the first affirmative speech, and the first negative speech.
• The best thing you can do to better understand LD/PF/Policy debate is practice and research.

• Brainstorm the topic, and research it before you sit down to write. Write out a list of key components for both sides of the issue. If you are on a debate team, do this together. Each member could discuss the key component list, in order to figure out which issues you want to cover in each speech.
• Spend some time at the library or on the Internet using credible sources to research the key reasons that seem strongest. Use books, scholarly journals, credible newspapers, and the like. Be very cautious about unverified information bandied about on the Internet.
• You will also want prepare to deal with the strongest arguments your opponent(s) might make. Ignoring the other side’s best arguments can weaken your rhetorical appeal.

• A basic debate outline should contain six parts: An attention-getter, your stated stance (aff or neg)/ restatement of the resolution, your definitions, your value, criterion, and contentions.
• You can break each of those six parts into subcategories. It’s often a good idea to write the contentions last, focusing on the value and criterion to hold it up first.

Writing the Debate Speech

• You should address the jury or audience with formal salutations. For example, you could say something like, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.” Debates are very formal in tone.
• Making a good first impression with the judges is very important. This leads judges to assume the debater is persuasive. One technique to write a strong introduction is to contextualize the topic, especially in relation to real world events. [6] X Trustworthy Source American Bar Association Leading professional organization of lawyers and law students Go to source
• Introductions can also focus on prominent examples, quotations, or on a personal anecdote that can help establish a rapport with the audience and judges. Be careful using humor; it involves risks and can lead to awkward silences if not done right. Find a relevant specific that illustrates the underlying point.

• Don’t muddle your position. It needs to be extremely clear whether you affirm or negate the resolution, so don’t hem and haw and contradict yourself. The audience also should not have to wait until the end to find out. Make your stance very clear, and do it early on
• For example, you could say, “my partner and I firmly negate (or affirm) the resolution which states that unilateral military force by the United States is justified to prevent nuclear proliferation.” [7] X Research source

• A good rule of thumb is to back up your position with 3-4 strong points of supporting argumentation. You definitely need to have more than 1 or 2 key points to back up the stance you have taken.
• The body of the speech – the key points and their development – should be, by far, the longest part of the debate speech (perhaps 3 ½ minutes to 30 seconds for an opening and for a conclusion, depending on the rules of the debate you are doing).

• Focus on the causes of the problem, the effects of the problem, expert opinion, examples, statistics, and present a solution. Try to use visual images, not just generic terms – show don’t tell, and illustrate a point with details.
• Appeal to the motives and emotions of the listener with a light touch. Appeal to their sense of fair play, desire to save, to be helpful, to care about community, etc. Ground examples in how people are affected.
• Try using rhetorical questions, which make your opponents consider the validity of their point; irony, which undermines their point and makes you seem more mature and intelligent; simile, which gives them something to relate to; humor, which gets the audience on your side when done well; and repetition, which reinforces your point.

• Aristotle believed that speakers were more persuasive if they combined elements of logos (persuasion by reasoning) with pathos (having an element of emotional appeal) and ethos (an appeal based on the character of the speaker) - for example, that they seem intelligent or of good will.
• There are two ways to use logic – inductive (which makes the case with measurable evidence like statistics or a specific anecdote or example) and deductive (which makes the case by outlining a general principle that is related to the specific topic to infer a conclusion from it - as in, I oppose all wars except those involving imminent self defense; thus, I must oppose this one because it's a war that was not in imminent self defense, and here's why). Or the reverse.
• You should use pathos sparingly. Emotional appeal on its own can be dangerous. Logos - the appeal to reason - should be at the core. However, logical appeal without any pathos at all can render a speech dry and dull. Consider what you are trying to make your audience feel. Explaining how a topic affects real people is one way to use pathos well.

Concluding the Debate Speech

• One strong way to conclude a debate speech is to bookend the conclusion with the opening, by referring back to the introduction and tying the conclusion into the same theme.
• Quotations can be a good way to end a speech. You can also end with a brief summation of the key arguments of the speech to ensure they remain fresh in judges’ minds.

• Use a clear , loud voice, and be careful to watch pacing. You don’t want to speak too loud or too slowly. Remember that confidence goes a long way toward persuasion.

Expert Q&A

Reader Videos

• Never add new points in your speech because you still have time, as you might not present it in the best way. When you are nervous, you might even say an argument in favor of the other side and you don't want that. Thanks Helpful 32 Not Helpful 2
• Never degrade your topic. Thanks Helpful 33 Not Helpful 3
• Don't use all your points in your debate- in an actual debate, it is sometimes useful to have other information to cite if the argument starts going their way Thanks Helpful 30 Not Helpful 3

Tips from our Readers

• You can make a sample opening and closing speech beforehand so you can focus more time on developing your arguments during the actual debate.
• Make sure to include rebuttals in your speech, as they are just as important as your main arguments.
• Practice as much as possible — it will make you more confident and help you maintain eye contact.
• Imagine you're just practicing with a friend rather than performing in front of an audience.
• Take deep breaths before starting to ease nerves.

• Remember, just because you can write a debate speech, it doesn't mean you can say a debate speech effectively. Practice! Thanks Helpful 22 Not Helpful 5

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.learndebating.com/english/DEBATING.pdf
• ↑ https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/faq/reliable
• ↑ Patrick Muñoz. Voice & Speech Coach. Expert Interview. 12 November 2019.
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/how-to-outline-a-speech
• ↑ https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/resources/newsletters/trial-evidence/five-tips-engaging-opening-statements/
• ↑ http://www.oxfordsd.org/Page/5582
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/argument/
• ↑ https://www.comm.pitt.edu/persuasive-speaking
• ↑ https://www.comm.pitt.edu/speech-anxiety

About This Article

To write a debate speech, start by researching the topic thoroughly with credible and scholarly sources, and make an outline of your argument including an introduction, thesis argument, key points, and conclusion. Write the thesis argument and develop 3-4 strong points of argumentation. Be sure to clearly state your stance, and utilize expert opinions, statistics, and examples to support your opinion. To finish the speech, write an interesting introduction that incorporates your thesis and a brief conclusion that summarizes your main points. If you want to learn more, such as how to make your debate speech persuasive, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The Most Powerful Debate Speech Strategy And Topic Ideas

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Topics

Welcome to the exciting world of debate speech and topics! Forget the fancy jargon; let’s talk about how debates aren’t just about winning arguments. Picture it as a journey where we explore ideas and connect. We’re not just tossing words around; we’re diving into the core of what makes us tick.

Think of debates as more than just convincing speeches. They’re like a doorway to understanding and connecting with people. It all begins with a strong start – our introduction. It’s not just about capturing attention; it’s about inviting everyone into a space where ideas clash and minds expand.

In this space, words aren’t just tools; they’re the architects of who we are becoming. Our journey is more than winning debates; it’s about developing critical thinking, becoming great communicators, and understanding each other better. So, let’s kick off this adventure together, where the magic of debate isn’t just in the words we say but in how they shape us along the way.

11 Greatest Debate Topics Of All Time.

• How To Write a Debate Speech?

Ways In which Debate Helps Shape Overall Personality.

10 powerful debate strategies which can never go wrong. .

•  Conclusion. 

1. The Existence of a Higher Power: God vs. Atheism

Theological Arguments: Explore philosophical and theological arguments for the existence of God, such as the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments.

Scientific Perspectives: Consider scientific perspectives that challenge traditional religious beliefs, including evolutionary theory and the Big Bang theory.

Personal Beliefs: Discuss the role of personal experiences and beliefs in shaping one’s stance on the existence of a higher power.

2. Freedom of Speech vs. Hate Speech Laws

Importance of Free Expression: Discuss the fundamental value of free expression in a democratic society and its role in fostering diversity of thought.

Harm Principle: Explore the harm principle as a criterion for limiting speech and the ethical considerations in regulating hate speech.

Balancing Rights: Consider the challenges in striking a balance between protecting individual rights and preventing harm to marginalized communities.

3. Legalization of Recreational Drugs: Pros and Cons

Individual Liberty: Discuss the argument for individual liberty, asserting that adults should have the autonomy to make choices about their bodies.

Public Health Concerns: Explore the potential negative impacts of drug legalization on public health and societal well-being.

Economic Implications: Consider the economic implications, including potential tax revenue and job creation, associated with the legalization of recreational drugs.

