Seven: Training techniques for critical advocacy

This chapter is one of the most important in this book. The goal is to attract people and get them interested in debating, to have them involved in creating civil discourse and others. But, the most important goal of your group should be to impact the skills of critical thinking, public speaking, message design and decision making to as many people as possible. This involves training them in these skills through debate.

The training activities discussed here will be described in brief because there are so very many of them. For each training activities I would like to discuss the goal of the activity, the procedures for implementing that training and cautions that one should keep in mind when implementing this activity.

Let me begin by talking about some basic assumptions behind successful debate training systems.

Basics of sustainable training

o Sequential – easy to more difficult

Many of these training exercises can be done at a variety of times during an individual’s exposure and involvement with debating. However, they are best implemented by starting with the more basic exercises and then working towards the more complex. In this chapter they have been ordered on that basis – from simplest to most complex. It is also worth keeping in mind that most of these exercises can be done more than once. Since they attempt to impart skills, repetition is very useful. Likewise, if specific people have certain weaknesses they can use the appropriate exercise to deal with that weakness.

o Active

Since the entire process involves the acquisition of skills it needs to be active. People need to be thinking, speaking, practicing and then practicing even more. If they are listening to a long lecture from the person running the training, then the learning is falling short. Always try to keep those at the training involved and active.

o Variety of topics

It is a good idea to use a broad variety of topics (also called motions) in this training. Many, many debate formats involve changing topics very often, therefore those being trained need to be exposed to a wide variety of topics. Another reason is that if all are speaking on the same topic, those coming up later will copy from those speaking earlier, and that is not as valuable as having them come up with their own ideas.

Topics from over 260 debate tournaments from all around the world can be found at DEBATE MOTION CENTRAL http://globaldebate.posterous.com/

o Short speeches

Most of these exercises involve people speaking. These speeches should be short (1-4 minutes). There are good reasons for this. First, it is not necessary to hear something speak for seven minutes in order to see problems they have in delivery, organization or argument development. Second, if you have them give short speeches there will be more time to repeat their speeches. Third, short speeches can mean shorter training periods, which are important for keeping people coming back.

o Predictable length

When people share their time with organizers in a training exercise, they are giving one of their most valuable resources – their time. Given this, it is important that training

opportunities start at a set time and end at a set time. People are busy, and they have schedules. This means that the training that you offer needs to fit their schedule. If it is announced as sixty or ninety minutes, then it needs to be sixty or ninety minutes long.

If you start on time, then people will know that they need to arrive on time. If it ends on time, people will know that they will be finished and can move on to their next activity. My guides for trainings are start on time, end on time, and use the full time.

o Regular scheduling

It may involve a few hit or miss scheduling opportunities, but it would be advisable to try and have trainings at the same time on the same day each week. Regular trainings are useful, because people can build them into their schedules. If they are at the same time and on the same day, they become part of a regular weekly schedule. If they cannot all make the same time, have two trainings during a week instead of one. On my university team we have three or four trainings a week and we encourage people to some to the sessions that fit their schedules. This makes it more likely that they will attend regularly and often.

o Peer training

I strongly believe in peer learning. We have many things to teach each other, and often debate groups have a shortage of highly skilled trainers. This is why it is important to utilize peer training. Those with more experience (even just a bit more) can be extremely valuable as leaders in these training activities. It is also true that those who train also learn from the exercise. Using peer trainers also empowers people and increases their commitment to the group.

o Creating a training booklet

Encourage those attending training events to take notes on all they do. These notes will come in handy later and during debates they are involved in. These notes might even be valuable when they become facilitators later. Encourage them to get a permanent journal for their notes as opposed to random sheets of paper. If these notes are in one place and easily accessible then they will be more valuable later.

o Fun

In order for people to keep coming to training it needs to be fun. There needs to be a light atmosphere and occasional laughter. The facilitator needs to set those tone and can do so by always mixing positive comments with criticisms and never taking themselves too seriously.

Areas of training

Here are some basic training exercises that can be used to impart debate oriented skills. Many of these are described in the following videos that might be useful for those planning trainings to watch.

International Debate Academy Slovenia 2011https://vimeo.com/32747688

World Schools Debate Academy 2010 https://vimeo.com/13450158 and https://vimeo.com/13450759

These specific trainings will be described in terms of their goals, procedures for implementation and cautions about using them.

o Speaking

WARM UP SPEECHES AND MORE (INEXPERIENCED)

GOALS: Get over the nervousness of initial speaking.

Discover students that have serious speech anxiety problems.

