Ron Bratt explores some easy ways to lose a debate.

1. The Easiest Ways to
Lose a Debate
Ron Bratt

2. Using ad hominem
attacks
One of the easiest ways to derail your debate performance is to retreat into ad
hominem arguments, or irrelevant attacks on your opponent’s character that stray
from the main debate topic.
These attacks may seem like a potent form of mental warfare through which to
knock your opponent off balance, but in reality they are usually interpreted as
beacons of insecurity and poor preparation, and a strong opponent will exploit
them and back you into a corner by simply staying on topic.

3. Falling back on
tradition
It is not enough to present a strong argument or cross-analysis; in most cases, you must
back up your claims with credible sources. Therefore, you should strive to cite
arguments as efficiently and accurately as possible, and this means refraining from
appealing to tradition.
. Injecting potentially ambiguous or subjective claims into a debate will only leave you
open to the inverse of such logic: that many other people, possibly even your opponent,
do not identify with such traditions or beliefs, and therefore their place in the debate is
probably invalid — unless of course you are content with a guaranteed ideological
stalemate.

4. Being too
self-deprecating
In certain debate situations, mainly those preceding a public vote, a small amount of
self-deprecation can go a long way in winning over your audience. However, regardless
of the debate at hand, be sure to keep this habit in check.
Too much self-deprecation might make you appear uneasy and low on self-confidence,
and it can quickly undermine your credibility as a rhetorician. You do not want to give
your opponent this type of momentum, so maintain a strong balance of outward
assertiveness and inward modesty.

5. Making up
information
Making up information and/or creating conspiracies is never okay in a debate. This
habit sometimes rears its head in moments of psychological desperation, when a
debater is caught off-balance and without a quick comeback, but it can be hard to undo
once it occurs (and most likely stains your entire performance).
It is important to identify the signs of this impulse before they are able to break loose;
the main one being a general feeling of irrational hostility toward an opposing
argument, or in an entire community or concept fueling an opposing source (an entire
scientific community, for instance). Assume that facts are facts and do your best to stay
on topic — even when you feel hopelessly cornered. Do not give up, but remember that
it is better to have your rhetoric outwitted than laughed at.