4. Climate Change: Human-Made vs. Natural Causes

Scientific Consensus: Examine the overwhelming scientific consensus supporting the idea that human activities contribute significantly to climate change.

Skeptic Perspectives: Discuss skeptical views that challenge the extent of human impact on climate change, considering natural climate variations.

Policy Implications: Explore the policy implications of different perspectives, including the urgency for mitigation and adaptation measures.

5. Capital Punishment: Morality and Deterrence

Retribution and Justice: Discuss the concept of retribution and whether capital punishment serves as a just response to heinous crimes.

Deterrence Effect: Examine the debate over the deterrent effect of capital punishment on potential criminals.

Risk of Wrongful Execution: Consider the ethical implications of the potential for wrongful executions and the irreversible nature of the death penalty.

6. Immigration Policies: Open Borders vs. Strict Control

Economic Contributions: Discuss the economic benefits of immigration, including contributions to the labor force and entrepreneurship.

National Security Concerns: Explore concerns related to national security, public resources, and the potential strain on social services.

Humanitarian Considerations: Consider the moral and humanitarian aspects of providing refuge to those fleeing violence or seeking a better life.

7. Assisted Suicide: Right to Die vs. Sanctity of Life

Autonomy and Dignity: Discuss the principle of autonomy and an individual’s right to make decisions about their own life, including the choice of assisted suicide.

Ethical and Religious Perspectives: Examine ethical and religious perspectives that emphasize the sanctity of life and the moral implications of assisted suicide.

Legal Implications: Consider the legal frameworks and ethical guidelines surrounding assisted suicide in different jurisdictions.

8. Privacy in the Digital Age: Security vs. Individual Rights

Surveillance Technologies: Explore the capabilities and implications of modern surveillance technologies, including mass data collection and facial recognition.

National Security Justifications: Discuss arguments that support increased surveillance for national security purposes, especially in the context of preventing terrorism.

Individual Privacy Concerns: Examine concerns related to the erosion of individual privacy rights, data breaches, and the potential for abuse of surveillance powers.

9. Universal Basic Income: Reducing Inequality vs. Economic Sustainability

Poverty Alleviation: Discuss the potential of a universal basic income (UBI) to alleviate poverty and provide financial stability to all citizens.

Economic Viability: Explore concerns about the economic feasibility and sustainability of implementing UBI, including potential impacts on workforce participation.

Social and Economic Equity: Consider how UBI might address systemic inequalities and contribute to a more equitable distribution of resources.

10. Censorship in the Arts: Protecting Morality vs. Freedom of Expression

Artistic Freedom: Discuss the importance of artistic freedom as a form of expression and creativity.

Moral and Cultural Sensitivities: Explore the need for censorship to protect societal values, moral standards, and cultural sensitivities.

Role of Cultural Context: Consider how cultural context and shifting societal norms influence the boundaries of artistic expression.

11. Animal Testing: Scientific Advancement vs. Animal Rights

Scientific Progress: Discuss the contributions of animal testing to scientific and medical advancements, including the development of new treatments and pharmaceuticals.

Ethical Treatment of Animals: Examine the ethical considerations surrounding the use of animals in research, focusing on animal rights, welfare, and alternatives to testing.

Balancing Interests: Explore the challenge of balancing scientific progress with the ethical treatment of animals, seeking common ground that respects both human and animal interests.

These elaborations provide a more in-depth understanding of each controversial debate topic, touching on various perspectives, considerations, and implications associated with each issue. Each topic reflects a complex interplay of values, ethics, and practical considerations that make them enduring subjects of discussion and debate.

How To Write A Debate Speech ?

Introduction: grabbing attention.

Begin your debate speech with a captivating introduction to immediately capture the audience’s interest. Consider using a powerful quote, a relevant anecdote, or a surprising fact related to your topic. The goal is to create an immediate connection with your listeners and set the stage for the discussion that follows. Make it clear why the topic is important and worthy of their attention. You might also include a brief overview of the main points you will cover to provide a roadmap for your audience.

Thesis Statement: Clearly State Your Position

Craft a concise and compelling thesis statement that communicates your stance on the topic. This statement should serve as the central point around which your entire speech revolves. Take the opportunity to highlight the significance of your position and why it is the most rational or ethical perspective. Additionally, consider briefly acknowledging the existence of opposing views to demonstrate your awareness of the complexity of the issue.

Main Arguments: Develop Strong Points

For each main argument, delve into detailed explanations supported by robust evidence. This evidence could include relevant research findings, real-life examples, or historical precedents. Be sure to explain the logical connections between your points and the overall thesis. Use persuasive language to underscore the importance of each argument, making it clear why the audience should find your perspective compelling.

Addressing Counter Arguments: Anticipate and Refute

Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the opposing viewpoint by anticipating counterarguments. Acknowledge these counterarguments respectfully before providing well-reasoned and persuasive refutations. This not only strengthens your position but also shows intellectual honesty and a willingness to engage with diverse perspectives. Use facts, logic, and reasoning to effectively dismantle counterarguments, leaving your audience with a sense of the robustness of your position.

Emphasize Impact: Appeal to Emotions and Values

While presenting your arguments, strategically incorporate emotional appeals to resonate with your audience. Share relatable stories, connect your points to shared values, and use language that evokes an emotional response. This not only adds depth to your speech but also helps create a memorable and impactful impression. A balance between logic and emotion can make your arguments more persuasive and relatable.

Use Persuasive Language: Enhance Convincing Power

Employ a variety of rhetorical devices and persuasive language techniques to enhance the power of your speech. Metaphors, analogies, and vivid language can make complex ideas more accessible and memorable. Consider using repetition to emphasize key points and create a rhythmic flow in your speech. Aim for clarity and precision in your language to ensure that your audience easily grasps the nuances of your arguments.

Maintain Clarity and Organization: Structured Delivery

Organize your speech in a clear and logical structure to facilitate easy comprehension. Begin with a strong introduction, followed by a clear progression of main points. Use transitions between ideas to maintain coherence and guide your audience through the flow of your arguments. A well-structured speech not only aids understanding but also enhances the overall impact of your message.

Engage the Audience: Foster Connection

Encourage active engagement by incorporating rhetorical questions, interactive elements, or moments of audience participation. Foster a sense of connection by speaking directly to the concerns and interests of your listeners. Consider using relatable examples of anecdotes that resonate with the experiences of your audience. Engaging your listeners in this way can create a more dynamic and memorable speech.

Conclusion: Reinforce Your Message

In your conclusion, re-emphasize the key points of your speech and restate your thesis with conviction. Summarize the main arguments in a way that reinforces your overall message. Conclude with a powerful and memorable statement that leaves a lasting impression on your audience. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion; instead, focus on leaving a strong and final impact that reinforces the significance of your position.

Q&A Preparation: Be Ready for Questions

Anticipate potential questions that may arise from your audience and prepare thoughtful and well-reasoned responses. Demonstrating a thorough understanding of your topic and the ability to address inquiries with confidence adds credibility to your overall presentation. Consider practicing responses to common questions to refine your ability to articulate your position effectively. During the Q&A session, maintain composure and be open to constructive dialogue, further showcasing your expertise and conviction.

Remember, the key to a successful debate speech lies not only in the strength of your arguments but also in your ability to connect with and persuade your audience. Regular practice, feedback, and a genuine passion for your topic will contribute to a compelling and influential presentation.

Check this out to learn about public speaking and debate differences. 

Critical Thinking Skills:

Engaging in debates cultivates critical thinking by training individuals to analyze information rigorously. Debaters learn to identify key arguments, evaluate evidence, and discern logical connections. This process enhances their ability to approach complex issues with a discerning and analytical mindset.

Effective Communication:

Debate serves as a powerful platform for honing effective communication skills. Participants develop the art of articulation, mastering the ability to express ideas clearly and persuasively. Regular exposure to public speaking opportunities not only boosts confidence but also refines the delivery of compelling messages.

Check this out to learn how to deliver a memorable speech:

Research and Information Retrieval:

Debates foster strong research skills as individuals delve into diverse topics, evaluate sources, and synthesize information effectively. This process not only enhances information literacy but also teaches valuable skills in data analysis and interpretation.

Empathy and Understanding:

The nature of debates, where participants engage with a variety of viewpoints, promotes empathy and a deeper understanding of different perspectives. Exposure to diverse opinions encourages individuals to appreciate cultural nuances and fosters a more inclusive worldview.