Discover students with serious difficulties with English. Identify significant problems and work on them.

PROCEDURES: Explain how important public speaking skills are. Explain how we all need to improve them. Explain that this will be a safe environment for learning.

ROUND ONE: Students give one-minute speechesGive all students a topic, something safe:

Favorite pet animal Favorite vacation spot Best friend Least favorite media figure Worst movie ever seen “I wish my parents would….” “I wish my school would…” Favorite subject in school Favorite sport Gadget they most want

After each speech tell them two things they did well and one thing they need to improve on in their next speech.ROUND TWO: Students speak on a topic for two minutes

Put students in pairs. Then give each pair a topic, making one student prop and one opp.

Give them 5 minutes to prepare one major argument for their side. Tell them to remember what they need to work on from their previous speech.

Have them give their two minute speeches, have the other side take notes.

Give them feedback, be positive, but notice whether they improved on their previous challenge.

Have their partner also make comments. Each pair gives their speeches.

ROUND THREE: If you have time, give them 3 minutes to prep a one-

minute answer to what the other side said. Each pair speaks.

After each pair, give feedback to them.

CAUTIONS: Be alert for those experiencing a lot of speech anxiety,

shyness, etc. BUT, make people speak, then show support for them,

“I knew you could do it…” Talk about improvement, it is all that is important, just

get better.

PUBLIC SPEAKING EXERCISES (EXPERIENCED)/ADVERSE CONDITIONING

GOALS: To identify specific weaknesses in the way students

deliver a speech. To train students to critique others, and thus

themselves. To repeat until these errors are reduced. Create climate of constructive mutual criticism.

PROCEDURES:PHASE ONE: Inventory

Appoint five students to begin – one to speak and the other four as “Critics.” They will pay attention to and comment on: language use, including “crutch” words; hand gestures; face and body; and, overall style evaluation. These four roles will shift as the exercise proceeds.

Have a student stand up and give them a topic to start speaking about immediately without prep (speaking problems will come out more readily if they are unprepared). Have them speak for two minutes. Then invite the four critics to make their comments. Make sure they are brief. Add other things you think are important. Make the speaker write down the comments. Then take the first critic the next speaker, and give the previous speaker that role. As you move through the group, always keep the critic roles moving.

PHASE TWO: Working on Two Items Still with critics, and given a new topic, have a speaker

tell us what his or her areas are that need to be improved, and then they speak for two minutes trying to improve.

Have student critics evaluate them. Congratulate them if they improve.

PHASE THREE: Extreme speakers (if you have time) Pick a speaker who is very boring in their style, and

have them speak for one minute on one of their previous topics in an overly dramatic way, speak more dramatically then they ever would in a debate.

This exercise in overcompensation can be very effective.

ADVERSE CONDITIONING: Have each speaker indicate a major problem they have.

Have them speak, and every time they commit this mistake have the audience boo, make fun of them, or throw little bits of paper.

Keep it mellow and friendly. OR If they make this mistake have them start over again on

a 2 minute speech.

CAUTIONS: Watch your time. Do not allow “critics” to go on too long, get to the point. Do not think you always have to comment if the critics

have done well. Keep it lighthearted. Give positive feedback when they improve.

o Making arguments

GOALS: Show proper structure of a single argument: title,

thesis, body, support, impact See sample instruction at https://vimeo.com/17454380

Help them identify their weaknesses and repair them. Review a broad range of topics.

PROCEDURE: Give each student a topic. Tell them to build one major 3-minute argument for

that topic. Caution them not to put the whole topic in one

argument. Have them present the argument in 3 minutes. Criticize their presentation, and show where they

needed to do more. Have them do it over again if you have time.

CAUTIONS: Make sure they follow the structure called for in all

parts of it. Make the process move along so that all are included

and some can do it twice. Make sure to make sure that their arguments are not

just repeating the same ideas over and over again.

o Refuting arguments

GOALS: See guidelines for refutation from

https://vimeo.com/32561736 Teach them how to refute the important stuff only. Teach them to use the right structure. Teach them to do it quickly and efficiently.

PROCEDURE: Refute a case: pick a topic they analyzed previously,

and then give them 5 minutes to prepare to refute a first speech they designed. Have them refute it in a 3-minute speech.

Then, after discussion, have them do it in 2 minutes if you have time.

CAUTION: Make sure they hit the best points of the speech they

are refuting, not the weakest. Make sure they do not spend too much time repeating

the argument they are answering.

o Topic analysis

GOALS: Tell people about the different between topics: fact,

value, and policy. Allow them to learn to tell the difference between the

three. Allow them to learn how to interpret these topics on

each side.

