A lot of people associate a debate with two people who argue with each other. However, a public discussion is much more than exchanging of opposite arguments by people. It is the way individuals can demonstrate their point of view and support it with strong evidence. On average, college students are divided into groups that need to present a particular perspective on a problem. The classroom debate procedure forces students to conduct comprehensive research and prepare arguments that will help learners persuade the audience and the opposing team that their perspective is the only correct one.
Even though it seems like the process of preparation for a debate is simple and effortless, it turns into a nightmare for most learners. Students don't merely need to justify their position. They have to find a lot of persuasive standpoints that are backed up by credible sources. Moreover, they should do their best because the opposite team will also work hard on developing counter-arguments. In the post below, you will discover how to prepare for a debate competition effectively to win.
Brainstorm with Team
For starters, you need to start working together as one team to achieve success. The primary mistake of most undergraduates is that they often work as individuals who have the same goal. Instead, you should start working together to achieve success and win a debate. Learn to use the strong sides of all individuals and utilize them. Also, use the power of teamwork to achieve great results, especially if you don't know how to debate effectively.
The first thing you have to do after gathering your team is to understand the task. Feel free to let everyone share what they know about a topic. It will help you understand how much time you will be required to research. If some of your team members are good at an assignment debate question, they should lead your group and guide them during the preparation process. In case nobody is familiar with a topic, you have to brainstorm with your team. Create a list and write down all the ideas that will help develop strong arguments. Spend up to five minutes on this task.
Setting time limits is one of the debate tips that will become very helpful. As usual, teams are short on time, so they need to spend it wisely. Also, it can increase productivity so that you will be able to explore more materials and get prepared better. When the team brainstorming session is over, everyone has to spend five minutes coming up with new ideas separately. Brainstorming individually, a learner can conduct a self-journey and develop arguments that are not related to others. Also, they can come up with original ideas on how to win a debate in class.
Prepare and Evaluate Arguments
Next, you should develop strong arguments that will support your point of view. Finally, you need to analyze all the ideas generated during the brainstorming process and organize them. Note that you will be required to create a good and persuasive speech that comprises from seven to ten backed-up standpoints. It's recommended to discuss all the ideas with your team and pick the best ones together. If you can hardly choose the top arguments together, every member needs to flag the best ideas separately. This method is very helpful if you're short on time.
Note, it's not enough to choose the best points of view only. You also have to evaluate them. For starters, review the list and cross out interchangeable points of view. If some arguments look similar and deliver the same idea, you ought to erase one of them. A lot of students who don't know how to debate well think that emotionally presented viewpoints can help win in a debate. It's a huge misconception.
All the arguments have to be supported by evidence from trusted sources. Therefore, you should research thoroughly to find facts that verify your point of view. Good statements need to be backed up by academic publications, scientific data, statistics, etc. Your team should be armed with hard facts to win.
One of the best ways to examine the quality of your statements is to prepare counter-arguments. Work in a team to compose a list of strong viewpoints of an opposite team. Then, you need to make sure that your standpoints can discredit them. Otherwise, you ought to update your standpoints according to the developed counter-argument.
Compose your Speech Professionally
After gathering top-notch arguments that will help you win a debate, you must create a persuasive speech. In case you don't know how to prepare for a debate, remember that it has to comprise the following parts:
- Introduction.
- Topic definition.
- Arguments.
- Ending.