The year I first broke in debate was my third year competing. My previous two years of competition had been my formative years of speaking, and I was ready to break through. But I needed a push; I needed to start earlier!
Organized practice debating pushed me across the finish line.
This coming debate season, make the pledge: No more first tournament icebreaking.
If you’re a young debater or are having trouble breaking, you should consider practicing debate in the fall (months before the first tournament) as much as possible…
There are a number of reasons to start early, when it comes to speech and debate:
- Rust Removal
Too many debaters use the year’s first tournament as an introduction to the season when that should have occurred months ago. As a result, at that first tournament, debaters are rusty and unconfident speakers. They seem flustered doing things that happen multiple times in every debate, such as reading evidence.
The reason this is the case is simple: They haven’t debated (in earnest) since last June! All skills need upkeep, and even a few months of inattention will produce a lack of sharpness. Additionally, debaters are discussing a brand new resolution whose possibilities have not even begun to be explored.
These situations are a detriment to debate fundamentals and a distraction from the debate structure. It’s difficult to think out a four-point refutation at the table if you’re unsure you can read your source’s name correctly at the podium.
So much of what prevents people from getting better at public speaking is fear, which is driven partly by the unknown. You can’t eliminate all unknowns, but you can limit them.
Participating in weekly debates during the months of September to December accomplishes that. It will allow you to feel confident in the basics and develop your skills further to become the speaker you want to be.
Any debate coach worth his salt will tell you that, when it comes to learning debate, nothing is a substitute for actually debating. So don’t pay lip service to that advice, do it.
- Research and Understanding Boost
As a result of practice debates during the fall months, your research and understanding of the resolution will skyrocket.
The research part is obvious. The more debating you force yourself to do, the more research you’ll accumulate. But in addition to this, the understanding you’ll gain will be immense. Here’s just one example (with a TP bent, sorry LDers): Affirmative cases.
It always amazes me to see Affirmative teams who know little to nothing about their case the first several tournaments. These teams see the first several tournaments as a chance to experiment with cases and so, therefore, come in unprepared. These teams miss an essential fact: There’s no reason why you shouldn’t already have a decent idea of what cases you like or don’t like. Discovering this comes through experimentation.
During several of my competition years, there were cases I liked at first glance and only later discovered that they weren’t as good as I thought. The problem is it’s challenging to change cases in April. If you use your fall months to cross off cases you don’t like rather than the beginning of tournament season, you’ll be way ahead of the curve.
- Impact: Success
Finally, an anecdote. In my last year of competing in high school debate, a friend was intensely focused on improving his debate skills. During the fall, months before the first tournament, he had as many as three weekly debates. His dedication paid off in a big way with plenty of success throughout the year, eventually placing 4th place at Nationals.
To be clear: This is insane; I don’t recommend you schedule 10+ debates per month and expect the same success. But I do emphasize the importance of steady improvement throughout the year rather than jamming learning into a handful of months.
Because while you might not place 4th at Nationals, you will certainly see significant improvement.
In short, during that first tournament, instead of being nervous, you’ll be ready to jump in head first. This applies to speech, as well! Are you ready to jump in?
– Lasting Impact! is a proud sponsor of Ziggy Online Debates (ziggydebate.com)! We, too are looking at ways to help grow your skills! Be on the look out for these opportunities in the 2022-23 Season!
Coach Brendan is a new Lasting Impact! Coach, he coaches Team Policy and would love to connect with you or your student! Schedule a coaching call with him today!
For kids ages 10-14 we are offering Debate Readiness STARTING THIS WEEK! Head to the SHOP and see all the clubs we are offering this fall!
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