PROCEDURES: Have those involved work independently. Talk to them about types of topics, see lectures at

https://vimeo.com/32562135 and https://vimeo.com/14211625

Give each person a topic (make sure you have a mix of topics).

Give them five minutes to quietly analyze the topics. Go around the group and have them indicate what type

of topic they think it is and how they would set up a debate advocating this topic.

Make sure attendees take notes on each topic. The facilitator makes comments about their choices

and invites comments from others attending. Do a second round if possible.

CAUTIONS: Make sure not to dwell too long on one specific topic.

Watch your time to make sure all get to participate at least once with a topic.

Recognize that some topics may straddle two different topic categories, and advise debaters to choose the

type of interpretation they feel would be easier to win in the debate.

Avoid letting group members delay the process through excessive criticism and suggestions.

o Building cases

GOALS: To teach students how to brainstorm by themselves on

complex topics. To teach them how to select the best arguments and

arrange them. To allow students to learn from the topics other

students are working on. To help them find forms of support for their arguments. Students will have accomplished a basic briefing of

every topic you deal with. Help students discover good arguments to use on a

variety of topics.

PROCEDURES:PHASE ONE: Build Cases

Put students into groups of two, one proposition and the other opposition. Give each pair a topic. Allow them to have ten minutes to think of their best three arguments. Have them present their ideas (not as a speech, but in a discussion) for five minutes, including: definitions (if needed), model (if needed) two arguments for first speech, third argument for second speech. Then have opposition do the same.

Make sure everyone is taking notes about all topics. You make comments, allow a very few from the other students. Make concrete suggestions for how to improve.

PHASE TWO: Better Cases Give students five minutes to make adjustments, and

then present their basic ideas again, BUT also including examples and other forms of support they would use.

After each presentation, have students suggest other examples or forms of support they might have used.

PHASE THREE: Beauty contest, if you have time… Nominate cases from two pairs of students. Have people argue in one-minute speeches why one is

better than the other.

FUN WITH TOPICS:Pick strange or one-sided topics and have them come up with six good arguments (the number a second team should brainstorm).

CAUTIONS:Watch for two arguments that are the same, most obvious argument first, most subtle argument third. Watch your time allocation to make sure you at least get through phase one.

o Points of information

GOALS: For guidance on teaching points of information, see

https://vimeo.com/48153250 Develop strong point of information offering skills. Develop strong point of information replying skills. Make students search for arguments, and thus points to

pose, on a variety of topics.

PROCEDURES: Give each student a topic. Have them outline a very

brief first proposition or opposition speech in about 7-8 minutes of prep.

Then, have a student stand up and speak on this topic, but after one to one and a half minutes you pound the table and all in the room start offering points of information. The speaker MUST take all points from a variety of students.

It is the responsibility of all students to pose points to the speaker.

Your role is to be the audience, and make sure to be active.

Point out things like: question too long, question too easy, answer too long, weak answer, answer not scoring points for their aide, etc. Feel free to interject these comments during the speech, but do not let others do so.

Make speeches long enough so that you use all the time and everyone gets to speak. If they have to speak for nine minutes taking points for eight of them, fine. It will make them stronger.

You can also feel free to offer points, but try and model good practice and behavior.

CAUTIONS: Always make sure to maintain decorum, no flagging of

points or inappropriate behavior. Watch the time; calculate how log speeches can be

before the first one is given based on the time left and how many students are in your group.

o Cross examination

GOALS: For guidance in teaching cross examination, see

https://vimeo.com/26720657 To help people determine how to compose and ask

effective questions. To help people learn to diagnose and then properly

answer questions. To help people learn about how to set and avoid traps

in cross-examination.

PROCEDURES: Put those participating in groups of two. Give each pair a different topic and have one person

favor the topic and the other oppose.

Have each person create a three-minute speech to support his or her side of the topic. Give them 4-5 minutes to do this.

Have each pair give their three-minute speech and then answer questions from the assembled group for four minutes.

Interject at good and bad efforts at question and answer.

CAUTIONS: Watch the time and make sure everyone takes part. Avoid being too critical of newer participants. Praise strong efforts by any individual.

Specific training activities

These training activities are a bit more advanced but can be introduced to people after they have been in at least one debate.

o Locating principles

GOALS: For background on this issue, see the lecture at

https://vimeo.com/7929633 To discover what a principle is. To learn how to express principles properly To learn how to use principle to build arguments and

tram lines.

