Friday 5 August 2011


Debates are good to have in the classroom as practice for students. Students can have a forma argument where the audience will be able to see the different sides of a topic. This can be a fun activity that can bring out the passion in the students. There are several topics that you can debate on. Find out how you can organize a debate by following these tips.
  • Choose a topic. The first thing you have to do is choose a topic for the debate. This can be just about any topic that you want. When choosing a topic, be sure that there are 2 clear sides that can be seen. Also, choose a topic that will interest the audience. To get some ideas on the different topics that you can have for the debate, you can visit the website Debate Database Topic Index. Some of the topics include abortion, sex change, minimum wage, nationalism and more.
  • Approach participants. Next, you have to approach participants for the debate. The two participants must be on opposing sides. Approach someone who feels strongly about the topic for the debate so that you can have and exciting and interesting debate. Do this weeks before the debate so that they have time to prepare their rebuttals and speeches.
  • Find a location. Next, find the location for the debate. This depends on the type of debate that you are having. If this is for school, you can do it in the classroom or in a theater for more people to watch. For community debates, reserve the town hall or a community center. You can even have debates for fun at home with your friends.
  • Invite people. Invite people to the debate to make it more exciting. Hand out flyers, invitations, set up posters and tell your friends or other students in the school about the debate. Do not forget to include the time, place and the topic going to be discussed.
  • Set up the venue. For the venue, set up 2 pedestals on either side of the stage. If the venue is big and there are plenty of people attending, set up a microphone for each of the participants. Provide chairs for the audience and do a sound check before the debate tomake sure everything is in order.
  • Debate. Before the debate, do a brief introduction of the topic and then provide the rules for the debate. There are different types of debate that you can do. You can view the 4 types of debate on the website Trivium Pursuit. Start the debate and time the participants.

These are the steps in organizing a debate. Choose topics that will interest your audience so that you can have an exciting event. Make sure that the participants are knowledgeable about the topic so that they can share their ideas well with the audience. You can also allow audience participation by approaching them and asking them their opinions on the topic that is being discussed in the debate.

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