Conflict Resolution Skills:

Debates contribute to the development of conflict resolution skills by emphasizing constructive dialogue and negotiation. Participants learn to navigate differences of opinion, seek common ground, and work towards resolutions collaboratively.

Leadership Qualities:

Active participation in debates fosters leadership qualities such as confidence and initiative. Debaters often take charge of researching, organizing arguments, and leading team efforts, contributing to the development of effective leadership skills.

Time Management:

The time constraints inherent in debates teach individuals to prioritize information effectively. Participants learn to cover multiple points within a structured timeframe, enhancing their ability to manage time efficiently.

Check this out to learn how to ace a 2-minute speech:

Teamwork and Collaboration:

Debating frequently occurs in team settings, fostering teamwork and collaboration. Participants develop skills in effective communication within teams, resolving conflicts, and achieving collective goals.

Debate, as a structured and disciplined form of discourse, provides a platform for personal growth and the development of a well-rounded personality. It not only enhances cognitive and communication skills but also nurtures qualities such as empathy, adaptability, and ethical decision-making, contributing to the holistic development of individuals.

1. Solid Research And Preparation: The Foundation Of Success

In-Depth Understanding: Devote time to thoroughly understand the nuances of your chosen topic. Conduct extensive research to be well-informed on various aspects of the issue.

Counterargument Anticipation: Anticipate potential counterarguments that opponents might present. This allows you to proactively address opposing views and strengthen your position.

Factual Support: Arm yourself with concrete evidence, facts, and statistics. This not only bolsters your credibility but also adds weight to your arguments.

2. Clear And Concise Communication: Precision Matters

Clarity of Expression: Express your ideas in a straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. Avoid unnecessary complexity that might confuse the audience and dilute your message.

Key Message Emphasis: Emphasize key points with precision. Clearly articulate your thesis and ensure that each supporting argument aligns with and reinforces your central message.

Memorable Language: Use language that is both concise and memorable. Craft statements that leave a lasting impression, making it easier for the audience to recall your key arguments.

3. Active Listening: Addressing Counterarguments Effectively

Attentiveness: Actively listen to your opponents during the debate. Paying close attention allows you to respond effectively and demonstrate respect for differing viewpoints.

Acknowledgment of Valid Points: Acknowledge valid points made by the opposition. This not only showcases your fairness but also allows you to engage in a more constructive and nuanced debate.

Strategic Response: Respond thoughtfully to counterarguments. Be prepared to address opposing views with well-reasoned and compelling rebuttals.

4. Adaptability: Flexibility In The Face Of Challenges

Responsive Approach: Be prepared to adapt your strategy based on the flow of the debate. Flexibility allows you to navigate unexpected turns and respond effectively to evolving circumstances.

Open-Mindedness: Demonstrate an open-minded approach to new information. If presented with compelling evidence, be willing to adjust your stance accordingly.

Strategic Agility: Develop the ability to think on your feet and adjust your arguments and responses as the debate unfolds.

5. Emotional Intelligence: Connecting With Your Audience

Understanding Audience Emotions: Consider the emotions and values of your audience. Tailor your arguments to resonate with the experiences and concerns of the people you are addressing.

Emotional Appeals: Incorporate emotional appeals strategically. Connecting with the audience on an emotional level makes your arguments more relatable and persuasive.

Empathy in Communication: Use empathy to establish a genuine connection. Demonstrate an understanding of the perspectives and emotions of your audience.

6. Confidence And Body Language: Projecting Authority

Confident Posture: Maintain a confident and upright posture throughout the debate. Projecting confidence through body language contributes to your perceived authority.

Eye Contact: Make deliberate and consistent eye contact with the audience and opponents. This not only conveys confidence but also fosters a sense of connection.

Vocal Presence: Ensure a strong and clear vocal presence. Speak with conviction and avoid vocal patterns that may suggest uncertainty.

7. Strategic Use of Time: Maximize Impact

Time Allocation: Strategically allocate your time to cover all key points without rushing. Prioritize high-impact arguments and allocate sufficient time for their presentation.

Strategic Pauses: Use strategic pauses for emphasis. Pauses allow the audience to absorb your points and can add weight to your arguments.

Time Management Skills: Develop effective time management skills to ensure that your speech is well-paced and impactful.

8. Consistency in Messaging: Reinforce Your Core Points

Unified Message: Maintain consistency in your messaging throughout the debate. Reinforce your core arguments and thesis to create a cohesive and unified presentation.

Avoiding Contradictions: Be vigilant about avoiding contradictions in your arguments. Inconsistencies can weaken your overall position and undermine your credibility.

Repetition for Emphasis: Repetition can be used strategically to emphasize key points and ensure that your central message is reinforced.

9. Engage the Audience: Foster Connection and Interest

Relatable Examples: Connect with the audience by using relatable examples and anecdotes. Grounding your arguments in real-life situations makes your message more accessible.

Interactive Elements: Encourage audience engagement through rhetorical questions or interactive elements. Active participation fosters a sense of involvement and interest.

Addressing Audience Concerns: Speak directly to the concerns and interests of your audience. Tailor your arguments to resonate with the experiences and values of those you are addressing.

10. Grace Under Pressure: Navigate Challenges with Composure

Calm Demeanor: Remain calm and composed, especially when faced with challenging questions or counterarguments. A composed demeanor enhances your perceived competence and confidence.

Professionalism: Handle pressure with grace and professionalism. Maintain focus on the substance of your arguments rather than getting derailed by external pressures.

Effective Problem-Solving: Develop effective problem-solving skills to address unexpected challenges. Navigating pressure with composure demonstrates resilience and adaptability.

By incorporating these elaborated strategies into your debating approach, you can enhance your effectiveness, build credibility, and leave a lasting impression on your audience. Continuous practice and refinement will contribute to your growth as a skilled and persuasive debater.

In summary, the world of debate is a transformative journey that extends beyond the exchange of arguments. Crafting a debate speech is more than an exercise in persuasion; it’s an opportunity to refine our ability to connect with others. Exploring profound topics in debates prompts introspection and broadens our understanding of the world.

Powerful debate strategies go beyond winning; they teach us adaptability and the importance of emotional intelligence. It’s not just about presenting arguments; it’s about becoming individuals who can navigate life’s challenges with resilience and grace. Debate shapes our personality in multifaceted ways. It cultivates critical thinking, enhances communication skills, and instills empathy. Engaging with diverse perspectives fosters a more nuanced worldview, contributing to a well-rounded personality.

In essence, the debate is a dynamic and evolving process that leaves an unerasable mark on our character. It’s a journey that molds us into individuals capable of not only articulating ideas persuasively but also of connecting with others on a deeper level. Through debate, we become architects of our growth, equipped with the skills and perspectives needed to thrive in the ever-changing landscape of life.

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Debate Writing

Debate Speech

A Comprehensive Guide to Preparing and Delivering A Debate Speech

Published on: Mar 9, 2022

Last updated on: Jan 31, 2024

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Whether you are a student, a policymaker, or a business leader, the ability to debate effectively can be a game-changer. 

Debate speeches are important for anyone wanting to persuade others. However, writing and delivering a debate speech isn’t easy, especially if you are new to the process. 

This guide explains simple steps on how to write and deliver an excellent debate speech. It covers everything from preparing your arguments to delivering your speech with confidence and conviction.

So dive in to learn!   

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What is a Debate Speech?

A debate speech is a structured argument on a specific topic that is presented in a formal setting.  

The main purpose of debate speech is to:  

• Express your point of view persuasively and effectively
• Convince the opposition that you are right.
• Change the people’s point of view on a particular topic.

In a debate speech, the speaker presents their argument in a clear, concise, and convincing manner. Debate speeches have a set time limit, and the speaker must use their time effectively to make their case and address counterarguments. 

Preparing for a Debate Speech 

You can only win your debate if you have spent time preparing it well. Follow the steps below to be prepared for your next debate speech.

Understanding the Debate Format 

It's essential to understand the format of the debate in which you want to participate. Different debate formats have specific rules and guidelines that you need to follow to succeed. 

Some popular types of debates include parliamentary, Lincoln-Douglas, and policy debates.

