What are helpful tips in formal debating?

Question

Tomorrow will be my Oral test in English which will be a debate. And I am quite nervous because I haven't quite experienced formal debate. What are helpful hints or tips in debating?

Another question: Well,the topic given to me is "The corruption of truth and the truth of corruption" and unfortunately, I was given the task to defend the PRO side. Please help me with some ideas because I really find it hard to defend my side. Any help will be appreciated!

My teacher only gave us one day to prepare...

Thanks in advance..

Answer 1

The secret of debate is to have as much knowledge of your subject as possible, to present your argument in a clear, concise way,to answer the opposing views articulately and with conviction as well as with facts and figures.

The subject of truth and corruption is a massively emotive one and having only one day to prepare is quite a challenge!

Points; Corruption - Define what it is.

How is truth corrupted? Advertising, news reporting from one sdie only, statistics, test results presented out of context, misleading information whether deliberate or accidental.

What are the possible consequences of corrupting the truth? Can people handle the truth? Should they be told what they need to know either for their own good or the greater good of society? (eg. should the suspicions about autism related side effects of the MMR vaccine be withheld to stop a fall in the number of children being protected against these diseases?)

Then think about what your opposite number is going to argue and think through replies to possible challenges so you don't have to think up an answer on the spot.

Basically you have to do both sides of the argument in your own head before you start so you are prepared for what they might throw at you.  

Preparation is the key.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Ha, ha, ... landing from my spheres, I think you should use less, or not at all the word "No!". Better use that "What if ..." or "I do/try to understand your point of view, BUT ..."

Is this making sense?

If I were you I would focus my point of view on a specific subject that I would perfectly handle it, because how else would you sustain your opinions into a subject of such a complexity: "The corruption of truth and the truth of corruption"?

This fills the Politics, the Religions of all the times, the whole range of the businesses environment, any of the aspects of their (inner) management, ... every single aspect of our life, especialy our intimate life!

You may start from this point of view and expand your believes into the domain you definitely lived in - have your expertise.

Good fortune! This must be your ship, sail it!

Answer 3

Don't insult the opposition, be polite, use magic threes, use "we" instead of "I", exaggerate

Here's part of an essay by my bro (he is good at debating)

Global warming is a massive threat to this very future of humanity. Many scientists believe the earth is getting warmer at a frightening rate. If this continues, huge areas of farmland will turn into desert, causing billions of people to starve.

(told you it was good, didn't I?) He uses strong words, like starve, and he exaggerates points, not just some people but billions of people (when you consider the world only has 6 billion people, billions of people sounds like a massive percentage of people)

Also use rhetorical questions "Does anyone really want to live in a world without clean air to breathe?". You couldn't really say yes to that, could you?

Just follow all the tips and you'll be fine.

Answer 4

Research, then criticise the answer.

Answer 5

All people new to public speeking should practice, preferably with a microphone so that they can record and play-back and learn from what they first said.

The corruption of truth is a big subject and I suggest you stick to one aspect of it, namely advertising. You need to build a case showing how necessary advertisments are and what would happen without them. Also you need to examine why a distortion of the truth in advertising is necessary!

This also supports the truth of corruption philosophy to which I suggest you place less emphasis, since it is already included in justifying how much is spent in selling commercial goods by pictures (especially of semi-naked women), words and music.