Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club
http://www.tilburyhouse.prv.pl e-mail: martynait@gmail.com
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club
• Today’s Goals: Learning the BPS Tips about the positions
Public Speaking basic tips Facing Fear & enjoying it
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club What is Debating?
• Structured argument • two sides speak alternately for and against a particular contention usually based on a topical issue • each person is allocated a time they are allowed to speak for, and any interjections are carefully controlled • being forced to argue against your natural point of view you realize that arguments, like coins, always have two sides.
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club Why Debating?
Debating allows the act of speaking in public in a confident and persuasive manner to become a second nature. It teaches you how to construct and explain arguments and how to think quickly on your feet when you need to defend them. It teaches you how to listen carefully to what others say and structure their ideas in your head, even when they have not structured them in theirs.
It also teaches you to listen critically so that you spot the flaws in what someone is saying just after they say it, not the next day.
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club • AGENDA: – I. BPS •
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I.1 The System I.2 The Motion I.3 POIs
– II. The Roles •
II.1 Fulfilling your Role
– III. Face the Fear
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club • I. British Parliamentary Style – This is the format used on Intervarsity debating
competitions and the World Debating Championships and also at student-only debates which take place throughout universities. – Speakers have only 15 minutes between hearing the motion and starting the debate to prepare what they say.
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club •
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I.1 The System
If the competition is for teams (pairs), then there will be two teams on each side (first Prop, second Prop, first Opp, second Opp) who are not allowed to collaborate during preparation.
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club After 15 minutes
preparation time each speaker delivers a 5minute speech. The order of the speeches is as the arrows show Points of information can be offered between the first and last minutes of any speech by members of the opposite team.
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club The debates are
adjudicated by a panel of judges (usually three) who place the teams from 1-4 and award marks to each individual speaker. Usually marks are awarded for style, content and strategy.
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club • I.2 The Motion • A motion always starts with “This House ...” and proposes
what this House stands for. Thus the proposition always speaks in favour of the motion. • A motion can either be explicit ("This House would bring back hanging.”) or not so clearly defined ("This House resolves that we should wait and see.”). • It is the task of the first speaker of the first proposition team to – Link the motion to a specific case – mostly a law or bill – Establish a clash that makes for a good (i.e. controversial) debate
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club The definition of the motion may not be to
obscure, this means that specialist knowledge should not be required to understand and argue it A good rule of thumb is to ask, could a student who regularly reads a quality newspaper be expected to know about this If you decide to tie yourself down to a particular geographical area, this should be because the issue is of wider relevance (eg North Korea, Iraq), not because no one else will know about it (eg traffic laws in Burkina Faso).
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club From the Motion to the Case (status controversiae): Closed motion = Case Open Motion:
Define the motion: 1st Prop must define all terms of the motion: form your case out of the motion. “This House would skip debating” Define “skip” and “debating”. Debating ≈ discussing important issues e.g. done in parliament debating ≈ parliament Skip ≈ leave out ≈ abolish Case: This House would abolish parliament.
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club • I.3 POIs • During a speech by the other side of the house you may offer a
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point of information (POI) by standing up and saying “Point of Information” or “On this point”. Do not put information into the offer (e.g., “On the victims rights.”)! POIs keep the debate vibrant and challenge the speaking debater. The speaker does not need to take every POI offered, but should take at least one. It is not wise taking more than two. Bring POI that go to the heart of an argument. Do not offer the same POI twice. One argument = max. one POI. Points of information may only be given in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th minute of a speech!
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club • Announce structure of you speech • Rebuttal • Start your proper line of argumentation • Follow the structure you have announced • Take and respond to one or two points of information
• End your argumentation • Briefly sum up your speech
No POIs
Points of Information allowed
No POIs
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club
• II. The Roles – You do not just stand up and speak in favour or
against the case – there’s more to it! – 8 different positions at the table, each one represents a different role – You need to internalise your side of the debate and your position at the table – Adjudicators will be asking themselves, how has the speaker fulfilled his/her role?
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club Preparation time Depending on the role you have either more or less prep
time:
Prep time = [(Position no. - 1)*5minutes]+15 minutes
How can I use this time properly?