• Parliamentary debate is a format where two teams of two or three members argue for or against a motion. It is presided over by a moderator. In this format, debaters have limited preparation time to gather information and construct their arguments.
• Lincoln-Douglas debate is a one-on-one debate where debaters argue for their positions on a specific topic. This format usually involves a value system and a criterion that the debaters must uphold and defend.
• Policy debate is a format where two teams of two members argue for or against a specific policy proposal. This format requires in-depth research and analysis of the policy and its potential implications.

Selecting a Position

Choose a topic that you are passionate about and that you feel strongly about. Once you have chosen a topic, narrow it down to a specific aspect that you can argue for or against. 

The clearer your position, the easier it will be to research and prepare your arguments.

Need some good debate topic ideas to get started? Check out our list of interesting and engaging debate topics to help you out!

Researching and Gathering Information

Once you have selected your topic, research it thoroughly. Gather as much information as you can from credible sources such as academic journals, news articles, and government reports. 

Take detailed notes, and make sure to record the sources you use so that you can reference them later.

Understanding Both Sides of the Argument 

To write a persuasive debate speech, it is important to understand both sides of the argument. 

Consider the arguments that your opponents might make and anticipate counterarguments. This will help you to strengthen your own arguments and address potential weaknesses in your position.

Organizing Your Arguments 

Once you have gathered all of the information you need, organize your arguments in a clear and logical way. 

Start by outlining the main points you want to make and then add supporting evidence to each point. Make sure that your arguments flow logically and build on each other.

Practicing Your Delivery

Finally, practice your delivery. Read your speech out loud several times to get a feel for how it flows. 

Time yourself to make sure that you can fit all of your arguments into the allotted time. Consider practicing in front of a friend or family member to get feedback on your delivery.

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How to Present a Debate Speech?

This type of speech requires some essential components. Here are the major components you need to present an effective debate speech. 

1. Catchy Introduction

The first important step is starting the debate with a compelling introduction. You can begin with a question, a quote, or a statistic related to the topic.

Moreover, your introduction should state your stance on the topic and provides a preview of your arguments. 

2. State the Problem & Define Key Terms

Define key terms in your speech that are important to your argument. This helps to ensure that your audience understands the meaning of the words you use.

3. Present Your Arguments

Present your arguments in a clear and logical order. Start with your strongest argument and provide evidence to support it. Then, move on to the weaker arguments and provide evidence for each one.

A good argument often follows the PEE structure, which means “Point, Evidence, Explanation (PEE)”.

• Point or Reason: This is where you state your main idea or argument, providing a concise and clear statement of your position. The point should be specific, focused, and relevant to the topic at hand. It serves as the foundation for your argument
• Evidence: Here, you provide supporting evidence to bolster your argument. This can take the form of examples, statistics, or any other relevant information that helps illustrate your point. 
• Explanation: In this part, you elaborate on how the evidence you provided supports your point. This is where you explain the relationship between your point and the evidence, highlighting its significance

4. Rebuttals 

Address counterarguments by acknowledging the opposing viewpoints and refuting them with evidence. This is called a rebuttal. 

It shows that you have considered both sides of the argument and strengthens your own position. Addressing counterarguments through rebuttals is a vital aspect of constructing a well-rounded and persuasive argument. 

Rebuttals involve presenting evidence that challenges the opposing counter-arguments and weakens their validity. Additionally, it is crucial to explain the flaws or fallacies in the opposing arguments during the process of rebuttal.

5. Conclusion

End your speech with a strong conclusion that summarizes your arguments and restates your stance on the topic. You can also end with a call to action, encouraging your audience to take action based on your argument.

Tips for Presenting a Debate Speech Effectively

The above steps will help you prepare and present an acceptable speech, but you can improve it even more with the tips below.

• Use Clear and Concise Language

Speak clearly and use language that is easy to understand. Avoid using jargon or complex words that might confuse your audience.

• Emphasize Key Points

Highlight the key points of your argument by using vocal inflection and tone. Emphasize important words or phrases to help your audience remember your key arguments.

• Use Body Language and Gestures

Body language and gestures can help to reinforce your arguments and make your speech more engaging. Use hand gestures to emphasize key points, and vary your posture and movement to keep your audience interested.

• Maintain Eye Contact

Maintain eye contact with your audience throughout your speech. This will help to establish a connection with them and make them feel more engaged with your argument.

• Use Vocal Variety and Tone

Vary your vocal tone and pace to add interest and emphasis to your speech. Use pauses and changes in pace to emphasize important points, and vary your volume to make your arguments more impactful.

• Use the Debate Speech Checklist

Here is a checklist that can help you evaluate your debate.

• Does your speech cover your opinion about the topic?
• Does your speech start with a catchy hook?
• Does your speech cover all the main points?
• Does your speech provide sufficient counterarguments?
• Does your speech contain enough evidence?
• Does your speech provide a call to action to the conclusion?

Debate Speech Examples 

Here are some examples to help you prepare and present your debate speech better. 

Debate Speech Structure

Debate Speech Template

Debate Speech Sample

Writing and delivering a successful debate speech requires careful planning, research, and effective communication skills. 

By following the steps and tips provided above, you can persuade your audience effectively and make a lasting impact. Remember to practice, rehearse, and be confident in your abilities. 

Still need expert help in writing your speech? We’ve got you covered! 

CollegeEssay.org is here to assist you. We are an expert speech writing service with a team of experienced professionals. 

Our AI essay writing tools can help you at every step of the speech-writing process, from selecting a topic to gathering evidence.

We provide customized, high-quality writing services at an affordable price. You can also take advantage from our AI essay writer tool to improve your writing skills.

So why wait? Contact our professional essay writing service and impress your audience with an amazing speech!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 4 types of debate.

The four main types of debate are: 

• Parliamentary Debate 
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate 
• Cross-Examination Debate 
• Academic Debate 

What are the 2 sides of a debate called?

The opposition and proposition are the two sides of a debate. 

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7 Valuable skills I learned from debate

One of the worst fears that people have is public speaking. So imagine that you have to go to the front of the room, and not only do you have to share your opinion and viewpoints on a topic, but you also have to challenge someone else and tell them in front of an audience why their viewpoint is weak and why your position is stronger. Not scary at all, right?

But, it’s really not that scary. Not with good training and coaching and an understanding of forming good arguments. In the Speech & Debate program at Cornell University, we believe that everyone should have the fundamental skills of argumentation and debate. We believe that these are skills that lead to a better and more engaged society, no matter your age, background, skill level or experience. We see this mission as a privilege and a responsibility; and we learn the impact of these skills from none other than those with whom we teach and train.

This past year, we had the privilege of working with Janelle Vuong, currently a first-year high school student in Dryden, New York. Janelle was a day camper in Cornell’s 2017 International Summer Debate Camp as a Mayoral Scholarship recipient sponsored by the City of Ithaca Mayor’s Office. We had a chance to speak with Janelle after her experience and why she wants to now start her own debate club in her school. Here are the valuable lessons she learned.

1. It’s fun to learn something new even when it can be initially daunting

Janelle Vuong (JV): “I was excited about attending the International Summer Debate Camp at Cornell because I had seen debates before, but I had never done it myself or known anyone to do it. I was excited to try it out and to see what kind of experience it would be like; but, I was nervous because everyone there was older than me and they seemed to know more about it. I had no knowledge of debate. You have to be really comfortable and ready to go on the spot, talking about this topic. Once I started learning the skills and techniques, and started applying them in debates in front of my cohort, I realized the value of what I was learning and saw how fun it could really be!”

2. You meet great people and expand your understanding of the world

JV: “From the debate camp, the people were the best part. I got to meet so many brilliant and talented people who were super ambitious and really intelligent. Everyone really wanted to be there and to try to do our best. It was great meeting people from different cultures and how they view and think about different topics and situations.

Honestly, growing up in the world, you’re going to meet different people and not everyone is going to agree with you. If you are open-minded, you can think about their perspectives and points of views. We learned a lot about each other through debate. You pull a lot from those around you. If you respect and understand where they are coming from, you are really going to go far in life.”

  3.  You learn to not take things personally

JV: “One of the first things I learned was not to take things personally. During the final debate tournament, we were going against debaters who may have been older or more experienced than us; but, we learned to take it in stride. Even though we can make a heated and argument one minute, at the end of the debate while we were waiting for the judges’ decision, we would be out in the hallway having fun and joking. We’re not going to take it personally of course, because we know this is part of the learning process.”

