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Extensive Tips
Now that we’re finished with the brief overview of all speaker roles and
even the debate event itself, we must now move onto the more
comprehensive tips in debating. In this section, we are covering
everything from note-writing, logical fallacies and manner tips as well.
Speaking Confidently
I was very, very, very scared of my first debate. Not only was I
unprepared, I had limited knowledge on the ins and outs of debating
properly. I also had to switch my speaker role for the second and third
rounds, making me very uneasy. As a newbie scholar, I understand
your frustration. It’s very difficult to be good at debate in just a snap, in
fact, it’s impossible. However with practice and of course with faith in
yourself it’s always possible.
You cannot be good at something if you do not practice. The same
goes for artists and musicians. This is my piece of advice. If you do not
have anyone to debate against, watch the debate showcases online--
they were chosen for a reason. Secondly, you must be tough-- be firm in
your stance and your speech. Having a great aura would be good. I
definitely suggest creating this strong eye contact with other people,
and, of course (my favorite!) deadly footsteps. As a result, your team
will appear strong, bold, fearless, and confident.
My third piece of advice is to believe in yourself. You are new, so what?
Don’t let the fear get to you, it’s only a matter of time until you climb
the stage and become part of the debate showcase. Claim your
victories, and become inspired by your possible achievements. We all
know you can do it, so go for it! Good luck, scholars!
Bernice Zarzuela and Juan Lobien
Organizing your Notes
If you’re reading this section, you’re probably a scholar who does not
use his available device other than to research. When in debate, time
is sometimes your friend or your enemy; so your notes might not be
the best in mind at the moment, but it is still very important to
organise your notes in order to smooth throughout the debate.
So in the light of this, I don’t want you guys to experience the
horrendous mistake of not arranging your notes. Here are some
(hopefully) helpful tips to keep in mind.
1. First of all, remember to bring your materials; paper, writing
instrument, a gadget, and other things you can use. Last season,
I used a notebook specifically used for debates because I may
need some information from past debates, etc.
2. Next, if available, bring some highlighters or colored pens! And I
mean not just one, but two or even more! After writing down
your speech, it’ll definitely be helpful to color-code your notes!
You’ll be reading it a lot easier than before; and you might even
mistake an opponent’s point for your own!
3. Your handwriting is key! Honestly, as long as you understand
your own handwriting, you’ll be good. Along with this, please do
organise your notes (literally). If you have a big paper, please do
put said info in big paper. If you have a notebook, it’ll be helpful
to keep all the rebuttals, facts etc in a few pages together.
And that’s it! Many people find organising your notes easy, and even
more that it was quite unnecessary to make this section narrating just
note fixing. However, we will stick true to our goal of helping every
scholar, any scholar in need.
Still need help? Read on!
Martha Pinca
The Many Logical Fallacies (and how to avoid them)
Maybe you’ve gotten in a heated argument with a classmate about a
particular ideology that you have very contrasting sides upon. So what
do you probably do when you’ve been cornered? Well, I know what I
did. I insulted him. And actually, I was feeling pretty good about it; I
felt like I silenced the guy. But it only caused an impasse in the debate.
So apparently I was not supposed to do that.
Ad hominem, along with the many other logical fallacies are the topics
we will discuss in this section. In fact, since the list of these fallacies are
quite lengthy, please do read up on it, as we will be providing only a
short summary and an example to explain each fallacy.
Follow on the next page.
1. Ad hominem
“The first speaker of the negative side has previously and
willingly purchased overpriced items, so why should we trust
him that companies shouldn’t put a premium price on their
products?”
You are attacking the opposition instead of their arguments.
Instead of criticizing the speaker, instead, look for logical arguments
against his point. Instead, you can rebut his point by saying that
putting a premium price on products allows a premium image to be
established on that item, or that some companies place a premium on
their products because it is made out of expensive materials.
2. Straw Man Fallacy
“So you’re saying that we should put our time and resources into
revising this sentence instead of moving on?! That is such a waste”
The opposition attacks a point of view that is not your own.
This fallacy talks about when your opponent misrepresents or
over-simplifies your argument in a bad way (intentionally).
3. Bandwagon fallacy
“Majority of people believe that iPhones are better than Android
Phones; therefore, we should all use iPhones”
Simply because the majority has belief in the same ideology does
not make it applicable to everyone else.
This fallacy talks about when somebody brings a proposition that the
majority believes in but please remember, just because the majority
believes in it, it doesn’t automatically make it true.
4. Appeal to Authority fallacy
“Even though Jaclyn Hill’s lipsticks are contaminated with hair, I’ll still
use them because Jaclyn Hill said it is not contaminated and safe to
use.”
You are relying on a person only because of their authority.
This fallacy is when somebody relies too heavily on the opinion of a
single person because they are in authority.
5. False dilemma fallacy
“We can either order Chicken Joy from Jollibee or starve to death.
There is no other option.”
There are more than two possible outcomes.
