Debater

“ To accomplish these purposes as far as is possible by action, a debater should come close to his audience, having every appearance of being glad that he is to speak and confident in the strength of the side that he is to uphold. ”

“ The end of the discussion has been reached, and the debater, if his preparation has been in accordance with the principles which we have considered, has put forth his best efforts. All the weeks or months of preparation must now be crystalized into one final effort, and the speaker must realize his own responsibility. He should feel sure that his cause will triumph, and the fire and vigor of his delivery must manifest this fact to the audience. He should remember that he is fighting for principles of right which are eternal. ”

“ Each debater may or may not begin his speech with refutation, but he should always begin his main argument with a terse, clear summary of what has been said on his side, and in closing he should not only summarize his own arguments, but he should also give again, in very brief form, the gist of what has been proved by his colleagues. In addition, any speaker except the last one on each side, may, if he thinks best, give an outline of the argument to follow. In making these summaries, a debater must always avoid stating them in so bald and crude a form as to make them monotonous and offensive. ”

“ The masterly debater never rose to heights of eloquence. His thorough and practical mind enabled him to study, sift, and give form and substance to the broad political and economic conceptions of more idealistic men. ”

“ Another important principle in the matter of position requires that a debater shall keep his eyes fixed on his audience. He must not look at the floor, at the ceiling, or at the walls. He must look at the people he would convince. ”

“ CHAPTER V DEBATING
60. The Nature of Debate. The essential difference between debate and written argument lies not so much in the natural difference between all spoken and written discourse as in the fact that in a debate of any kind there is the chance for an immediate answer to an opponent. Quickness of wit to see the weak points on the other side, readiness in attacking them, and resource in defending one's own points make the debater, as distinguished from the man who, if he be given plenty of time, can make a formidable and weighty argument in writing. ”

“ The keynote of effective rebuttal is keen attention to the opposing argument.
2. Selecting the arguments to be refuted. No attempt should be made to refute everything which the opposing speaker presents. In breaking a chain it is just as effective to break one link as it is to break every link. The successful debater must analyze keenly and sift the essential from the trivial. If his opponent is a skilled debater he will have certain definite main issues and definite evidence and reasoning. The task of refutation is thus made easy. ”

“ About any point of business or conduct, any actual affair demanding settlement, a woman will speak and listen, hear and answer arguments, not only with natural wisdom, but with candour and logical honesty. But if the subject of debate be something in the air, an abstraction, an excuse for talk, a logical Aunt Sally, then may the male debater instantly abandon hope ”

“ In this view a debate seems a much more earnest and real thing than as we read it in a newspaper. Think of the debaters meeting each other's eyes, their faces flushing, their looks interpreting their words, their speech growing into eloquence, without losing the genuineness of talk! ”

“ In the first place, it discloses the fact that after all your careful preparation for the debate, you made an extemporaneous speech. Good. No one can be a debater on any other terms. It is possible that one may be an orator and be unable to leave the written form, but the gift of extemporaneous expression is absolutely essential to a debater. ”

“ That happens in the world, which we often witness in a public debate. Each of the speakers expresses himself imperfectly: no one of them hears much that another says, such is the preoccupation of mind of each; and the audience, who have only to hear and not to speak, judge very wisely and superiorly how wrongheaded and unskilful is each of the debaters to his own affair. ”

“ It enables the debater to become perfectly familiar with all his material, and it gives him a fairly good idea of what language he shall use. He is not, however, bound down to any set speech; he can alter his argument to suit the occasion. ”

“ The wise debater will then choose that evidence which will most quickly make his hearers feel that their own experience proves him right. When the speaker has done this, he has chosen the best evidence and has used enough of it. ”

“ He will be called ignorant of things, while thy heart restraineth its wealth." [280]
3. [Refute the bad arguments of an equal in debate.]
"If thou findest a debater in his moment, thine equal, who is within thy reach, to whom thou canst cause thyself to become superior: be not silent when he speaketh evil; a great thing is the approval of the hearers, that thy name should be good in the knowledge of the nobles." [281] ”

“ In doing these things, there are developed those qualities that are essential to all effective speaking.
A debater's success in giving unity and coherence to his argument depends chiefly on his method of introducing new ideas in supporting his issues. These changes from one idea to another, or transitions, as they are called, should always be made so that the hearer's attention will be recalled to the assertion which the new idea is intended to support. Suppose we have made this assertion: "Contests within schools are more desirable than contests between schools." ”

“ For be sure he will not be content to stand up and be fired at—you must be alert and resourceful and ready to meet any change of front on his part. The skillful debater will not be content unless he is prepared to meet any attack which may be made upon him. ”

“ A debate is not a dramatic production, and it should in no wise savor of melodrama.
VOICE. Correct position and forceful gestures are very important, but upon no one thing does the success of a debater, aside from his argument, depend so much as upon his voice. One may move his audience in spite of an awkward posture and in the absence of all intelligent gestures, but unless his voice meets certain requirements, his case is almost hopeless. Above all else a speaker's voice must be distinct. ”

“ These never carry conviction; in fact, they invariably destroy the effect that an otherwise good argument might produce. Ridicule and bluster may please those who already agree with the speaker, but with these people he should be little concerned; a debater worthy of the name seeks to change the opinions of those who disagree with him. ”