4. If you want to be effective, you have to consider and think about others’ perspectives

JV: “It’s important to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. In the case with debate, it’s the opposing side. Debate forces you to look at the other side of things and to consider other perspectives. You have to find reasons for other points of view in order to support and advance your own side. 

Before I went to the Cornell summer debate camp, I was a strong-headed person and it was hard for me to empathize with the other side. After the camp and learning how to debate, I think more about the different sides of a debate and what I’m arguing against and what evidence I have. Empathizing, remaining open-minded and learning to respect other people’s opinions and thoughts, these are very valuable traits.”

5. You learn how to have faith and confidence in yourself

JV: “One of the most important things I learned from the summer debate camp was learning to be confident and have faith in myself. During the first round of the final debate tournament, my team debated against a team of older campers, some of them three years older and with prior debate experience. They would tear apart our arguments which was intimidating. During this, even though we were really nervous debating them, we stayed calm – we realized we were still learning and that everything in the end was going to be alright. To our surprise, we ended up winning the debate. We were shocked and we were really relieved. We actually got through that. I guess we didn’t do as bad as they (the opposing team) made us believe.

This experience along with the teachings from the camp, taught me that no matter what your opponent may say, you still have to have faith in yourself. You still have to have confidence in yourself and keep debating. Because I learned how to speak with more confidence, I trusted myself more fully in making good arguments and providing evidence to support my position.”

6. It becomes something you can continue to improve on and share with others

JV: “From the summer debate camp, I took away many lessons with one being that this is something that I want to continue to practice and to share this with others. I wish I could provide others the opportunity to start learning debate as soon as they can, especially in high school when you are trying out different opportunities.

This is why I want to create a debate club in my school. Sometimes people can be a little bit too sheltered from the outside world and they might not meet enough people with different views. They may grow up in a place where people believe in the same thing or have the same beliefs. They may not learn how to be as open-minded and accept other viewpoints. They may not take the time to think of the reasoning behind other people’s arguments or maybe why they believe in some things. I want people to try out debate themselves even though they may not know what it is. Especially because you come away with such valuable knowledge and having confidence in yourself.”

7. It is an important and valuable lifelong skill

JV: “Debate is a very valuable skill that everyone should have. I believe that it will take you far in the world. Learning debate required that I learn how to speak more fluently, to put together arguments and to find evidence and reasons to support my arguments. I definitely became a more confident speaker and I learned how to think on my feet more. I was able to come up with thoughts much quicker and piece together my words much better than before.

Even though debate is essentially disagreeing with the other side, you find confidence in your own answers and evidence. In the process, you have to think about the other side and why they are doing the same thing. You have to look at their evidence and their beliefs. You learn two perspectives at the same time. You learn valuable life skills, and that’s really important.”

  Program overview

Each year, Cornell University hosts an International Summer Debate Camp on its main campus in Ithaca, New York. Set on the lush and “gorge”-eous Ithaca main campus and led by the faculty and staff of the Cornell Speech & Debate program, the camp invites students from all over the world to engage in and advance their argumentation, debate, persuasive communication, and public speaking skills.

  Open to any debate skill abilities and experience, the camp offers a blended learning approach with lectures from world-renowned Cornell faculty, a university admissions workshop, and intensive large and small cohort sessions culminating with a full debate tournament and awards banquet at the end of the camp.

  Mayoral Scholarship: In partnership with the City of Ithaca Mayor’s Office, Cornell Speech & Debate is proud to work with Mayor Svante Myrick since the beginning of the International Summer Debate Camp to offer full day camper scholarships to middle and/or high school students in the greater Ithaca and Tompkins County area in New York who are accepted into the program.

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The Hidden Importance of Speech and Debate

Did you know that there’s a National Speech and Debate Education Day every year? The first Friday in March celebrates the positive impact of speech and debate education on students, teachers, and the country. 

Sometimes pushed to the “fringe” of school activities along with theater and band, speech and debate is actually filled with hidden advantages, offering students both short-term satisfaction and long-term benefits. 

James Weaver, the Director of Performing Arts for the National Federation of State High School Associations, promotes the value of speech and debate as “an education-based activity that teaches research, speaking, and problem-solving skills students will use in all facets of their lives.”

Even Congress acknowledges the importance of this educational activity, solidifying the official national day of celebration in 2018.  U.S. Representative Tom Garrett weighed in on the topic , stating, “Speech and debate can be one of the most rewarding and beneficial educational activities available to students. Not only does it provide students with a chance to shine in an academic environment, but it allows for a chance to win awards for intellect.”

As you can see, speech and debate inspires appreciation in people from every walk of life—from parents and students to teachers and legislators. 

But how beneficial is it, really? It’s easy to see the value for students who grow up to be public speakers or politicians, but is there value in speech and debate for future electricians, bus drivers, or structural engineers? 

Let’s dive in to discover the hidden importance of speech and debate for every student, regardless of occupational interest or future aspirations!

Before any good debate, a student researches their topic. To understand and argue their point, they must have facts, statistics, and general knowledge of what they’re talking about. Research requires them to sharpen a specific skill set and be able to look at their topic with a wide lens. 

Critical Thinking 

Research requires a student to fully engage their critical thinking skills. They must be engaged and focused on the subject. They examine their stance from all angles before collecting the facts to support their argument. 

Critical thinking skills allow them to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses in their position and find appropriate solutions to bolster their case. This process hones their critical thinking skills in ways unique to speech and debate activities. 

PubMed Central suggests that much of formal education neglects critical thinking skills. They note that “deficiencies in critical thinking skills among students may rest with the educational system itself, which often stresses memorization of voluminous amounts of material essentially unrelated to any type of application at all.”

In this light, the critical thinking opportunities available in speech and debate become even more valuable. 

The National Geographic Encyclopedia asserts , “Diplomacy is the art and science of maintaining peaceful relationships between nations, groups, or individuals.” In the context of speech and debate, diplomacy provides a civil platform on which students may come together and act within a prescribed set of rules. 

Diplomacy, useful in almost any situation, is a valuable asset to any functioning adult. While researching their topic, students must work to see other points of view to argue their own effectively. This practice broadens their understanding of the issue and forces a nuance of diplomacy into the equation. 

An open mind learns to adapt to fluid situations—such as a live debate—allowing the student to employ effective strategies. 

A Wider View of the World

Speech and debate offers students a platform to explore hot topics, form opinions, and voice their thoughts. Facilitators often choose current events and historical movements as the subject matter.  Pushed to interact with complicated situations, students can open their minds and explore issues that may have escaped their notice otherwise. 

Tim Alderete, a speech and debate coach at The Meadows School, notes, “Speech and debate prepares a student to engage in a democratic society. Students study a wide range of issues, which helps them become informed about society and the world around them. They learn how to engage in a civil, organized discussion that looks for solutions.”

Building an Argument

Speech and debate teaches a student how to construct logical and thoughtful arguments that support their position. Having research in hand is one thing, but building an intelligent case is a bit different. To present a winning argument, the student must arrange their research into a logical pattern and create a compelling case. 

Harvard University expounds on the necessary components of a logical argument and offers strategies for building one. 

Leadership and Teamwork

Ayush Midha is a 12th grader, the captain of his debate team, and the 2014-15 O’Neill Leadership Trophy winner. He expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to hone his leadership skills: 

“As a captain, I have had the opportunity to foster team success and lead my teammates by example,” Ayush told Harker News Online . “Even outside of debate, these skills have allowed me to take on leadership positions and experience success.”

Speech and debate offers a chance to cultivate leadership and teamwork within the close-knit community of a debate team. Older, more experienced team members work as captains, mentoring their teammates through the year. They must create a well-oiled machine, work together, and develop viable relationships. 

Communication

Students who participate in speech and debate learn how to communicate effectively—it’s sink or swim! Arguing their topic, they present points and counterpoints in a manner that allows their audience and their opponent to comprehend the case they have built. 

Research and a logical argument are a great start to a compelling debate, but if the student can’t convey understandable information to others, there’s little point to the exercise. Speech and debate teaches students how to successfully exchange information, a critical skill for every functioning adult. 

The Golden State Academy points out , “Speech and Debate is the art of communication.” This captures the essence of the exercise beautifully. Students grow and strive to achieve excellent communication skills to succeed in this endeavor.