This fallacy misleads by presenting two issues in terms of two
inherently different sides. Instead of acknowledging the spectrum of
possibilities and stances, this fallacy asserts that there are only two
outcomes.
6. Correlation/Causation fallacy
“My Youtube videos received barely any views during March but I
changed my profile picture in March as well. That means changing
my profile picture leads to me getting lower views.”
Just because B followed A, does not mean A caused B.
This fallacy misleads by when if two things appear to be correlated, it
doesn’t necessarily mean that one of the two things assertively caused
the other one.
7. Ad Populum
“What happened to your patriotic pride?”
You are appealing to emotion instead of presenting facts.
Instead of supporting your claim with facts, you appeal to the
collective emotions of “the people” or “the gallery”.
8. Red herring fallacy
“You say we should work alongside humans, but what about the
human who short-circuited my friend?”
You are distracting from the main topic.
That is unfortunate however it is irrelevant and quite unnecessary
from the topic of discussion.
9. Slippery slope
“If I cheat my diet today, I might cheat my diet again tomorrow. Then
it’ll happen over and over again.”
Extreme results would not happen from simply one event.
The first event would not necessarily lead to such a consequence.
10. Genetic Fallacy
“Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot trust German cars because of its
connection to their expertise in tanks during the second world war.”
You make arguments based solely on the origins of a person/object.
Please don’t do this. Of course you can make arguments based on a
person or object’s history, but make sure that the connection is
relevant and will actually strengthen your arguments. For example, I
would look into the history of German car manufacturers’ safety
instead of basing my argument based on Germany’s beliefs in the
past.
There are a LOT more fallacies than only these ten. Therefore we
recommend you to study more h
ere.
Richard Park, Bernice Zarzuela, Jacob de Jesus
Time Management
Scholars, now this I think is a pretty important skill and is one of the
expertise to our best debaters out there (shout out to Richard!). I
suggest creating your own schedule depending on your beliefs, but
here are just a couple of suggestions I have to make sure that you and
your team don’t fall short of time.
Group Understanding
Above is to ensure that one member understands the motion just in
case, because a word in a specific motion may have multiple
synonyms. I suggest you use your first one to two minutes on this to
expound more about the motion. This time can also be consumed
through giving roles, such as telling one group member to make
points and the other one to research to strengthen the points. Oh,
another tip, please try your best to add pre-buttals!
Teamwork is key, work together, relax, and everything will be alright.
Don’t just listen to your team, but you need to understand them. Don’t
make an excuse like “she’s so annoying!Why aIt’s your team’s case,
you can’t just have 3 individual works that are all different. Teamwork
is graded in the scoring sheet; your team might lose a debate thanks
to that. There is a reason why it’s called “Team Debate '' , you can’t just
ignore the fact that you're grouped with people who you’re not going
to communicate with.
Researching
Well, a team needs to research otherwise a debate is an opinionated
one (that’s bad, dear, and the other team could ask for some facts and
evidence). A portion of 1-2 research can be stated to guarantee that
the point is less likely to receive a rebuttal. Now this next thing I’m
gonna say is really critical and should be, at most times, avoided. If
time is running out and you still have to tell your team what you
found, you can make evidence up. That’s the best you can do, just in
case you lose time.
Group Expounding
A team definitely needs to talk about their points in the last 1-3
minutes of the debate. This is to avoid misunderstandings like, “omg
whyy are you supporting their point aaaaa i didn’t tell you that why did
you state that mamaaaa help meeeee!”. Anyways, even if you aren’t
able to expound, the best thing to do is to use the 1 minute gap. Do
not ever disturb another speaker while he or she is speaking.
Juan Lobien and Martha Pinca
Speaker Roles and Everything in Between
Once you’ve finished the general tips, it might be a lot more helpful for
you to expound your knowledge when it comes to the speaker roles!
First Speakers
Howdy! So you’ve decided you’ve got confidence and charm of a first
speaker eh? In celebration of that, here are some tips to help you out.
But first, let’s talk about what exactly is a first speaker? Well like it’s
mentioned above, a first speaker should be someone who lowers the
tension in the room and sets the team’s tone for the debate.
Furthermore, a good first speaker can make or break your team’s case.
That’s why it’s so important to be confident. You are capable of easing
the anxiety of your teammates as if a calming presence to them.
Define all the keywords of the motion.
○ In motions, there are certain keywords that may not be
easily understandable by context clues.
○ As the first speaker you have to make sure you put your
team’s arguments on the table. Now it’s not necessarily
your job to elaborate on those arguments however it does
lift up some burdens off your partners so be good to them.
Lay out the content of your debate case.
○ In order to provide a cohesive flow on your team’s debate,
it’s important to tell the adjudicator what exactly your team
is going to be talking about. We all know that you’re going
to be giving points to support your motion, so instead, tell
the adjudicator what specific aspects each team member
will be talking about (e.g. economic aspect, social impacts)
That’s all the important tips we can think of so good luck on your
debate journey, scholar!