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club II. 1 Fulfilling your role
1st PROPOSITION: 1st Speaker:
Feels comfortable with the case must define the motion and justify it must outline the case his team will put forward and explain which speaker is going to deal with which arguments Should then develop his own arguments and finish by summarising his main points
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 1st PROPOSITION: 2nd Speaker:
should re-cap the team line then rebut the response made by the first opp speaker to his partner’s speech then develop his own arguments and finish with a summary of the whole prop case
Enhances his partner, doesn’t repeat him! Treats new areas, brings new arguments
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 1st OPPOSITION: 1st Speaker:
must respond to the definition mentioning whether it is fair and makes a reasonable link to the motion. Re-define is risky and should only be done when the definition is not debatable. Usually it is better to complain a little and hope the adjudicator gives you credit must rebut the first prop speech
Own arguments, counter-case, better do nothing, not always 180
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 1st OPPOSITION: 2nd Speaker:
Same as 2nd Speaker of the other side… Continue with the same strategy as his partner, the 2nd speaker should very much follow this lead (counter case, do nothing, whatever) If countercase, summarize at end of speech!
Enhances his partner, doesn’t repeat him! Treats new areas, brings new arguments
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 2nd PROPOSITION: 1st (3rd) Speaker: Expand or deepen the debate rather than extend it with a new case. To expand means: to take the debate into a new area, introduce a couple of new arguments which make the case on his side more persuasive To deepen means: simply tidy up what has gone before into a more organised case and show how that rebuts what the opp side have said Depends on the scenario, BUT ALWAYS add something constructive to the debate or you will be penalised
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 2nd PROPOSITION: 2nd (4th) Speaker:
may briefly add to what his partner has said, but should fairly quickly get round to summing up the debate for his side This involves going through the whole debate to show why the prop side has won go through the debate according to the main points of contention (this is the most persuasive way, but it is vital you have understood the debate and prioritise the issues accordingly) good idea: finish by summarising the main reason why your side has won.
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 2nd OPPOSITION: 1st (3rd) Speaker: very similar to the second prop team’s role . View things from a different angle; in a hitherto philosophical debate you may dwell on practical issues and vice versa Dwell on the framework, the fundamentals and underpinnings that affect the case. If the 1st Prop (Opp) has been bad in fulfilling its role, the 2nd Prop (Opp) has to provide the arguments that should have been brought by the 1st Prop (Opp)
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club 2nd OPPOSITION: 2nd (4th) Speaker:
must devote their whole speech to summing up and should not introduce new material!!! only provide new examples/reasons to already mentioned points Identify key points, show why your side (especially your team) is right and that you delivered the decisive points
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Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club Proposition 1st Speaker • Defines the case and sets the debate • Starts the 1st team’s argumentation 2nd Speaker • Rebuts • Continues the prop’s case 1st Speaker • Rebuts • Expands or deepens the debate and views things from a different angle 2nd Speaker • Sums up the whole debate • Weighs up the arguments
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1st Speaker • Opens the opposition’s case by opposing the problem or the policy or both 2nd Speaker • Rebuts • Continues the opp’s case 1st Speaker • Rebuts expansion • Views things from a different angle 2nd Speaker • Sums up the whole debate • No new arguments! • Weighs up the arguments
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club
3 ways to counter an argument AA
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A is wrong / There is no problem
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A is right but irrelevant / The problem is valid but irrelevant
BB AA
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A is right, but less important than B
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club What is a good speech? You have to say what you want to say People have to understand what you want to say Choose the best way to say what you want to say
Structure in the back with style on top of it a) Structure of speech & argument 40% b) Style – basic debating skill 30% c)
Content 30%
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club a) Structure of speech: – Introduction: rebuttal (negative content) announce the structure – Argumentation: 2 to 4 areas
Problem-Outcome-Policy-Structure pattern – Short summary
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club • Structure of an argument: name explain illustrate Abstract / Concept
Explanation
Concrete/ Example
Line of argumentation
Democracy Freedom Equality Efficiency
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Money, Security, health, family, spiritual fulfillment, things, job
Every argument should start with n concept that needs to be linked to specific things that people care about Example: No one wants “democracy”, but everybody wants security, money and a job, which are provided by democracy
Tilbury House Warsaw Debating Club In a nutshell 1 Judge | 2 Sides | 4 Teams | 8 Speakers The topic of the debate is announced 15 minutes prior to the debate Each speaker gets a team and side assigned. Each position has its tasks Each speaker has 5 minutes of speech Points of information may be given between the 2nd and 4th minute Judging Criteria:
POI
Style Structure Content