Debating is an important skill.

Have social media and short videos made it more difficult in communication with each other in 2025? Someone assassinated someone because of a strong personal political view. If we all work on our debating skills then we can build more bridges to connect communities. Debating is an important skill to present your views and understand the others positions. Debating involves passion, belief, confidence and preparation (and perhaps strategy), which really fits with the BEST portfolio approach. This blog entry focuses on the debating process to reach agreement, not thesis or antithesis but the synthesis in the Hegelian philosophy, a new idea that is mutually acceptable for both sides.

As a parent to young children, I hope the future for them is more accommodating of new ideas, more creative and generally better. I previously blogged about politics in Episode 34. Politics is an important subject in King’s Scholarship. I think we need to debate more in each individual idea instead of generalising team Left or Right. I hope humanity has more in common than differences.

Simple debating ingredients

What would I look for in a debate?

1. A motion / resolution – A statement that outlines the topic
2. Pick your position on the matter – Complex problems can have multiple sides. Not necessary For or Against – More people have their own views the better! – Maybe 3 or 4 distinct views on the topic.
3. A standard structure
   • Opening speeches – outline the case, definitions, framework.
   • Constructive arguments – evidence-based points.
   • Rebuttals – refute the opponent’s arguments.
   • Cross-examination / Points of Information – questioning and challenging.
   • Closing speeches / Summaries – Research different techniques.
4. Skills to develop
   • Research & Preparation: Knowing the facts, examples, case studies, statistics.
   • Logical Reasoning and Refutation: Keeps the discussion clean and clear.
   • Rhetoric & Persuasion: Using ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), logos (logic). Classical Rhetoric covered in previous
   • Public Speaking: Voice projection, pace, clarity, eye contact, body language. Confidence was inspired by Jon Hipkiss in previous blog entries.
   • Listening: To catch opponent flaws and adapt arguments. Actively listening to what the others are saying.
   • Time Management: Using limited speaking time effectively. So prioritise your points and message.
   • Adaptability: Responding to unexpected lines of attack.
5. Argumentation Techniques
   • Framing: Defining the debate on favorable terms.
   • Burden of Proof: Showing who has to prove what.
   • Impact Weighing: Showing why your side matters more (scale, probability, urgency).
   • Pre-Emption: Anticipating and neutralizing counter-arguments.
   • Analogies & Examples: Making abstract points concrete.
   • Logical Fallacies: Recognizing and avoiding errors (strawman, ad hominem, slippery slope, etc.).
6. Concluding
   • What is the outcome of the debate? Did anyone change their position. Were there any opportunities for agreement?
   • Do we just want to win every debate? Should we debate is it healthy to win every debate?

The whole debating process mirrors the BE a Scholar Tuition portfolio approach. We look for a passionate subject, research about it, and the statement is “I am the best person for that role”. Preparation and research is so important for the interview (debate), where we encourage effective graphical representation of information to show lots of supporting evidence. I covered classical rhetoric in a previous Episode 29 because success in future interviews matters to an individual’s future with a persuasive approach.

Public speaking and confidence are related. If you are confident, then likely you will speak well. The Episode 72 and 73 blog entries with Jon Hipkiss are worth a read. He is a comedian and confidence is part of the job.

I can see why private public schools place a heavy emphasis on debating clubs and societies, as they are training the future leaders and politicians. Debating is a skill and like all skills can be trained and honed. So debate properly.