The basics of being a good debater

Have you ever mock argued with your friends? Well, of course you have. But, fun arguments are nothing like intense, professional impromptu matches. As Richard said in his early post, Three school clubs you should join, debate club is one of the best out there.

Attending events held by the Alberta Speech and Debate Association really improves your speaking skills. For the overachievers, you just HAVE to create time for debate, even if you have a lot on your plate. On top of your busy IB/AP workloads and (insert number here) extracurricular activities, debate is a great way to become more well rounded. Learning how to speak in public is helpful for presentations too!

So, how do you debate well? Here are a few tips:

1. Strong introduction. Obviously, in a speech, you have to have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The things is, most people don’t know how to compose a GOOD introduction – with all things spoken word, it’s necessary to have a strong hook. Although you should greet the judges “Good evening ladies and gentlemen…”, begin with a thought provoking soliloquy before jumping into that good old introduction.

2. Sign post. What does that mean? Many judges are inexperienced, and are just parents there to support their child. Most of them won’t know anything about the prepared topic. Therefore, you must give them a brief outline of your pillars (points to argue) so they can follow along in your speech.

3. CLASH. Clashing is the heart of debate. You have to refute what the opponents are saying. Because the Proposition (people for the topic) and Opposition (people against the topic) alternate speeches, make sure clash comes right after you sign post. It’s best to attack the opponent’s speech when it’s still fresh in the judges’ minds, so they can remember all the little flaws that you so cleverly picked out.

4. Look up. This is more common sense, but LOOK UP WHEN YOU’RE TALKING. And, don’t just look into the distance. Make sure to look into the judges’ eyes. A rule of thumb is to read the first part of a sentence, and look up on the second half. It works like a charm.

5. Don’t fidget. Don’t sway. Don’t make unnecessary movements, or fiddle. It’s distracting.

6. Appropriate hand gestures.  A speech isn’t acting, or interpretive dance. Wild hand motions are not necessary, regardless of how passionate you are. A few motions for emphasis is fine, but don’t border on irritating.

7. Intonation and emphasis. Make your voice strong! Power! Convince judges that they have to listen. After a few hours of sitting and listening to possibly mediocre speakers, you want to make those judges believe you’re worthy of their attention. This means variance in tone, and a decent volume. Don’t scream either. Since judges are mostly parents, they won’t take well if you’re too aggressive, especially if your opponents are smaller than you. Seriously. Be subtle about your verbal attacks, but be nice.

8. Prepare two weeks before the debate. Doing a research debate means you must research. You have to pay to get into these events, so it’s really a waste of your time and money if you don’t put in any effort. Even if you are doing impromptu debate (no preparation), you should still practice with random topics, just to get you in the right mindset.

9. Practice practice practice! The best way to become a better debater is if you practice, especially in front of peers. One has to build up their speaking confidence. Having others critique your performance is key to improving. There are a lot of fun debate games too. One of my favourites is one where you get 4 random topics at 15 second intervals, and you have to somehow make a coherent link between the four. Spontaneous thinking is something one has to become really good at in debate.

That’s a bit of my wisdom. Good luck.