A bespoke presentation for the Toastmasters of Mcgraw Hill Financial on the difference between speaking and debating and its impact on speech-writing.

1. Debating for Toastmasters
The difference between speaking and debating
27th November 2014
Tony Koutsoumbos

2. Why it matters
• Non-sales professionals account for 90% of the workforce and spend
40% of their time convincing other people to give them something they
need (support, advice, resources) in exchange for something they have –
what communications expert Dan Pink refers to as non-sales sales.
• Speaker clubs and debate clubs exist to help us become better
communicators, but focus on two very different sets of skills when in
reality we need both.

3. Speaking v Debating
Speaking Debating

4. What’s the difference?
Speaker
• Talks about a topic.
• Monologue.
• Aims to make the audience like
them whether they agree with
them or not.
Debater
• Proposes or opposes a motion.
• Dialogue.
• Aims to make the audience agree
with them whether they like them
or not.

5. How this affects the way they speak
Speaker
• Tells stories and shares personal
experience.
• Engages the audience with eye
contact, body language, and tone of
voice.
• Uses rhetorical devices (rule of three,
apophasis, paradox etc.) to persuade
their audience.
Debater
• Advances arguments and presents
evidence.
• Engages the opposition with rebuttal
and cross-examination.
• Exposes the use of rhetorical devices
to cover up a flawed argument.

6. Case study
Scottish Independence Debates
• In the Summer of 2014, Alex Salmond of the Yes Campaign and Alistair Darling of the
No Campaign contested two live TV debates on the question of Scottish Independence.
• An opinion poll asked voters who they most liked and agreed with after each debate and
who they thought had won.
• In the first debate, Alex Salmond came across as a great speaker, but a poor debater, and
Alistair Darling vice versa. So, in the second debate, Salmond made much more of an
effort to engage with Darling’s arguments, as well as his audience.
• Take a look at the results on the next page…

7. The results
Debate 1
Like Agree Support
Salmond 47 40 37
Darling 32 51 44
Unknown 14 9 15
Debate 2
Like Agree Support
Salmond 54 56 65
Darling 32 36 26
Unknown 14 8 9

8. Conclusion
1. A debater who nobody likes is more persuasive than a speaker who
nobody agrees with.
2. A speaker who can engage with an argument as well as they engage
with their audience is unbeatable.
3. It is perfectly possible to do both.

9. How?
The IDEAS methodology
• Think like a debater and talk like
a speaker.
• Combine stories with evidence.
• Deploy rhetorical devices in
addition to logical arguments, not
in place of them.
• Introduce
• Define
• Explain
• Analyse
• Summarise

10. Want to know more?
See Tony K – The Debate Coach
www.debate-training.co.uk