Debate time is approaching and you don’t know how to prepare? Will you base your arguments on what you find on the Internet? Here we give you five tips so that you not only win, but also learn from this confrontation of ideas.
The time has come to stand up in front of your class and present your ideas regarding a controversial topic. But you are not alone. Nearby, you will have a partner who will have a different opinion of you and will seek to impose his point of view Law Tutoring. Debates are very intense situations that can even get out of our hands.
Faced with this confrontation, it is important to be well prepared. For Álvaro Gastañadui, a Law student and coach of the Debate Club, this type of activities encourages your free thinking.
“You will have receivers who will be more critical when judging the veracity of news. Therefore, they will demand better quality of information”, he assures.
To avoid a bad moment, we give you five basic tips to face a debate in the best possible way. Thus, not only will you be able to win it, but you will learn from this exchange of positions.
1. Prepare and read
Without a proper search for sources, your arguments will be weak and easy to refute. Therefore, search for reliable sources, read them thoroughly and enrich your position with the best of each one. The more sources, the more approaches you will have to live up to a motion.
2. Structure your arguments
Now that you have all your ideas clear, it’s time to put them in order. If you want your speech to not lose strength, put together a structure with the order in which you want to say things. This way, your argument will be solid and you will not leave loose ends for your opponent to refute.
3. Analogies: The secret ingredient
Do not fall for arguments that everyone knows because they are the easiest to refute. For this reason, Álvaro Gastañadui assures that analogies are key to a powerful speech. “What they allow you to do is develop more complex and elaborate positions. For that, you need to be creative and open your perspective to something greater ” , he comments.
4. Conquer your fears
For Álvaro Gastañadui, this is a crucial point when starting a debate. “Maybe a lot of people are going to laugh, but they haven’t had the courage to stand where the speaker is” , he says. Shame or fear of ridicule are natural. The important thing is to overcome these fears so that your nerves do not work against you when debating.
5. Coordinate with your colleagues
If you are going to participate in a team debate, it is essential that you coordinate with your classmates before starting. In this way, you will know what their arguments are and you will have the possibility of supporting them and strengthening your position on the thesis to be discussed.
An additional tip
6. Think before you act
We know that in debates there are many emotions, even more so if several points of view conflict. Therefore, breathe a little and don’t get carried away by your impulses. Remember that the debate must be constructive.