Debating 101

What’s the deal?  3v3  Affirmative team and Negative team  30 minutes prep  Each team comes up with arguments to support or oppose the motion and rebuttal  Each speaker speaks for 6-8 minutes, alternating between affirmative and negative

Things debating is not  It is not a general knowledge test  It is not a public speaking contest  It is not a feasibility study

Speaking

Being persuasive  Matter  Method  Manner

Matter  Come up with interesting ideas  Try to frame arguments as “outcomes” (harms or benefits)  Use analysis  What’s going to happen?  Who cares

Matter  Eg. On the motion of making voting compulsory, from affirmative  “ Making voting compulsory will improve political engagement. When people are forced to vote, they are incentivized to go out and research the policies of those whom they are voting for. This is because people often feel like they do not want their actions (in this case, votes) to be wasted, especially when they are forced to go out of their way to make them. We think improving engagement is also extremely important, because a more informed society is going to allow the quality of political discourse (and therefore the quality of policies that are made) to improve.

Matter  Use rebuttal  Why is it factually wrong?  Why is it logically wrong?  Why is it irrelevant? Be practical and comparative  All of the above!

Matter  Eg. On the motion of banning prostitution, from negative  “When we banned prostitution in the UK, rates of people having toothache went immediately afterwards, implying that this motion will cause more toothaches to occur”

Method  Structure  Structure (seriously)  Figure out what the major ideas of the debate are and then organise your speech accordinglyIntroduce and conclude  Timing

Method  List multiple reasons for everything you are trying to prove, and use numbers  Label as clearly as possible

First Speakers Affirmative  Clarify the debate (~2mins)  Context  Model  Don’t squirrel or overcomplicate  Present key arguments for your case (~6 mins) Negative  Clarify your stance on the debate (~1 minute)  Don’t challenge definition  Present rebuttal (~3 minutes)  Present substantive arguments (~4 minutes)

Second Speakers  Start speech off with a smartass comment  Rebut arguments presented by preceding opposing speakers (~5 minutes)  Present additional substantive arguments (~3 minutes)

Third Speakers  Start speech off with a smartass comment  Listen to the whole debate  Figure out what the debate is about or the issues in the debate  Address these issues individually and as evenly as possible  Come to favourable conclusions about them  Make use of rebuttal and substantive

Manner  Everyone is different  Be confident!  General tips  Eye contact  Avoid flippancy  Mix it up

General Tips

Helpful Stuff  Use prep wisely – spend the first 3-5 minutes brainstorming quietly!  Identify the “clash” in prep as soon as possible – anticipate the opposition’s arguments  Give your best arguments to the first speaker  From neg, don’t just deny the affirmative’s arguments – prove that there are harms!

How to improve  Read stuff (The Economist!)  Participate! Go to stuff!  Listen to feedback from adjudicators; they are wise  Relax and have fun