INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH DEBATE

What is debating?

Competitive debating is a fun activity akin to a game in which we examine ideas and policies with the aim of persuading people within an organised structure. It allows us to consider the world around us by thinking about different 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.

The Rules of British Parliamentary

In British Parliamentary, there are four teams of two speakers. Two of the teams (and hence four speakers) are on the government and two teams are on the opposition. The first two speakers on the government side are called the opening government, the first two on the opposition are called the opening opposition and similarly the last two speakers on the government and the opposition are called the closing government and the closing opposition respectively. Speeches alternate between the two sides, starting with the first government speech, and are usually up to either five or seven minutes in length. All the teams are trying to win the debate outright - this means that it is not the side which wins but a specific team. Hence, speakers within the same team cooperate but teams on the same side do not cooperate during the debate, and instead try to outmanoeuvre each other. The teams are then ranked first to fourth in the debate. Each of the teams has a specific role in the debate.

The Motion and Preparation Time

In British Parliamentary, the motion is announced fifteen minutes before the debate begins. Teams are assigned to positions in the debate randomly. The teams prepare during these fifteen minutes using their own knowledge and experience to create their case. Examples of motions include 'This House Would Introduce the Death Penalty' or 'This House Believes That Globalisation Marginalises the Poor'.

The Opening Government

The opening government presents the case for the government. Firstly, they must produce a definition: a policy or interpretation of the motion. The definition should be relevant to the motion and should not attempt to restrict or shift it to another debate. They must then present arguments in favour of the motion. The second government speaker must also rebut the opening opposition and explain why their arguments are wrong or irrelevant.

The Opening Opposition

The opening opposition presents the case for the opposition. To do this, they rebut the opening government and present arguments. They can choose to defend the status quo or present a counterproposal.

The Closing Government and Closing Opposition

Both of these teams must try to move the debate on, but must not contradict the opening team on their side. In particular, the closing government cannot change the definition. To move the debate on, they present new analysis of the debate either from a different viewpoint or by extending the arguments already made. The third speaker presents this 'extension' or new material as well as comprehensive rebuttal or all previous speakers on the opposite side. The last speeches on both sides are summary speeches: they summarise the debate and the clash between teams from a biased perspective in order to explain why their side has won the debate. Special emphasis should be made on why their team has won the debate. No new arguments may be presented in the summaries, although new examples and rebuttal are accepted.

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 

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An Introduction to Public Speaking

Public speaking, by definition, has been with us as long as spoken language.

Professional instruction in public speaking as a persuasive tool is slightly newer, but only slightly. Ancient Egyptians received formal training in speech, and by the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C.E. it was the default method of conflict resolution in Athenian Greece.

These days, we mostly think of speech as the purview of politicians. (Though in our internet age many politicians are just as likely to use a bullet-point list and a two-minute press conference to present their agenda.) But the reality is that any “speech” longer than a few sentences qualifies as a persuasive exercise, as long as you’re trying to convince someone other than yourself of some point or perspective.

A sales presentation in a boardroom is public speaking. So is a lengthy explanation at the bar of why Hank Aaron was a better hitter than Barry Bonds. (Though if you’re putting as much preparation into your baseball argument as you are into your sales pitch, you might need to adjust your priorities!) But the same fundamentals underlie both situations — and the better you are at them, the more convincing you’ll be in both cases, whether you’ve done extensive prep work or are improvising on the fly

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WELCOME TO ENGLISH DEBATE

THIS IS A WEBLOG FOR SAVING ENGLISH MATERIAL  ON ENGLISH DEBATE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WEBSITE IS FOR FACILITATING ENGLISH SPEAKING ESPECIALLY PUBLIC SPEAKING.