Ice cream or cake? Football or basketball? Beaches or mountains? No matter which side you support, you would need to formulate an argument to provide evidence as to why one is better than the other. This can be done through the structure of a debate. Debate and public speaking are valuable skills that prove to be beneficial for improving your communication abilities and gaining confidence. They are skills that can be utilized in both school and workplace settings throughout a variety of different discussions, and owls have the opportunity to hone their debate skills in iUP’s very own debate club.
Debate Club at iUP
The Debate Club at iUniversity Prep is a place where students can research a variety of intriguing topics to further their knowledge of different subjects while simultaneously learning how to develop arguments and defend them.
Meetings start off with a series of mini debates where questions are posed to students, such as “McDonald’s or Burger King?” or “Tennis or Pickleball?”. Students can then state their opinions in the chat and defend their answer with evidence that supports their claim. This kind of exercise is a simple yet engaging way to kick off the meetings and get students into the headspace for a debate!
For each debate, members of the club are divided into two teams: one affirmative and one negative. The affirmative team argues in favor of the debate topic, while the negative team argues against it. When given the opportunity to examine an issue from different perspectives, students have an increased understanding of the debate topic itself as well as different debate techniques.
Once students have been divided into teams, each team begins doing research separately. Over the course of the next few meetings, each team makes adequate preparations for the upcoming debate. During this time, they formulate their arguments, and each team chooses three speakers to represent their team during the debate. The first speaker of each team introduces the argument, the second speaker supports that argument and refutes the opposing team’s, and the third speaker summarizes its team’s argument and gives closing statements.
How Can Debate Help You?
Being part of the debate club offers a chance for students to practice a variety of different debate techniques and strategies, which help them hone their debate skills. This provides many benefits, such as allowing students to improve their speech and communication abilities. For example, this might come in handy in situations where advanced communication skills are required, such as during presentations or academic discussions. Remember all those times you were nervous about public speaking? Say no more. Debate club is the perfect opportunity to build your confidence, so you’ll never have to experience the awkwardness of forgetting your speech again.
Debate on College Applications
Yale Professor Minh A. Luong says that debate club can help “…develop essential academic, professional, and life skills,” so “colleges and employers are actively seeking these skills.” (Cambridge Debate Institute) Colleges often look for students who excel in debate and public speaking, as it ensures that they are strong communicators in that area. Therefore, joining a school debate club can prove to be beneficial when it comes to college applications and resumes as well.
In addition to this, students can also win scholarships through speech and debate tournaments. In fact, the National Speech and Debate Tournament offers $100,000+ in scholarships, and iUP’s debate club can provide you with valuable preparation for these competitions.
Student and Teacher Perspectives
Not only is debate club an enriching club with fun and exciting activities, but it can also positively affect student performance. iUP student Danny Hall says debate club “has done a good job reinforcing [his] confidence of public speaking along with refining those abilities.” He recommends debate club to other students because it “can help you seek out arguments from other perspectives,” and it is a place where you “can learn a great amount of skills that can help out a ton.”
iUP teacher Ms. Travis also makes a great point, stating that “debate club is a place where you can respectfully share your ideas, learn how to defend your thoughts, and make friends!”
Conclusion
Debate club is an amazing place for students to learn new speech and debate strategies and enhance their communication skills. They can refine their research, debate, and leadership skills, gain experience in debate, and meet other students who have an interest in debate-related activities. This makes debate club a great place for iUP owls to enjoy learning about the art of speech and debate, and make new friends while doing so! Sign up for the debate club today!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScEWHtMXioAHf-lhckEo3ecu7PZJwNuO_FQst_gXdfxvPmwcA/viewform
Works Cited:
“Benefits of Debate.” American Debate League, https://www.americandebateleague.org/benefits-of-debate.html#/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
“Scholarships.” National Speech & Debate Association, https://www.speechanddebate.org/scholarships/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
“Why Debate? —.” Cambridge Debate Institute, https://www.cambridgedebateinstitute.com/why-debate. Accessed 13 Apr. 2024.
