DEBATE
A.
What is Debate?
Debating is a clash of arguments.What is challenging in debating
is that you will find strict rules of conduct and quite sophisticated
arguing techniques and you will
often be in a position where you will have to argue the opposite of what you
believe in. For any issue, there are always different sides of perspectives;
different story of why do people support or disagree with certain issues.
Debating seeks to explore the reasons behind each side. To make those reasons understandable and convincing,
you should deliver your arguments with
good communication skills.
Snieder (2008) believes that debating is about
change. In debating, you are constantly engaged in a struggle to better our
lives, our community, and our future. You should never be satisfied with the
status quo since something in our lives needs improving. Debate is the process
that determines how change should occur.
Research on debating evidences by Kraak Andre (2006)
advances that debate can be described as
a formal discussion where two opposing sides follow a set of agreed rules to
engage in an oral exchange of different points of view on an issue. Formal
debates are commonly seen in public meetings or legislative assemblies, where
individuals freely choose which side of an issue to support, and also in
schools or university competitions, where the participants are often assigned a
particular side for which to advocate.
B.
Why
Debate?
In
debate, you always need to hear both
sides of an opinion. Hear all of the information involved. Someone on the
other side may make you rethink your own opinion. Persuade you to change your
mind. In any case, it always stimulates your brain and causes you to form a
stronger opinion. Even when you change your mind and believe what the other
side thinks. The more information you
can gather, the better. It is important to see two sides of an argument. Also debate is essentially about persuasion
as most have an audience, so you need to be able to show that you have thought
enough about what you are saying to be able to defend that position from
someone of an alternative view.
Believing that debate
is a challenging and highly rewarding activity for most who become involved in
it, there are a full range of benefits associated with being on the debate
team. People debate for couple of reasons. Some think that debate is
fun. The vast majority of the tens of thousands of students who compete
in debate tournaments each year will tell you that debate is fun. The
experience is a little different from one to another, but generally the thrill
of competition, the teamwork,and the travel opportunities make debate fun. Debate is also about a teamwork. An
additional benefit of getting involved is building friendships with teammates
who enjoy similar interests. Debate also
trigger public speaking skills. This increases your chances of doing
well in important events such as interviews for jobs or scholarships. Debate
arms you with analytical skills
defined as the ability to critically
analyze a problem and propose workable solutions. This is a skill
that debate best teaches and high-level leaders and business people possess.
Research skills would be an invaluable skill you will gain in debate. This
covers traditional library research to the internet-based research. Excellence
in debate is listening and note taking
skills. Debate requires that you become a careful listener and good note
taker. This helps you to get and learn faster and understand better.
Many of successful people like
reputable lawyers, business executives, and elected leaders were involved in
debate, and for good reason. Simply put, debate-related skills help you
get ahead and stay there. The power to persuade is highly respected and
there is no better way to master this art than through debate.