Donnie Aumentado
Second Speaker
Ah, so I assume you wanna be the supportive friend. One advantage of
being a second speaker is that you can get a view of the opponent’s
case, you already know the opposition’s scope and limitation.
Therefore, you are (sort of) given the upper hand. Basically, the job of
the second speaker is to support the first speaker and rebut. They add
extra information, points, etc. The first speaker introduced everything,
and you can pick up where they left off. Whether you’re on the
affirmative or negative side, the jobs apply for both sides.
Support the first speaker.
○ Like what I said, you can add more information, important
details, etc. If there is a certain situation where the first
speaker did not clearly introduce your case, it’s your time to
shine. You may add more examples (real-life situations,
events, etc.) so that it seems like your points are valid,
especially if they are facts.
Rebut the opposition.
○ Listen to not only your team but the speeches of the people
who you’re against. They may have false information, weak
points, etc. And if you are really sure for a fact that they are
wrong, then go for it. Not every debate speech is perfect,
and if you can find that error in their case, that can make
your team win.
Make points of your own.
○ Second speakers are the grounded structures of the debate
and if not one of the most important yet underrated
speaker positions. Not only should you rebut and support
your team’s case, but it will also give you the upper hand if
you can make your own points, of course supported with
facts and evidence. In this way, you will be assisting both
your case and your third speaker in finalising your debate.
Thao Vy Nguyen
Third Speaker
The third speaker is basically the grand ending of the team. Great third
speakers end debates with a bang in their own unique ways. These
people are tasked with restating, adding to the points of the other two
speakers and rebutting any remaining points of the opposition. We
here at CSI want to help you become the best third speaker you can
be, so continue reading for a couple of tips on how to give your all in
debating!
First tip, and perhaps the most important: always check up and read
at least a summary of your teammate’s points. If you don’t have time
to do this, be sure to listen to their individual speeches— although this
may be a bit harder than seeing their points before the debate
preparation period ends. Similarly, be sure to listen closely and surely
to the opposition’s speeches. This will allow you to build points and
rebuttals of your own to contrast anything they’ve been saying.
Remember: as much as possible, not a single point from the
opposition should be left unaddressed.
Second tip, as the third speaker, you should ELEVATE the argument
of your team. In other words, even though bringing the other team’s
argument to the ground is very important, strengthening your team’s
points is equally crucial. You should only choose to rebut points that
are either unaddressed and that might bring the “lollipop” to your
team; or points that you can rebut in an extremely convincing manner
A.K.A your best rebuttals. You should make sure to repeat and add
more convincing evidence or reasoning to your team’s argument.
Third tip, time management. I myself as a third speaker had a lot of
trouble with time management. Third speakers usually make the
mistake of spending too much time on rebuttals. We recommend
spending half the time allotted to rebut and the other half to
strengthen your team’s case. In WSC, there are no rules about whether
or not third speakers can introduce a new point to the debate-this
totally depends on you and your team’s choice. However, if you are
familiar with Asian Parliamentary debates or other versions of formal
debates, you will know that outside of WSC, third speakers aren’t
allowed to introduce a new point. Though, again, this issue depends
completely on your choice and the debate’s situation.
Aimy Madayag, Thao Vy Nguyen
General Tips
If you’re done with the tips above or simply need the general overview,
then read on!
1. Listen. Always focus on the debate rather than doing unimportant
things (as of the moment), scrolling through WSC memes or stalking
your crush.
2. ALWAYS write down the motion as it's written! Your opposition can
point out if you butchered the wording of the motion and it can cost
you the debate.
3. Use your time strategically! Plan out your 15 minutes of time, this is
so important because you might struggle writing your own speeches
within 15 minutes; you could’ve possibly wasted the potentially great
opportunities where you could’ve written a great speech!
4. ENCOURAGE your teammates and even the opposition before they
start. This gives them the feeling that you trust them with their points
and arguments.
5. Read everything! Even before the program begins, read the
adjudicating guidelines to find out how they score you. Always aim for
the highest points so you could earn an extra medal! Furthermore,
read books, poetry and articles to heighten your vocabulary and
sentence construction skills. You can even bring up a book you’ve read
in a debate!
6. Talk to each-other! Communicate with your teammates, give the
websites you find to them rather than just showing it and moving on.
The judges score on the teamwork the team is showing, so keep that
in mind.
7. Use your speech role wisely! You all have to use your speaking roles
to your advantage. As a first speaker, set the foundation and the mood
strongly, giving you the attention you should’ve had from your
adjudicator. For the second speaker, always recite facts and set them
into the minds of your audience. The third speaker’s role is the easiest
yet the most daunting; convince your adjudicator to give you the win.
Give the good sides of your arguments and point out the flaws and
after-effects of what the opposition is offering.
8. Fake it ‘till you make it. If you have absolutely no faith in yourself,
just believe that you do! This creates the illusion that you actually have
faith in what you’re doing; so just continue that stride and you’ll get it!
CSI Team