1. Meljorie Co
Intfilo(
)
12/4
The Debate Society’s team organized a talk for their guest speaker’s
to
show
and
share
what
debate
has
to
offer
for
the
youth
in
our
generation. Having to witness this kind of talk for the very first time is
an opportunity that I will forever remember. Obviously the guest speakers
are debaters who have a lot of experiences in debate field. They’re there
to share how spectacular and exciting to be part of a debate org. To
speak, teach & influence La Sallians about topics on how to identify a
good debate effectively not by just having a good argument but pursuing
truths not personal validation.
I’ve learned so much about debates and
willing to learn more about it. In the latter part of this paper I will
explain the things that I’ve realize and learned from the guest speakers &
on how much they’ve influenced me to the extent of me deciding to get back
on being part of a debate team again. While I was listening the debater’s
experiences when they were still in college, I suddenly became nostalgic
and remember my own story in debate team as well. I reminisce my good old
High school days, I remember the time my dad ask me to take up public
speaking & be part of our debate team. I can remember clearly without any
doubt that it was the single most important organization I’ve ever joined.
I’ve learned and realize a lot from the talk and able to contemplate my
experiences in debate as well. Also, one of the very reasons why I decided
to take up management course is because if we are an entrepreneur or
product manager, public speaking is a critical talent. And this is what I
want to improve for myself. My love for public speaking is indescribably
avid and I know I’ll excel to this field if I give my optimum best. Anyway
lets start to the very main point of this paper on the next paragraph.
First, we had a game in the beginning of the talk. Basically, the
game is about how well do we reason out. So it goes like this, they will
choose five representatives from the audience, for every person they will
show a random image from screen and that person will say anything like
random opening sentence defining that picture. Every time he defines the
picture the audience including the host/event organizers and the guest
speakers will keep on asking why until he runs out of reason. For example,
the image is a flying angel. The representative must define it or say
something about it like “Angels are a supernatural being or spirit, often

2. described in mortal form with feathered wings on their backs and halos”.
Next is, the crowd will ask him why? “Because….blablabla”. Then he’ll
eventually think of something to support his argument. Goes on and forth.
Fundamentally, the crowd will keep on throwing him whys right after each
end of the phrase that he says.
This mainly became the highlight of the
talk. Why is this important? I came up to the conclusion that the word
because is the most important word in debating.
Whatever point we make in
a debate, prove it by finishing the phrase using because, because only
then were points become clear and gain depth. And if were arguments have
more depth, than the ones were opponent has, we are likely to win a
debate. That simple.
Second, the game has a rule. It must not have redundant reasoning.
Meaning the things that the person should say must be related to the last
phrase
that
he
provided.
For
example,
continuing
the
argument
above.
“Angels are a supernatural being or spirit, often described in mortal form
with feathered wings on their backs and halos”. “Because according to the
bible, Psalm 8 & Hebrews 2 specifically, Angels are created beings but
spiritual beings that are created by God. For they serve the Lord where He
is, which is in Heaven.” Basically the reason is connected to the previous
phrase so correct reasoning I must say…so on and so forth. I’ve learned
that in order to have a good argumentwe must learn how to flow. Keeping a
steady flow of the points and the opposing points will help the person to
be prepared when he/she has limited time.
I remember the first time I
debated against someone from a school that was known for two things:
1.)
Talking very quickly and 2.) Giving so many points that the negative could
hardly keep up. It's imperative to keep a working flow as it goes along
because we have limited time to present each side.
Third, read as much as we can. Knowledge is ultimately what will help us
fight better with words. Choosing the right words is always the tough part
and having a strong general knowledge will help us sound more confident.
Nonetheless, people don’t actually care whether we are right or wrong
because
away.
figures,
facts,
and
statistics
are
not
provable
right
Therefore people will base their opinion on what they see: how sure
we sound, how evident things seem to be when they are said and whether we
go straight to the point or not. When throwing data, facts or figures, try
as much as we can to mention where we read/heard it... People who hear

3. that what we say was in the Harvard Business Review from October 2010 for
instance, are more likely to believe we than were opponent who is just
sharing something without actually telling where this come from: Giving
references to popular names such as TIMES, HBR, WS Journal, will always
make were opponent look stupid if he can't provide any reference.
Fourth, as mentioned earlier "Angels are mortals that are created by God"
is intriguingly uncertain. It basically highlights the fact that we don't
actually have to be right; we just have to prove the other wrong. And if
the other one is wrong, then to people's minds we are the one who's right.
Have confidence and passion to make sure we have some good ammunition.
People can bark louder than we, but make sure we have the facts straight.
One of the speakers mentioned one of her techniques in weakening the
opponent’s
arguments
is
to
provide
it
with
some
statistics,
facts
of
numbers. This she says gives a lot of credibility.
Fifth, we must practice a lot too.
Like watching out for any mistakes
(grammar, argument contradictions, false information) and correct them all
the time. There's always some benefit to it. It will either make us sound
like we know more of the subject, or tire the person. Tiring the person is
good because the person may give up sooner.
Last but not least, one other small tip: there are two magic number in all
public speaking, including debating, and those numbers are 3 and 5. Three,
because most people can remember a maximum of three things at once. If we
try and tell them more than three things, they will forget them. So don't
try
to
tell
them
more
things!
It
may
sound
formulaic
(heck,
it
is
formulaic), but everything should break down to three points. And five,
because people are forgetful, and we have to tell them what we are going
to say, then we tell them the three points, and then we tell them what we
just said. And if we're counting, that makes 1 + 3 + 1, which equals 5.
Let's give it a try: One sentence: "I'm against X because it's a, b and
c". One paragraph: "X is a serious problem, and here's why. It causes a.
It causes b. It causes c. And because it causes a, b & c, it's bad" One
page: Intro para, why x is bad, introducing points a, b & c. Para 2, all
about a. Para 3, all about b. Para 4, all about c. Para 5, recap a, b & c
and hit the reader over the head again. One book: we get the point.

4. All in all the very most important thing in having a good and effective
debate is whenever we go into any conversation with the mindset that there
is no right/wrong, good/bad, only different. We should keep an open mind
to be able to hear and understand both sides. That’s way, when we are on
either side of the argument, we can be more strategic and better prepared
to anticipate and overcome opposing views.