Receiving Constructive Criticism

When someone works hard on a project or pours their heart into a passion, it can be difficult to accept anything less than congratulations or praise.

Unfortunately, criticism is a part of life, and it’s best to learn how to accept critiques earlier rather than later. 

Speech and debate offers students a chance to demonstrate the best that they have to offer and then benefit from the (sometimes-painful) wisdom of others. When constructive criticism presents opportunities to improve, successful debaters learn to accept it with grace and poise. Speech and debate opens a new door for self-growth. 

CollegeVine instructs students , “When you have the opportunity to receive direct feedback from your judges, you should take it seriously…these can be a helpful source of advice for how to adjust your performance…”

Mastering the ability to accept constructive criticism enriches the student’s life and ensures that they have the freedom to grow from each life experience. 

Beyond the Exercise

Participating in speech and debate often create optimal conditions for success in the adult world. According to the National Speech and Debate Associate (NSDA) , of students who participated in speech and debate while in school, 

• 90% obtain a graduate-level college degree
• 15% are top-ranking executives in their corporation
• 30% are university educators
• 10% work in government

Additionally, speech and debate’s influence on  academic progress while still in school is very promising:

• 15% of speech and debate participants experience higher self-esteem
• 31% of speech and debate participants attend classes more regularly
• 36% of speech and debate participants see an increase in their reading test scores
• 87% of speech and debate participants improve their analytical skills
• 100% of speech and debate participants experience an increase in interest in their classes
• 100% of speech and debate participants are less likely to experience drug use, early pregnancy, and alcohol abuse

Statistically speaking, students who join in speech and debate have a bright future ahead of them. The skills that they acquire while practicing this academic discipline are essential to many areas of their adult life. 

Forbes recognizes these qualities and admonishes future employers to be on the lookout for bright young people who have enjoyed the rigor of speech and debate: “Many business leaders are frustrated in their attempts to find Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) who seem to have the potential to lead the company in the years ahead.  I’ve got a suggestion:  search for those who competed in speech and debate competition in high school (or college) and hire them….They all come dressed like business executives and they have a deep understanding of how to persuade, how to present clearly, and how to connect with an audience. It’s impressive….Be on the lookout for Millennials who have participated in speech and debate training.  Hire them and put them on your leadership fast track.”

Speech and debate is a wildly profitable school subject with undeniable academic and real-world value. 

Any student who wants to add to their marketable skills should consider joining their local speech and debate team. Offering students the opportunity to develop and practice their research skills, build and communicate convincing arguments, and create and nurture a team atmosphere, speech and debate is a worthy academic pursuit. 

ThoughtCo. summarizes the benefits of speech and debate, both on a professional and personal level. “Knowing how to synthesize information and deliver it to an audience succinctly—even an audience of one—is a skill that benefits people throughout their lives….These ‘soft skills’ can help in most careers because debate students learn the art of persuasion….Outside of the working world, having good communication skills is useful in activities as ordinary as meeting new people or as special as making a wedding toast in front of a crowd….” 

Whether a student is an old hand at speech and debate or giving it their first t ry , they will have a learning experience to remember. While most people initially struggle to perform in front of an audience and logically convey their ideas under pressure, the support and coaching that they receive with continued training will help them overcome those first hurdles.

Don’t overlook the hidden importance of speech and debate. There are some things a textbook alone can’t teach.

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Misleading GOP videos of Biden are going viral. The fact-checks have trouble keeping up.

More Americans may think President Joe Biden tried to sit on a nonexistent chair the other day than know the boring truth that there was, in fact, a chair .

The chair-that-was-there was just one of many quick video clips the conservative media ecosystem willed into virality over the past two weeks, leaving fact-checkers and Biden’s team with little chance to catch up.

The Republican National Committee, major conservative media outlets and right-wing influencers have succeeded in blasting out videos that they claim show “proof” of Biden’s  wandering off ,  freezing up or even  filling his pants  with a substance commonly represented by a brown swirl emoji.

Independent fact-checkers and the Biden campaign have pointed out that the videos, while they are un-doctored by artificial intelligence, tend to crumble under even basic scrutiny, such as when the moments are viewed in context or from wider camera angles . 

“Fresh off being fact checked by at least 6 mainstream outlets for lying about President Biden with cheap fakes, Rupert Murdoch’s sad little super PAC, the New York Post, is back to disrespecting its readers and itself once again,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement in reference to a video of Biden at a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama over the weekend that landed on t he cover of the Post, a conservative tabloid.

While "deepfakes" are misleading audio, video or images that are created or edited with artificial intelligence technology, a "cheap fake," according to researchers Britt Paris and Joan Donovan, is a " manipulation created with cheaper, more accessible software (or, none at all). Cheap fakes can be rendered through Photoshop, lookalikes, re-contextualizing footage, speeding, or slowing."

Still, even if they are deceptive, the videos nonetheless play into voters’ existing concerns about Biden’s age and are tailor-made for internet virality, meaning busy voters may be more likely to encounter the brief incendiary clips than the more rigorous fact-checks that chase them.

“The lie is sprinting the 100-meter dash and the fact-check is taking a stroll on the beach. So it’s never going to catch up. And it’s never going to have the same reach,” said Eric Schultz, a Democratic strategist and Obama spokesperson who on Sunday publicly called out the Post’s characterization of the fundraiser as false.

Last week, Republicans pushed a video of Biden in Europe attending the Group of Seven summit in which he allegedly “wandered off” in a confused haze before Italy’s prime minister pulled him back. Uncut video and shots from wider angles showed Biden was greeting a parachutist who had just landed as part of the ceremony.

The controversy generated by the video grew so large that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked to give his eyewitness account of the moment.

“They had all landed, and he was being very polite. And he just went over to kind of talk to all of them individually,” Sunak told reporters .

Before that, the RNC’s opposition research account suggested Biden was having a medical incident because he was not dancing at a Juneteenth event, though Biden has long said he is not much of a dancer and barely danced at his inaugural ball in 2021.

At the fundraiser in Los Angeles, Biden and Obama were waving to supporters after having received a standing ovation when Biden stared into the audience for a moment before the more punctual Obama signaled it was time to leave the stage. Several people at the event said they did not recognize the New York Post’s interpretation that Biden appeared to "freeze up."

'A pattern of behavior'

Republicans are unapologetic about the individual videos — despite the fact-checks from mainstream media they distrust.

“It’s a pattern of behavior. It’s not like it’s one instance,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in an interview. “It’s not like we’re making these videos. This is Joe Biden in real time. We’re just putting it out there for the world to see.”

Asked about the clipped video that Republicans said showed Biden trying to sit in a chair that did not exist (in fact, it was just hidden from view by the camera angle), Leavitt said, “The videos speak for themselves.”

“It’s outrageous that the words ‘cheap fake’ [are] even being used," she said. "There’s nothing cheap or fake about these videos. They are real clips of Joe Biden acting bizarrely.

“The Biden campaign’s entire strategy is to convince people not to believe their own eyes,” she added.

The spread of the videos underscores what academics say could be a particularly tumultuous election cycle . Many major social media platforms have rolled back the few checks and balances on the spread of false or misleading information under pressure from Republicans . Meanwhile, the power and reach of just a handful of accounts on X can spread talking points to millions of people that is then picked up by more mainstream conservative media. 

Taking liberties with video editing — or simply misrepresenting what is happening in a video — is nothing new. But former President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party has pushed the party further across the hazy divide between spin and mendacity, while technology has allowed for clips to be cut and broadcast constantly.

Reaching voters who do not consume much political news is a challenge in the best of cases, and it is made even harder when organizations try to reach the same voters a second time to try to change their views about a stray piece of political content they previously encountered.

Conservative media outlets disseminating such clips include not only famously ideological ones, like Fox News , but also the vast network of local TV news stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, dozens of which re-packaged identical versions of the same headline about Biden’s appearing to freeze. 

Few in conservative media have offered any resistance to the onslaught of videos. Howard Kurtz, a Fox News host and media journalist, is one of the few notable outliers , having called out the New York Post and fellow host Sean Hannity for their coverage of the G7 video.

And internet platforms’ algorithms and their users’ organic behavior tend to reward the surprising and controversial while ignoring the mundane. 

'We can't stop them from doing this'

Democrats’ strategy for dealing with the videos is twofold, according to multiple people familiar with the thinking of the Biden campaign, the White House and allied outside groups.

