HOW TO DEBATE

What is Debating?
A debate is a structured argument. Two sides speak alternately for and against a
particular contention usually based on a topical issue. Unlike the arguments you
might have with your family or friends however, each person is allocated a time they
are allowed to speak for and any interjections are carefully controlled. 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.
Why debate?
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
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.
Speed
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.
Tone
Varying tone is what makes you sound interesting. Listening to one tone for an
entire presentation is boring.
Volume
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.

Clarity
The ability to concisely and clearly express complex issues is what debating is all
about. The main reason people begin to sound unclear is usually because they lose
the stream of thought which is keeping them going. It is also important to keep it
simple. While long words may make you sound clever, they may also make you
incomprehensible.
Use of notes and eye contact
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. Most people sketch out the main headings of their speech,
with brief notes under each.
When writing notes for rebuttal during the debate, it is usually better to use a
separate sheet of paper so you can take down the details of what the other speakers
have said and then transfer a rough outline onto the notes you will actually be
using.
Eye contact with the audience is very important, but keep shifting your gaze. No one
likes to be stared at.

Content
Content is what you actually say in the debate. The arguments used to develop your
own sides case and rebut the opposite sides. The information on content provided
below is a general overview of what will be expected when you debate. The final
logistics of how long you will be debating, how many people will be in your
group, and how the debate will unfold (ie: which team speaks first etc.), will
all be decided by your tutorial leader.
Case (argument)- the whole
Introduction - The case your group is making must be outlined in the
introduction. This involves stating your main arguments and explaining the general
thrust of your case. This must be done briefly since the most important thing is to
get on and actually argue it. It is also a good idea to indicate the aspects of the
subject to be discussed by each of the team members.
Conclusion - At the end, once everyone has spoken, it is useful to briefly summarize
what your group has said and why.


Case (argument)- the parts
Having outlined the whole of your argument, you must then begin to build a case
(the parts). The best way to do this is to divide your case into between two and four
arguments (or divide your case based on the number of people in your group). You
must justify your arguments with basic logic, worked examples, statistics, and
quotes. Debating is all about the strategy of proof. Proof, or evidence, supporting
your assertion is what makes it an argument. There are a number of ways of dividing
up cases according to groups of arguments (eg political/economic/social or
moral/practical or international/regional etc.) or just according to individual
arguments if you cant group any together. Under each of these basic headings you
should then explain the reasoning behind the argument and justify it using the
methods outlined above. It is usually best to put the most important arguments
first. Here is an example of a case outline:
The media exert more influence over what people think than the government
does. This is true for three reasons. Firstly, most people base their votes on what
they see and hear in the media. Secondly, the media can set the political agenda
between elections by deciding what issues to report and in how much
detail. Thirdly, the media have successfully demonized politicians over the last ten
years so that now people are more likely to believe journalists than politicians.
All of the arguments in this case outline are debatable (almost immediately you can
see the counter-arguments), but they give the case a wide range which cover all
kinds of issues. The trick is not to come up with a watertight case, but a well argued
one. Think: Can I argue that?
Rebuttal the parts
Arguments can be factually, morally or logically flawed. They may be
misinterpretations or they may also be unimportant or irrelevant. A team may also
contradict one another or fail to complete the tasks they set themselves. These are
the basics of rebuttal and almost every argument can be found wanting in at least
one of these respects. Here are a few examples:
1. Compulsory euthanasia at age 70 would save the country money in pensions
and healthcare. This is true, but is morally flawed.
2. Banning cigarette product placement in films will cause more young people to
smoke because it will make smoking more mysterious and taboo. This is logically
flawed, the ban would be more likely to stop the steady stream of images which
make smoking seem attractive and glamorous and actually reduce the number of
young people smoking.
3. My partner will then look at the economic issues... Blah..blah..blah...(5
minutes later and still no mention of the economic issues) This is a clear failure to
explain a major part of the case and attention should be drawn to it. Even better is
when a speaker starts with, to win this debate there are three things I must
do. If the speaker fails to do any of those things you can then hang her or him by
the noose by repeating their exact words by his or her own admission he or she
cannot have won the debate.
Rebuttal the whole:
It is very important to have a good perspective of the debate and to identify what
the key arguments are. It isnt enough to rebut a few random arguments here and
there. Of course the techniques used above are invaluable but they must be used
appropriately. There are a number of things you should do to systematically break
down a teams case:
1. Ask yourself how the other side have approached the case. Is their methodology
flawed?
2. Consider what tasks the other side set themselves (if any) and whether they have
in fact addressed these.
3. Consider what the general emphasis of the case is and what assumptions it
makes. Try to refute these.
4. Take the main arguments and do the same thing. It is not worth repeating a
point of rebuttal that has been used by someone else already, but you can refer to it
to show that the argument has not stood up. It is not necessary to correct every
example used. You wont have time and your aim is to show the other sides case to
be flawed in the key areas.

Sources

The information included in the document How to Debate was adapted from:

Kidd, A. (2002). The oxford union rough guide to debating. The English Speaking
Union. Retrieved August 26, 2002 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.britishdebate.com/resources/hb_oxfordguide.htm

BACK TO INDEX