The Ultimate Guide to Being a Good Debater

What makes a Good Debater?

What makes a good debater?

Is it your confidence? Your content? Your communication?

Yes, yes and yes — but it’s easier said than done, as one has to first understand not only how to do it, but also how even the simplest things could impact your audience and opponents, which is what this guide is here for.

As a student consistently participating in Model United Nation and World Scholar Club debates, even having gone to a Contemporary Law Summer Program, I can confidently tell you the most important things to do and recognize in a debate, starting off with 3 famous terms…

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Logos, Ethos, and Pathos

Anyone who has heard of the 3 terms above knows their importance to debate, and here’s what they are:

  • Logos: meaning logic, which can be done through deductive reasoning or reasonable judgment/evaluation.
  • Ethos: meaning credibility, which could be statistics by reliable sources.
  • Pathos, meaning sympathy, which could be achieved through personal, emotional stories that hold weight to the argument.

While you don’t necessarily have to use all three techniques in one speech, the ability to master and use one or two could greatly help you communicate with your audience. Being able to see how others use these terms might even allow you to know which points of your opponents’ to counter! But enough about the logistics, because it’d be all for nothing without a strong execution.

Confidence & Calmness

If you’ve ever had to present something to a large group of people, you might’ve been nervous. Your heart might’ve been pounding, you might be speaking too fast or too quiet, but that’s completely normal — what you need to be able to do, however, is to prevent people from thinking that you’re unsure or afraid, so confidence is key.

Myself – I often utilize deep breathing exercises to calm my nerves, and there are plenty of them to be found online, such as these ones, and they work for any circumstances of nervousness! Adding pauses to keep a good speaking speed alongside a combination of strong, confident body language could allow you to present yourself as calm and confident, even if you might not necessarily be so inside. This not only shows to others that you’re a formidable opponent but also draws attention towards the audience, which is exactly what you need for debate.

Conclusion

So I hope you’ve all learned to become better speakers, and I’d like to end this guide on a video shown to us when I was a Columbia’s Contemporary Law Course, which is a TED Talk video by Julian Treasure about all the points and tips to improve one’s public speaking skills and to attract others:

Video Citation: Treasure, Julian, TED. (June 27, 2014) “How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure.” 9:58, October 16th, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI

After this video and guide, try going out and talking to others! Practice & discuss with friends you might think could get help from this… good luck!

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