What is debate? It
should be the first question that we should be able to answer it!
Debate means a formal discussion on a particular topic in a
public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are put forward.
In simplified words, a debate is a discussion that happens between two people,
two different sides or viewpoints. One person or side speaks for the topic and
the other person or side speaks against the topic.
The goal of authentic debate is the search for the truth; we
are trying to find the best answer, it is an intelligent argument over a
statement where you put forward your views.
Debate is not about making the other person look bad nor is
trying to make yourself sound smart, debate is about comparing and contrasting the
ideas.
It’s important to remember every time we debate, we are not
arguing with the other person across the table, we are talking about the ideas,
and that makes it a lot easier because when somebody says I disagree with you, they
are not saying I don’t like you, Instead it means I think the idea which you
have is wrong and here are reasons why I think that idea is wrong. It is same
as a cricket match, I hit the ball of other team, it doesn’t mean I don’t like him;
it is because he is on the other team and it’s just part of the game. We have to
think of debate in the same way that we are not out to get the other team but
we are out to get the idea which our team is trying to bring up.
Difference between
Quarrel and Debate:
Quarrel makes a fight or a brawl, think about the argument
with your parents, Let’s consider the following example: our parents say NO,
you can’t go that movie, we say YES I want to, they say NO, you say YES I want
to and it will go just back and forth. Usually the ultimate reasons our parents
say we can’t go to movies is lot of times is because, “Well I am the parent,
and I am the boss” end of story. All you are doing is going back and forth and
saying YES, NO, YES, NO, but you are not actually getting anywhere in the
discussion, that’s just a quarrel.
If you are having a rational argument, and say here is the
reason why I think we should go for this movie or maybe I think this is why we
should go to this place for vacation as a family, and your mom, your dad or siblings
says I think we should go to this place and here’s my reason, suddenly we are
not quarrelling or we are not just say I want my way, you want your way. But
the difference is now we are actually trying to come to an agreement where we
can be happy about it. It’s called debate.
Why should you debate?
We should try to figure out how to get up in front of any
group of people and be able to share the things that we think are important,
and that’s a key skill we could have in our lives. So learning how to talk to
any audience no matter what that audience wants to hear from us is really
valuable skill.
What are the things
debate will teach you?
There are bunch of skills you are going to learn while
debating, you will learn to research, you will learn to write as an asset, you
will learn to think critically, you will be more informed, and you will be
comfortable arguing with people in class, your family or anybody else. You will
learn logic of conversation and art of persuasion, so you will know whether or
not the thing said by someone is making sense.
You are going to build confidence; you will be comfortable
standing up in front of any group of people and finally you will have fun.
Debate is going to be fun may not sound right as there are other things too.
In reality debate is a
lot of fun, you get to test out your mental strength and whether or not your
mind is as strong as your leg and you get to test it out against other people
in really friendly environment. The most important thing is that you will learn
is to formulate words to convince other people about the things you believe in and
in conclusion you learn the art of arguing without quarrelling.
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