The "uh" sound usually takes less time to overcome in speech. It suggests that you've just finished one point, and you're taking a moment to move onto the next. Your "um" sounds can be far more dangerous, as they suggest that you may be searching for completely unfamiliar information. You'll want to eliminate both from your speech patterns in formal debate, however, as both suggest a stalling in your thought process. Try replacing your filler sounds with silence. This will give your audience time to stew on your last point, and it will also give you time to generate your stimulus for your next idea.
Remember that everyone needs time to process before moving to their next sentence. You aren't eliminating this thought process. You are, however, making it appear that you are thinking less than you actually are. Find synonyms for overused language. It's easy to settle into overused words in phrases while debating, especially because a great deal of your speech will be founded in your research.
When your work is highly researched, it runs the risk of becoming pedantic. If you're simply regurgitating facts from academia, your rhetoric can quickly become dull and overly intellectual. Speak slowly and enunciate. There's a tendency, especially among young debaters, to fire off facts in a rapid, nearly manic way. While you don't want to make your speech drag, there are many benefits to slowing down your speech patterns. It's much easier to enunciate if you slow down the pace of your speech.
You may be able to get through a larger quantity of points, but it's unlikely that all of them will be heard. Try the "pencil-in-mouth" drill if you want to improve your articulation. Stick a pencil in your mouth, parallel to your forehead, and practice your speech while holding it in place. You'll have to verbalize around this obstacle in your mouth, working harder to enunciate your syllables.
When you remove the pencil, you'll find that your speech is far clearer. Keep that same level of enunciation when you're performing. When you blend enunciation with a slower manner of speech, it'll be easier for others to dissect your points. Invent your rebuttals calmly. Before opening your mouth, take a moment to take a deep breath and calm down your mind. There's a lot of pressure riding on the rebuttal portion of the debate, especially as you have to connect your various points in an improvised fashion.
Boil your arguments into more specific points, mentally, before launching in. You won't win this portion of your debate by scattering new ideas into the air at the last moment. Sum up your argument into one or two sentences. You'll obviously be extrapolating on these points, but it'll help you to have a logical home base to return to. Focus on what you know you've done successfully.
Don't be hard on yourself for taking the "path of least resistance" when going for the win. Part 3. Consolidate your movement. Using gesture can be extremely helpful in elaborating on your points. All public speaking is, after all, just an attempt to seem natural and accessible in front of a larger crowd.
You generally have a large stage to inhabit while debating. Occupy this space fully. You don't want to be pacing nervously, but you do want to ensure that you look comfortable speaking in front of others. Don't rely on gesture as a nervous tick. If you're releasing anxiety through gesture, then your gestures will not be strong. Instead, they'll add unnecessary motion, distracting from your speech.
Establish eye contact. It's unlikely that you'll win your debate if you aren't making eye contact with both your audience and your adjudicator. In speaking in any public setting, the crowd will feel a trust in you if you can connect directly to them using the eyes. Even brief moments of connection will serve you well, as for that instance, one person will feel that you are speaking directly to them.
After you make eye contact with one person in the audience, deliver your next line or phrase to the next person. This way, you'll connect with a larger number of people in a one-on-one way. You can also use eye contact to silence a distracting presence in your audience. If someone isn't paying attention to you, then a prolonged stare will make them feel uncomfortable.
The hope, then, is that they'll quiet down, or at least attempt to be less distracting. Diversify your tone. No one wants to listen to a monotonous speaker, especially if you're being judged on your ability to craft a compelling argument. If you're speaking about grisly, violent details, you'll want to adapt a tone of disgust. When slipping in a mild joke or self-aware remark, a humorous or light-hearted tone can be very effective. Above all, your tone should always have some level of urgency.
This proves that you aren't avoiding the importance of the topic at hand. Diversifying your tone is very important, but you never want to forget the core of your speech. Master the dramatic pause. Any moment of stillness, in a debate, should feel important. Because so much of debate revolves around the power of oration, any break in the action will feel heavy.
Some debates come full circle and then keep on going because neither party is willing to admit defeat. If you become involved in a debate that never ends, don't push it.
Just say: "I respect your opinion. I don't agree with you, but maybe I will in the future. Give me a little bit of time to think it over? Wrap things up amicably. No one will want to debate you if you're a sore loser or if you refuse to treat your sparring partner with respect.
However heated the debate might have been, try to be friendly as you wrap things up. You may disagree with someone, but that doesn't mean you can't be friends. Method 2. Adhere to all rules and professional standards. While rules will vary situation to situation, many standards are common to most debates.
Come dressed to play the part of a serious debater, and bring an attitude to match. For important formal debates—really for any debate you want to win—wear a suit or equally formal wear.
Dress like a politician or like you are going to a funeral. Keep your suit jacket on at all times, and your tie if you are wearing it. Don't wear anything tight or revealing. Face the judge when you speak, and speak standing. Read full citations when you are quoting. If you're not sure if what you are doing is professional, ask the judge's permission. For instance, if you want to leave the room for water, ask. In team debates, avoid prompting your partner unless they are immediately jeopardizing your chances of winning.
