How to improve your debating skills?

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Nov 23, 2023, 5:39 PM IST

Debating helps an individual expand their knowledge and develop different perspectives on a particular topic.It prepares the students for the future.

New Delhi (India), November 23: Many students get intimidated when it comes to debating. From the sidelines, it might look complex, but it is an easy craft to learn. The speakers must be confident and passionate about the topic they will speak about. Debating is not everyday work, but if one is well-skilled, it can add up a lot of value to personal and professional life. Like students seek persuasive essay help, the same can be sought for debating at www.myassignmenthelp.com

To put it simply, debating involves discussion over an issue or a policy. There can be two sides, one which supports and one that opposes. Debating helps in thinking from different perspectives, which is even more challenging. Through debating, one gets the idea of speaking strategically and improving public speaking skills. It helps create a persuasive argument, and one also gets to develop their personal views on various issues.

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Debating helps an individual expand their knowledge and develop different perspectives on a particular topic.It prepares the students for the future.

Below is a guide on the basics of debating:

Follow a debate structure:

The format of the debate can be different. To start with, a topic is chosen for discussion, which might also be called the motion. It can be on an idea, policy or a statement. One team supports the information, and one opposes the news. Each unit is allotted to prepare for the given motion, and both the parties put up their points well. The debate is then judged, and there is an audience to witness the discussion.

Role of the speaker

Debating is an essential skill in our daily life. It has many aspects and can help win political seats or negotiate new contracts. It also helps in personal development.

After contextualising the debate, get the team's interpretation of the topic. Then, the issues and the topics to be disagreed with should be discussed.
If required, then provide the definitions
Outline the team line and summarise how the pointers will be divided. List out the arguments
In case of any definitional issue, try and re-contextualize the debate. The disagreements must be handled immediately.
The speaker must clearly mention their statement.
Rebut the arguments. If there are any definitional issues, they must be resolved.
In the end, the speech must have a brief summary of the entire argument, both positive and negative.

Speakers should question themselves if their speech is confusing. Will the opposition misinterpret, and how much clarity should be there?

Speakers or students must try and find the latest happening that has led to a particular issue. Try to look and analyse the spirit of the motion. Is the definition produced well, and is it balanced? See if the topic is vague, then there will be choices or not.

A clear definition produces a good debate. Always explain the context used to form the purpose. Understanding any context might depend on factors like gender, culture, religion, etc.

Have a basic argument structure

Any case can be well divided into groups depending on the social, economic and political factors. The essential arguments must be placed first, and any claim must have a clear statement. Next, the evidence must support the claim, be it statistics, references, quotes etc.

Lastly, what is the impact of the evidence, and how does it help the claim in the best possible way.
The content is of prime importance what the debaters want to say and how are they putting up the arguments. How relevant is their opinion?
The style and manner of the speakers also matter, including the language and the tone. The structure of the speech needs to be defined well and must have a lot of clarity.

What are the skills required for debating?

There are essential skills required for debating; first of all, the points must be relevant to the topic. It must have evidence, a personal opinion should be kept aside, and objectivity must be maintained. Finally, the argument must be very logical and consider the audience's attention.

Be flexible in your approach as. You can quickly put a claim forward if there are any discrepancies. Jokes can at times backfire and might have dire consequences. Flexibility helps in overcoming views and placing the counterarguments well.

Speak clearly and in a concise way. Be fast enough to deliver the speech and slow enough to be well understood. Incorporate dramatic pauses, if any and try to emphasise important words and vary tones per the requirement.

The posture must be relaxed. Know your material well and avoid the filler words. Always maintain eye contact with the audience. The language must be simple to avoid any confusion.

There should be no room to alter the evidence, do not attack the speaker but the idea. Do not act offensively to the debater or the audience.

Public speaking is an essential part of the curriculum, and students should improve. Debating has a lot of practical application and helps students climb greater heights in their daily lives.

Apart from debate, students can also ask for scholarship essay help. Of late, many online experts have come up with helping students in all the subjects along with co-curricular skills. Many online tools have made learning easy and efficient for students. There are more options to choose from, and the subject experts offer a lot of online support.

Debating is a skill that can be well acquired with a bit of effort. However, it needs regular practice and abilities. The blog explores and presents the various ways one can groom well and get acquainted with the golden rule of debating.

Author Bio: Samantha Gomes is a research analyst at the University of California. She is also a part of Myassignmenthelp.com and helps students meet their educational goals. Sarah feels a lot for different causes and is also associated with an NGO. In her free time, she likes to swim and go travelling.

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