First, they will try to contain them to the conservative media ecosystem and extremely online spaces of political discourse like X, hoping to prevent them from breaking through into the mainstream as much as possible. 

By being aggressive in fact-checking, quickly posting fuller video clips with appropriate context and calling out media outlets that report on them, the White House and the Biden campaign hope to stop them from spreading too far.

“We can’t stop them from doing this. What we can do is fight like hell to get fact-checks and to spread those fact-checks,” said a Biden campaign official who requested anonymity to speak candidly about strategy. “Does it potentially permeate out to independent voters? Yes, and that’s what we’re guarding against and fighting against.”

Second, Democrats are stepping up their own attacks on Trump online, aggressively posting their own made-to-go-viral videos of Trump’s verbal cul-de-sacs, curious tangents and awkward actions.

They include highlighting what they say are Trump’s senior moments, such as one at a rally Saturday night when he said Biden “should have to take a cognitive test” — only to moments later flub the name of the doctor who administered a similar test to him.

Much of it has come from Biden HQ, an account the Biden campaign’s research and rapid-response teams use to blast Trump. For instance, in one clip from the same event , Trump promised to take questions after his speech — “This is different than Joe Biden. He doesn’t take any questions” — but instead left the stage without taking any questions.

Schultz said: “Both candidates are old, but one is coherent and has cogent thoughts. So to the extent that that breaks through, then I think we’ll be OK come November.”

Trump’s campaign has also complained about the Biden campaign’s deceptively portraying videos of its own in the past. That included when Trump told autoworkers there would be a “ bloodbath ” if he is not elected. Trump’s campaign said that the term specifically referred to the auto industry and that Democrats intentionally mischaracterized it by making it appear that Trump was inciting violence.

Still, Democrats up to and including Biden himself — hardly a digital native — seem to understand the challenge of suppressing viral videos that many Americans want to believe.

“The truth is that the way in which we communicate with people these days, there’s very little — there’s so much opportunity to just lie,” Biden said at the fundraiser in Los Angeles. "So much of it on the internet is absolutely a flat-out lie.”

First lady Jill Biden took on the issue of Biden’s age head-on Saturday at an event for seniors in Phoenix: "Joe and the other guy are essentially the same age, so let’s not be fooled."

According to polls, voters so far do not agree with her. And some Democrats seem to be constantly bracing for some major, unedited moment when Biden shows his age.

NBC News ’ national poll in late January found three-quarters of voters, including many Democrats, saying they had major or minor concerns about Biden’s physical and mental health.

Alex Seitz-Wald is a senior politics reporter for NBC News.

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Trump ramps up debate prep: ‘Policy discussions’ instead of mock debate

The former president has met with Sen. J.D. Vance and others in what his allies describe as informal debate prep sessions.

Donald Trump is not expected to hold a mock debate to prepare for what’s likely to be a blockbuster televised confrontation with Joe Biden. | Gerald Herbert/AP

By Alex Isenstadt and Meridith McGraw

06/17/2024 05:43 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump has been holding a series of private meetings with senators, policy experts and other allies to prepare for his debate next week with President Joe Biden.

The meetings, described by several of Trump’s allies as informal “policy discussions,” began earlier this month, when the former president sat down with Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance , a top contender to become his running mate, at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.

The meeting, which centered on the economy, has been followed by similar sit-downs featuring a rotating cast of senators, experts and Republican strategists, according to the allies granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

In a break from convention, Trump is not expected to hold a mock debate to prepare for what’s likely to be a blockbuster televised confrontation with Biden, according to one of the people. Instead, Trump’s advisers have been arranging the sessions focused on individual topics they expect will likely come up at the debate.

For instance, Trump had a recent session on immigration that included Tom Homan, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Trump administration. A session last week included former Trump White House official Stephen Miller. Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has also been involved in Trump’s policy conversations.

Trump also speaks regularly with Ric Grenell, who was Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, about a range of foreign policy and national security issues. Questions about the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict are almost certain to play a major role in the debate.

Last week, Trump met with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another Republican on Trump’s vice presidential shortlist, and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) at the Republican National Committee offices in Washington. That meeting with Rubio and the expectation that Trump will not have anyone play Biden in a mock debate were first reported by The New York Times .

Some of the meetings are not policy-specific, cover a host of issues and give Trump the opportunity to pick the brains of experts and allies, the people familiar with the meetings said. His team has been squeezing in the sessions between Trump’s regular campaign appearances, private meetings, and fundraising and political calls. He campaigned in Michigan over the weekend. On Tuesday, Trump will give a speech in Racine, Wisconsin. He will hold a fundraiser in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday, before rallying supporters in Philadelphia on Saturday.

“President Trump takes on numerous tough interviews every single week and delivers lengthy rally speeches while standing, demonstrating elite stamina. He does not need to be programmed by staff or shot up with chemicals like Joe Biden does,” Trump adviser Jason Miller said in a statement.

Miller is among the top Trump strategists involved in his debate preparations, as he was in 2016 and 2020.

The June 27 debate — to be broadcast on CNN and moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash — represents a pivotal moment in the campaign. It will be the first time Trump and Biden have gone head-to-head since the 2020 debates.

Biden has not yet done a formal debate prep session, though he is slated to head to Camp David on Thursday night, where preparations are expected to begin in earnest. Ron Klain, Biden’s longtime adviser and his first White House chief of staff, is involved in the preparations.

CNN announced the ground rules for the 90-minute debate over the weekend. According to the network, there will be two commercial breaks, podium positions will be determined by coin flip and a candidate’s microphone will be muted when the other candidate is speaking.

Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.

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Trump Tries to Set Expectations, and Floats Excuses, for His Debate With Biden

The former president has set a low bar for President Biden’s performance at next week’s matchup. Now, he is preparing supporters for the possibility that Mr. Biden clears it.

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By Shawn McCreesh

Reporting from Racine, Wis.

A few minutes into his speech at a campaign rally on Tuesday, Donald J. Trump asked a question of the few thousand who’d turned up to hear him speak. “Is anybody going to watch the debate?”

Mr. Trump was in Racine, Wis., but it was clear his mind was in Atlanta, the site of his matchup against President Biden next week. He repeatedly mused about the potential scenarios, lowering expectations that he would dominate Mr. Biden and then, as if he couldn’t help himself, raising them again.

The expectations game is a particular challenge for the Trump campaign. Mr. Trump, 78, has spent months casting the 81-year-old Mr. Biden as a husk of a man who can barely walk or formulate complete sentences. Republicans have pumped out a stream of videos of Mr. Biden walking stiffly — some deceptively edited — that are meant to be proof of Mr. Biden’s decline.

Mr. Trump’s supporters in Racine showed they have been marinating in this content. “Biden can’t stand up!” one woman yelled during Mr. Trump’s speech. She stood near another woman who wore a T-shirt with a picture of Mr. Biden that read, “Impeach me. I won’t remember.”

But Mr. Trump was also preparing for his caricature of Mr. Biden to be punctured next week. He openly wrestled with the obvious question: What if Mr. Biden clears the very low bar that Mr. Trump has now set for him?

He had answers: If that should happen, it’s only because Mr. Biden will be “pumped up,” he told his followers, suggesting that the president would hoover up a pile of cocaine beforehand, since the drug was recently found in the White House by the Secret Service, though investigators never did figure out how it got there and it was not linked to the president or anyone in his family. (Still, it was an acutely cutting notion, coming a week after the Delaware trial that publicly aired the first family’s struggle with Hunter Biden’s addiction .)

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Where can I watch the debate? Fox News, ABC agree to carry CNN's presidential debate

In a rare cooperative move, rival broadcast and cable networks like Fox News and ABC are working together to simulcast the CNN-hosted  presidential debate  next Thursday.

The first presidential debate of the 2024 cycle is breaking with tradition: Instead of being organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates and presented across different networks, the candidates decided to bypass the commission and instead participate in two network-produced debates.

The first will be presented by CNN on June 27. The second, hosted by ABC , will be on Sept. 10.

The debate will air live on CNN , CNN International, CNN en Español, and CNN Max, and be streamed live at CNN.com. It will also now be available on other broadcast and cable news networks.

CNN required that the network’s logo run on screen and the event be referred to as the “CNN Presidential Debate” in all press releases and promotional spots, according to the  LA Times . The rival networks seemed to agree to the terms and conditions.

