Pro-Con Debate Topics, Formats, and Preparation

Debate has become one of the most effective teaching tools inside and outside the classroom. Not only will it increase the breadth and depth of students’ knowledge base about the topics under discussion, but it will often force them to see their personal beliefs from different points of view. Debating also teaches students a number of essential skills that can benefit them later in life.

Public speaking has long been a common fear for most adults, however, debate offers students the opportunity to become comfortable with public speaking during their youth. It also helps students understand the fundamentals of communication, such as clarity, brevity, and focus. Additional life skills students can learn from debate include basic organizational skills, critical thinking, persuasion, and research skills.

Typical discussion formats

There are several different debate formats, ranging from casual class debates to extremely competitive formal debates. For discussions to be successful, they must include the pros and cons of many topics. Here’s a quick look at some of the most common forms of debate, all of which focus on current debates in society and the pros and cons of popular topics.

policy debate

The term policy debate can encompass a number of forms of debate, as well as a number of high school and college debate organizations, including: NDT, CEDA, and state high school organizations. In this form of debate, students are required to research and use “evidence” or quotes from authoritative sources.

In policy debate, there are typically two teams of two debating the pros and cons of a potential policy change. Due to the amount of research required for the policy debate, the debate topics are decided months before the debate occurs and will remain the same throughout the course of the season. This allows students to dig deeper into the topic and gain a great deal of insight on both sides of the issue.

Lincoln–Douglas debate

Lincoln Douglas Debate is unique because it is the only form of debate where one person against another instead of two teams against each other. The Lincoln Douglas debate was created to mirror the famous Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debates in 1858. At the high school level, this form of debate tends to lean heavily toward contrasting philosophical perspectives, while the college level focuses primarily on on specific policies.

parliamentary debate

Parliamentary debate, or Parli, is based on the debates that take place in the British parliament. They are often teams of two or four students and face off against another team. Resolutions are handed out before each round, often giving students 15-20 minutes to prepare.

This form of debate is not evidence-based, forcing students to be aware of current issues and events. Parliamentary debate is considered a unique form of debate because the opposing team can ask questions while the other team speaks.

Additional forms

There are a number of additional forms of debate including Mock Trials, Student Congress, Model UN and many more. Each of them has its own unique set of rules and regulations that must be followed.

Preparation

While preparation strategies vary greatly from form to form, there are several constants that cut across all genres. Students will always have a good understanding of current events both locally, nationally and internationally. They will also prepare for tournaments months in advance, carefully analyzing both sides of the issue. This often encompasses hours of relentless research and hours of strategy sessions to succeed.

Quick tips for speaking persuasively

1. Confidence

As with any other aspect of competition, trust is essential. It is important for students to remember that there is no “right” answer in debate. Both teams have their own set of conflicting opinions, and both have merit. By appearing confident in what they say, students will appear more persuasive about the topics of discussion.

2. Filler words

If you watch big presidential debates or even successful academics, they don’t use filler words. Filler words include: uh, um, hmm, and… and… and. These words do not add meaning to what is said and are used to fill the silence when someone is thinking about what to say next. Silence is much better than filler words. Filler words make speakers appear unprepared and often uneducated on popular topics.

3. Open mind

There are times when the debater must argue against points of view with which he really agrees. If they can’t keep an open mind, they won’t be able to argue against their beliefs. Even if you do not agree with what you say, that does not mean that it is not as valid, otherwise there would be no current political debates.