Coaching Schools Debating Christopher Bishop & Stephen Whittington Tuesday 25 February

The First Four Things 1.Welcome 2.There are no natural debaters 3.Debating is meant to be fun…always 4.Ask questions

The golden rule Debating is 95% science and 5% art. So focus on the rules that will work in 95% of cases. Everything that can have a rule should have a rule. These are up to you. – Prep technique – Rebuttal vs substantive – Argument structure

Rule number 1 Debaters can only work on improving 2-3 things at a time. The coach’s job is to work out which is the most important.

Rule number 2 Treat it like a sport: some things are not optional – Having a clear definition (if affirmative) – Team line and team split – Rebuttal – Having a considered introduction and conclusion – Using examples

Rule number 3 Focus on potential ‘debating’ improvements not ‘debate’ improvements – Immersion therapy: lots of debates – Manner matters Let debaters explain themselves – up to a point

Rule number 4 Letting people self-criticise (aka as coaching for lazy people) – The best and worst thing – The copycat exercise – The most likely thing

Rule number 5 Focus on team improvements, rather than just individual improvements – Practice prep sessions – Two on two debates – POI Game – 1 st speaker speeches – Argument structure – Video watching

Rule number 6 Focus on developing your team’s impromptu preparation technique. – Who is in charge? – What is the schedule? Brainstorm individually Discuss and group together arguments Decide on definition/team line/split Develop material individually Discuss at end and check speeches 3 rd speakers: rebuttal role

Rule number 7 Preparation (usually) pays off – Assigned topic areas – News programmes – Case preps – The Economist, The Atlantic, Slate.com, HuffPo, Foreign Affairs, etc. – Debating videos

Questions