On Thursday,  Fox News announced  it would present “extensive live coverage” of the CNN presidential debate across all its platforms, including the “FOX News Democracy 2024: CNN Presidential Debate” from 9-11 pm/Eastern Daylight Time. ABC News announced it would be showing “‘Battle for the White House’ and ABC News’ Presentation of the CNN Presidential Debate” on ABC New Live and streamed on Hulu on Thursday from 7 pm-12 am. Other networks like  NewsNation  will also show the debate with pre- and post-debate analysis. 

While networks won’t be able to add their commentary during the debate, many plan to have programs before and after where they can provide their own color. Fox News, for example, has already taken a disapproving tone of the debate, with host Sean Hannity telling debate moderators and CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash to “get their network in check,” referring to it as “Fake CNN.”

Competition Events

Competition Events Guide

Speech  involves a presentation by one or two students that is judged against a similar type of presentation by others in a round of competition. There are two general categories of speech events, public address events and interpretive events.  Public address events  feature a speech written by the student, either in advance or with limited prep, that can answer a question, share a belief, persuade an audience, or educate the listener on a variety of topics.  Interpretation events center upon a student selecting and performing published material and appeal to many who enjoy acting and theatre. 

Debate involves an individual or a team of students working to effectively convince a judge that their side of a resolution or topic is, as a general principle, more valid. Students in debate come to thoroughly understand both sides of an issue, having researched each extensively, and learn to think critically about every argument that could be made on each side.

To learn more about each event, click on the event name.

Interp events.

• Dramatic Interpretation (DI)
• Duo Interpretation (DUO)
• Humorous Interpretation (HI)
• Poetry (POE)
• Program Oral Interpretation (POI)
• Prose (PRO)
• Storytelling (STO)

Public Address Events

• Commentary (EXC)
• Declamation (DEC)
• Expository (EXP)
• Impromptu (IMP)
• Informative Speaking (INF)
• International Extemporaneous Speaking (IX)
• Mixed Extemporaneous Speaking (MX)
• Original Oratory (OO)
• Original Spoken Word Poetry (SW)
• Pro Con Challenge (PCC)
• United States Extemporaneous Speaking (USX)

Debate Events

• Big Questions (BQ)
• Congressional Debate (House & Senate) (CON)
• Extemporaneous Debate (XDB)
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate (LD)
• Policy Debate (CX)
• Public Forum Debate (PF)
• World Schools Debate (WS)

Students are presented with prompts related to societal, political, historic or popular culture and, in 20 minutes, prepare a five-minute speech responding to the prompt. Students may consult articles and evidence they gather prior to the contest. At the National Tournament, students may use internet during preparation. Some other tournaments may not. The speech is delivered from memory and no notes are allowed.

About Declamation

About Dramatic Interpretation

About Duo Interpretation

About Expository

About Humorous Interpretation

About Impromptu

Impromptu is a public speaking event where students have seven minutes to select a topic, brainstorm their ideas, outline and deliver a speech. The speech is given without notes and uses an introduction, body, and conclusion. The speech can be light-hearted or serious. It can be based upon prompts that range from nursery rhymes, current events, celebrities, organizations, and more.

An adapted version of Impromptu, Prepared Prompt Speaking, has been used at online tournaments. In Prepared Prompt, students will be given a list of topics prior to the tournament, select one prompt from the official list, prepare a speech, and submit it through the recording process.

Impromptu is a public speaking event that tests a student’s ability to analyze a prompt, process their thoughts, organize the points of the speech, and deliver them in a clear, coherent manner. Students’ logic is extremely important. They must be able to take an abstract idea, such as a fortune from a fortune cookie, and put together a speech that has a thesis and supporting information.

About Informative Speaking

Informative is a speech written by the student with the intent to inform the audience on a topic of significance. Students in informative may use a visual aid. Informative gives students the unique opportunity to showcase their personality while educating the audience. An Informative is not simply an essay about the topic—it is a well researched and organized presentation with evidence, logic, and sometimes humor to convey a message. Topics are varied and interesting. Whether it be a new technological advance the audience is unaware of or a new take on a concept that everyone is familiar with, Informative is the students opportunity to teach the audience. Types of topics and structure vary greatly.

About International Extemp

International Extemporaneous Speaking, typically called International Extemp, is a speech on current International events with limited preparation time. A student’s understanding of important political, economic, and cultural issues is assessed along with critical thinking and analytical skills. Students report to a draw room (often referred to as Extemp prep) where all of the Extempers gather at tables, set out their files, and await their turn to draw topics. Students may access research brought with them to the tournament during the 30-minute preparation period. Some tournaments, including the NSDA National Tournament, will permit students to use the internet to research during preparation time. When prep time is up, the student reports to the competition room to deliver a 7 minute speech. Students have a lot to do in 30 minutes—they must select a question, review research, outline arguments with supporting materials, and practice at least part of the speech before time expires. Many tournaments prohibit the consultation of notes during the speech in which case speech structure and evidence need to be memorized during prep time as well.

Mixed Extemp

Mixed Extemp combines international and domestic issues (as opposed to two separate events like high school). Mixed Extemp is an event at the NSDA Middle School National Tournament. Students are presented with a choice of three questions related to national and international current events. The student has 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech answering the selected question. Students may consult articles and evidence to help with their preparation. The internet may be used during preparation time at the NSDA Middle School National Tournament, though local events may not allow use of internet.

About Original Oratory

About Original Spoken Word Poetry

The maximum time limit is 5 minutes with a 30-second grace period. The delivery must be memorized, and no book or script may be used. No more than 150 words of the original poetry may be direct quotation from any other speech or writing. A successful performer will craft a piece that elicits critical thought, reflection, or emotion. As opposed to traditional Poetry, Spoken Word Poetry is created to be performed aloud and may feature rhythmic flow, vivid imagery, word play, gestures, lyrical elements, and repetition. Use the Getting Started with Original Spoken Word Poetry guide as a helpful tool to explore ways to express thoughts and experiences through poetry.

About Poetry

Poetry is characterized by writing that conveys ideas, experiences, and emotions through language and expression. Often Poetry is very creative in terms of vocabulary and composition. While Poetry may tell a story or develop a character, more often Poetry’s focus on language and form are designed to elicit critical thought, reflection, or emotion. Students may choose what the National Speech & Debate Association refers to as traditional Poetry, which often has a formal meter or rhyme scheme, or nontraditional Poetry, which often has a rhythmic flow but lacks formal rhyme or meter. Poetry is different than Original Spoken Word Poetry in that students in Poetry will perform works written by others. In Poetry, students may chose to perform one long poem or create a program of poetry from one source or multiple sources.

Pro Con Challenge

Students select the National Tournament topic for CX, LD, or PF or a piece of legislation in the Congressional Debate Docket and write a 3-5 minute affirmative speech and a 3-5 minute negative speech on that topic. This event allows students to explore debate topics in a new and exciting way while showing off their writing, research, and delivery skills.

About Progam Oral Interpretation

About Prose

About Storytelling

Storytelling consists of sharing a story with an audience, performed as if the audience were a group of young children. Some tournaments have themes that the story selection must fit in; the National Tournament does not have a theme, and any story selection is acceptable. The story must not exceed five minutes. Students may use a full range of movement to express themselves and may incorporate a chair in a variety of different ways, though the chair may not be used as a prop during the performance. Students may be seated but most commonly performers use a full range of stage space available to them. As there are so many different types of stories that can be performed, it is important to observe rounds to see what other students and teams are using. The Association has final rounds of Storytelling from both the high school and middle school level to review. Local and regional tournaments may vary in the selection of stories performed.

About United States Extemp

About Big Questions Debate

Time limits.

*Each team is entitled to three minutes of prep time during the round.

About Congressional Debate

About Extemporaneous Debate

About Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Lincoln-Douglas Debate typically appeals to individuals who like to debate, but prefer a one-on-one format as opposed to a team or group setting. Additionally, individuals who enjoy LD like exploring questions of how society ought to be. Many people refer to LD Debate as a “values” debate, as questions of morality and justice are commonly examined. Students prepare cases and then engage in an exchange of cross-examinations and rebuttals in an attempt to convince a judge that they are the better debater in the round.

About Policy Debate

About Public Forum Debate

About World Schools Debate