UCDC Puts on Workshop: “The Art of Debate”
|
|
On July 18, 2009, UCDC with the help of UCSS wanted to give an insight idea of “The Art of Debate” to all UC students.
“We put this workshop together because we feel that many of us have lack of confidence in speaking,” stated Mr. Tim Vutha. “We want everyone here at UC to become a good debater,” he adds.
Making the opening remarks, Mr. Bandol Lim, Chairman of the event and Director of ALC, asked everyone the question, “What is debate?” |
No one really understood what the idea of debate is. “Most people think debate is about winning and losing. But it’s not. It’s an argument, for or against, on a certain topic. It’s not just black and white,” stated Mr. Lim.
People don’t realize that when they debate, there’s a difference between being arrogance and confidence. “We understand that you want to learn to be more confident, but don’t show off. You need to learn how to support your argument with evidence,” added Mr. Lim.
You have to think about the evidence. That’s the most important part of a debate. You are not just trying to convince your opponent, but you are also trying to convince the judges too.
Mr. Lim added three main points that students should consider
when in a debate.
1. Learn to be part of a team
2. Everyone has to do their homework/research
3. Don’t talk too much. It leaves room for mistakes, which others could catch and
use against you.
In a debate, you have to realize that “there’s the truth, but there’s no absolute truth. It’s about what you can prove. When there’s a statement, there’s always a counter remark,” stated Mr. Lim.
When you find that gap, you can always find a way to prove that the opponent’s statement is incorrect. Remember to understand the opponent’s argument. “Every argument has an assumption. Figure out what that is and you can break that argument. That is the true success of debate,” remarked Mr. Lim.
Continuing on the topic of debate, Mr. Chheang Vannarith, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, spoke about the structure of a debate.
“There are two groups that will debate to defend their ideas,
a pro and con side. Each group has four members in which one
member of each side is a note taker. He or she can not present
their ideas until the question and answer part.”
First stage: Opening Statements
Pro side will make a statement on the topic. Then
con side will make an opening statement too. Each person will
have 4 minutes to make their argument. For this stage a total of
24 minutes is spent on learning about the topic each side is
presenting to us.
Second Stage: Q&A
After each side has made their arguments, each side will be able to asks questions and provide answers. Each person has 90 seconds to make a response. The Q&A session will last for 10 minutes.
Third Stage: Closing Statement
One representative from both sides will conclude on the argumentative topic idea. Each side has 3 minutes to state their final points. This time the Con side will present first, then the Pro side.
The total debate process will take 40 minutes.
After all this, keep in mind that debate is not about debating against the other person. You are trying to defeat the topic, the point that you are trying to get across to everyone.
“The main point about debate is to be persuasive. It’s not just about presenting the evidence. The secret about debate is to ask questions. That’s the most powerful tool,” stated Mr. Lim.
Some people think that the main benefit about debate is to
win. But, there’s more to debate than just winning. Some people
participate in debate to boost confidence. Others do it just for
fun, or in other words to try to convince people to listen to
their point, also known as persuasive debate.
Debate prepares you for the future. In everyday life, you will face debate.
“Everything depends on you,” says Mr. Vannarith.
For more information on debate, you can attend a UCDC meeting every Sunday from 9am-11am.