DEBATE TECHNIQUES
What is Debate?
Competitive debating is a fun movement much the same as a game where we look at thoughts and arrangements with the point of convincing individuals inside a sorted out structure. It enables us to think about our general surroundings by thinking about various arguments, engaging with opposing views and speaking strategically.
How do we debate?
In every debate there is a motion: a statement, idea or policy that is disputed and framed within the prefix 'This House'. Usually, the motion is either a policy which changes the status quo (e.g. This House Would Provide All Police Officers With Firearms) or a statement, the truth or falsehood of which is examined in the debate (e.g. This House Regrets the Decline of Marxism in Western Liberal Democracies). There are two sides to the debate: the government and the opposition. The government, also known as the proposition, supports the motion whilst the opposition opposes it. After the debate, the judges will decide which debaters were most persuasive.
What makes a good debater?
Typically, judges decide how persuasive debaters have been through three key criteria:
Content: What we say and the arguments and examples we use.
Style: How we say it and the language and voice we use.
Strategy: How well we engage with the topic, respond to other people's arguments and structure what we say.
How is the debate structured?
There are many different formats of debate, each with their own rules. The format we use in competitive debating is called British Parliamentary, as it resembles a debate in the British Parliament. This is not the format used for Thursday night Union debates but is the international standard for university-level competitive debating. That said, it is but one of many different debating formats and, like football, learning the rules doesn't teach you how to play it well. Once you have learned to debate in one format, it is very easy to convert to another.
Points of Information
During speeches, speakers on the opposite side may offer short points of rebuttal or questions to the speaker known as points of information. To do this, the speaker offering the point of information must stand and say 'On that point', 'On a point of information' or similar. They must then wait to see if the speaker speaking accepts or declines it. If accepted, the point of information can last up to around fifteen seconds and the speaker speaking may ask for it to stop at any point. Speakers should accept only one or two points of information and offer them regularly throughout other speeches. The first and the last minute of a speech is 'protected time', during which no points of information may be offered.
Adjudication
After the debate has finished, the judges evaluate the debate on the basis of the content, style and strategy of speeches. After comparing separate teams, they then rank the teams first to fourth. In open rounds, the teams are then given the result and reasons for the result. In closed rounds, the result is not given to teams.