Try not to do it at all. Keep your cell phone off. Do not curse. Limit jokes to those that would be appropriate in a professional setting. Don't tell jokes that are off-color or that rely on insensitive stereotypes. Be ready to receive a topic. In British Parliamentary, for instance, one team must debate the "affirmative" stance, and the other must debate the "negative" stance. The team that agrees with the topic is called the affirmative, while the team that disagrees is called the negative.
For Policy Debate, the affirmative team proposes a plan and the negative team argues that it should not be enacted. The chairperson or adjudicator will start the debate, and the first speaker will present their speech. The order of the speakers is generally affirmative, negative, affirmative, negative, and so on.
Define the topic simply when necessary. Debating "That the death penalty is a just and effective punishment" is probably already pretty clear, but what if you're given a topic like "That happiness is a nobler trait than wisdom? The affirmative always gets the first and best opportunity to define the topic. To define well, try to mirror the way an average person on the street might define the topic.
If your interpretation is too creative, the other team might attack it. The negative team is given an opportunity to refute the definition otherwise known as challenging the definition and offer their own, but only if the affirmative's definition is unreasonable or it renders the negative's position obsolete.
Write your speech in the time allotted. Keep your eye on your watch, and set a timer for a minute before your time is up so that you can look over your argument before you are done. Your allotted writing time will depend on the style of debate. For British Parliamentary, for instance, seven minutes is likely. To write efficiently, get your main points down first, then fill in evidence, additional refutations, and any examples or anecdotes you are choosing to include.
Depending on what position you argue, you must follow certain protocol such as defining the topic or presenting a main argument. Support your argument. If you say "I think the death penalty should be abolished," be ready to prove why this is the best course of action. Provide supporting arguments, and give evidence for each. Make sure your supporting arguments and evidence truly relate to your stance, or your opposition may co-opt them or ask for them to be thrown out.
Choose what to include carefully. If you don't know it, don't debate it unless you have no other choice. If you don't know much about the topic, try to at least come up with some vague, ambiguous information so that your opponents will have a hard time refuting your contentions.
If they don't understand it, they can't refute it. Keep in mind that the judge probably won't understand you so well either, but trying is probably better than saying, "I know nothing. I give the case to my opponents. Always give a clear answer to every question you ask. Leaving a question open-ended gives your opponents room to refute.
Use religion only when appropriate. Things that are written in the Bible, Torah, Quran, etc, are not usually sound resources to use to prove your argument, as not everyone takes these sources to be the truth.
Present your argument with feeling. Be passionate in your speech—a monotone voice will cause people to drift off, and they may miss the point of what you're trying to say. Speak clearly, slowly, and loudly. Make eye contact with whomever decides the winners of the debate.
While it's okay to look at your opponents every once in a while, try to direct your argument at the judge. Give a layout of your argument before you make it. That way, your audience will know what to expect and your judge won't cut you off unless you run way overtime. Strike a balance between presenting your team's point s and rebutting the opponent's point. Since teams take turns debating, it's always possible to offer rebuttals unless you are the first affirmative speaker.
For British Parliamentary, for example, both teams might organize their debate strategy thus: 1st affirmative : Define the topic optional and present the team's main line. Outline, in brief, what each affirmative speaker will talk about. Present the first half of the affirmative's argument. Outline, in brief, what each negative speaker will talk about.
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. 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.
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. Compare the conclusion to reality - think "what would happen if what they the other team are suggesting is implemented right now?
Debating event at the Oxford Union. 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 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.
The subject of the dispute is often prearranged so you may find yourself having to support opinions with which you do not normally agree. You also have to argue as part of a team, being careful not to contradict what others on your side have said.
It is an excellent way of improving speaking skills and is particularly helpful in providing experience in developing a convincing argument. Those of you who are forced to argue against your natural point of view realize that arguments, like coins, always have at least two sides. The Basic Debating Skills. Style is the manner in which you communicate your arguments.
This is the most basic part of debating to master. Content and strategy are worth little unless you deliver your material in a confident and persuasive way. It is vital to talk at a pace which is fast enough to sound intelligent and allow you time to say what you want, but slow enough to be easily understood. Varying tone is what makes you sound interesting. Listening to one tone for an entire presentation is boring. Speaking quite loudly is sometimes a necessity, but it is by no means necessary to shout through every debate regardless of context.
There is absolutely no need speak any more loudly than the volume at which everyone in the room can comfortably hear you. Shouting does not win debates. Speaking too quietly is clearly disastrous since no one will be able to hear you.
The ability to concisely and clearly express complex issues is what debating is all about. It is also important to keep it simple.
While long words may make you sound clever, they may also make you incomprehensible. Notes are essential, but they must be brief and well organized to be effective. There is absolutely no point in trying to speak without notes. Of course, notes should never become obtrusive and damage your contact with the audience, nor should they ever be read from verbatim.
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