“ But the good debater is he who faces the negative aspects of the question, who meets sudden objections, has an answer for any momentary summons of doubt or difficulty, dissipates seeming inconsistencies, and reconciles the geometrical smoothness of à priori abstractions with the coarse angularities of practical experience. ”

“ The most important reason why you should know the other side of the question is the necessity of your determining the issues correctly, and thus building a constructive argument that is overwhelming and impregnable. Many a debate has been lost because the debaters worked up their own constructive argument first, and only later, in order to prepare refutation, considered what their opponents would say. ”

“ REBUTTAL SPEECHES. A rebuttal speech usually furnishes an excellent test of a debater's mastery of his subject. It shows whether or not he comprehends the fundamental principles that underly the argument. If he does not understand fundamentals, he cannot distinguish between what is worth answering and what is trivial. If he is not perfectly familiar with the arguments on both sides of the question, his refutation will be scattering; that is, he will rebut only a few of his opponent's headings, those for which, in his scanty preparation, he has discovered some answer. ”

“ He will observe whether each member of the team shows a general knowledge of the question and whether he shows evidence of having done his own work. He will note also whether the important issues are selected for discussion and whether those issues are clearly defined and the line of argument indicated in the early portion of the speech. It is unfair for any debater to content himself with refutation—general denials and objections—and bring up his constructive arguments toward the end of the debate when there is little time left to the other side. ”

“ In these closing speeches, as in the opening of the debate, much may be gained by an attitude which will win the favor of the hearers toward the speaker and his ideas. An attitude of petty criticism, of narrowness of view, is undesirable at any stage of the debate. The debater who is inclined to belittle his opponents will only belittle himself. To the judges it will appear that the speaker who has time to ridicule his adversaries must be a little short of arguments. ”

“ If an arguer can connect his subject with the feelings of his audience and then introduce reasoning processes that will at the same time both convince them and play upon their feelings, he is certain to attain a large measure of success. Although not all subjects readily lend themselves to this method of treatment, yet if the debater will go to the very bottom of his subject and consider the real significance of the question he is arguing upon, he can usually succeed in making his conviction persuasive and his persuasion convincing. ”

“ On the other hand, if the first speaker for the negative considers the introduction given by the affirmative perfectly fair and satisfactory, he can pass by it without comment, and begin his own argument either with refutation or with a statement of the points that the negative side will establish in attacking the proposition.
It is thus apparent that a debater who opens a negative argument must depend for the beginning of his speech rather on a thorough understanding of the subject in all its details and fundamental principles than on a speech that he has to deliver word for word. ”

“ It may be well, however, to emphasize the qualities of clearness and fairness. A debate, unlike a written argument, cannot be studied and re-read time and again. For this reason, unless the proposition is explained in the very simplest language and by means of the very clearest definitions and illustrations, many people in the audience will not understand what the debate is about. Long words and high-sounding phrases have no place here. The debater must aim to reach not merely those who are familiar with the subject, but also those to whom the question is absolutely new. ”

“ Moreover, a leader who wishes to attract followers must be earnest and enthusiastic. The least touch of insincerity or indifference will ruin all. To analyze ideas, to present them clearly, and as a leader to enforce them enthusiastically and sincerely are necessary qualities for every arguer.
A debater should possess additional attainments. He ought to be a ready thinker. ”

“ In a formal debate the statement of the question and its meaning should be definitely determined in advance. Care must be taken to state it so that no mere quibbling over the meanings of terms can take the place of real arguments. Even if the subject of debate is so stated that this is possible, any self-respecting debater will meet the question at issue fairly and squarely, preferring defeat to a victory won by juggling with the meanings of terms.
+75. Is Belief Necessary in Debate?+—If we are really arguing for a purpose, we should believe in the truth of the proposition which we support. ”

“ W., whose beliefs are quite fixed, vacillates nobly in matters of opinion. In a group of debaters he holds with no one long, but must needs jump at a conclusion so liberal and sure that it reconciles all hostilities. ”

“ They are great talkers, and every new plan is discussed for hours. The debaters sit in a circle, and divide themselves into parties, each appointing a spokesman; and he, holding a stick in his hand, will draw intricate geometrical designs in the sand while he holds forth on the subject in discussion. ”

“ In any event an argument is not selected for refutation until it has been set off from all subsidiary material by brief, clear phrasing.
Where several means of proving a proposition have been presented, but only one of them could in reality stand as proof, that is the one to discuss in rebuttal. The debater should be constantly on the lookout for arguments or evidence which may be combined under one heading. By a judicious combination of related arguments the destructive work of rebuttal may be made to cover a wider field. ”

“ But such things are common property and I had just as much right to take it from Spencer as he had to take it from George Eliot.
CHAPTER XVI
TRICKS OF DEBATE
There are a great number of tricks that may be practiced in debate. They should be avoided by the serious man who is debating to defend a great cause. It is well to know the best methods but anything like a trick should never be practiced.
Some debaters I have met actually consider it smart to fill an opening speech with empty words so as to handicap their opponent by giving him nothing to reply to. ”

“ You see, if you think a moment, that every one of these things, so important to you whether as boy or man, is drilled into you by practice in debate.
Debating Means Constructive Thinking.—In the next place, not only is practice in debate invaluable [11] in acquiring self-control and correct habits of speech, but also it teaches you to organize your own powers; it drills you in constructive thinking. In much of your school work, you learn and recite the words of others—either of teachers or of textbook writers. But if a subject for debate is proposed, you must think it out yourself. ”