PROCEDURES: Tell them what a principle is. My interpretation is that it

is a general maxim that most people would accept and that the judges will respond to with, “yes.”

A principle needs to be phrased somewhat generally but should have a clear application to the topic.

Divide group up into pairs, one proposition one opposition.

Give them a topic, and then give them 20 seconds to think of the principle for their side. Have them also integrate this principle into a one-sentence team line.

Work on how to word the principle, suggest alternatives.

Have all students take notes on these topics and principles.

Keep going until time runs out, but make sure to move along.

CAUTIONS: Do not spend too much time on one topic. Be wary of how they phrase their principle – make sure

it is a complete thought, a snappy phrase and something most would agree with.

Contrast the two opposing principles on one topic and ask which side is more likely to win.

o Mini debates of various sizes

GOALS: To work on general debate skills but save time. To work with a flexible number of people.

PROCEDURES: Divide students into teams and sides – one on one, two

on two, three on three, four on four. Give each mini-debate a different topic. Give them 15 minutes to prepare arguments (or not if

you are using a prepared topic). Have them focus on an entire range of issues or on just

one or two central issues. Have the debate using shorter speeches (perhaps four

minutes, less if there are more than four people in the debate).

Critique the debate after each speech or at the very end.

If time is available, have some speeches given again.

CAUTIONS: Make sure they focus on important arguments and

develop them well, not just give a larger number of arguments explained in a more shallow fashion.

If people want to stay after the event is over to give their speech again, allow and encourage this.

o Long table debates

GOALS: Get many people involved in one debate. Teach them how to refute an argument that has just

been made. Teach them how to come up with new and different

arguments.

PROCEDURES: If you have an even number of people, divide them into

two sides, “Yes” and “No.” Put them in desks or chairs facing each other. Give them instructions: the first speaker has three

minutes to present an argument for “Yes.” Each following speaker (alternating between “Yes” and “No”) gives a three-minute speech in which they refute the argument just made by the other side and present a new argument supporting their side.

After each speech the facilitator gives a short evaluation of the refutation.

Keep going down the line and after each speech the facilitator suggests whether the new argument that was made was actually a new argument.

After the last speech, applaud them for all of the new arguments they thought of.

CAUTIONS: Pick a fairly deep and common issue so that the

exercise is not too challenging in terms of creativity. Be fairly strict on what is and is not a new argument.

You can congratulate people who did one of the two correctly (refute or new argument) even if they did not do the other part well.

o Judging

You can have debaters become judges for practice debates. Use the most experienced debater, but not the same one all the time. Have them watch and then critique the debate. After the debate have them give you a short written list of what they learned from judging that will make them a better debater. Also ask those who were judged to evaluate the critique given.

o Debate topic construction

GOALS: Learn to build topics for yourself. Learn how to analyze topics and their components. Learn how to understand what those who compose

topics might be thinking.

PROCEDURES: Discuss with those present what they should keep in

mind when building topics. Snider & Schnurer (79-91) including: should be interesting, should be balanced, should support change, should be worded in a neutral fashion, should not be too broad, are elegantly worded and should have one central idea.

Divide those attending up into groups of two and give each of them an area of contemporary controversy (in the news). Have them draft at least two topics from this controversy.

Have them present their topics to the group, and critique them based on the criteria for topic building given earlier.

Ask the other participants which of these topics they would most want to debate if they did not know what side they would be on.

CAUTIONS:

Watch carefully which criteria are followed and which are not.

Have something good and something critical to day about each topic.

Point out when two topics from the same controversy area are too similar.

o Tournament tabulation

We will speak in the next chapter about tournament organization, administration and tabulation. After reading this chapter, but before having a tournament, have those designated to do the tabulation to run a practice tournament on the software selected so that problems can be seen in advance. Have them make a report on successes and challenges in this simulation.

o Evaluation and recognition of weaknesses

There are an infinite number of exercises and drills that you can use for training. These are just a few of them. Feel free to use borrowed or original training exercises, but make sure to evaluate them. Ask participants which exercises they learned the most from, ask them which they enjoyed the most, and ask them which helped them the most when they actually debated.

Beyond this, it is important to try to understand the weaknesses that each debater has and then use appropriate drills and exercises to deal with these weaknesses. Most of these exercises are beneficial to repeat.

CONCLUSION

Some of the most exciting events that take place in your organization are these training exercises. These events help you learn and build skills, but they also build interpersonal relationships, identification with the organization as well as a will to succeed ion the long run. After

people learn from these exercise they become far more powerful advocates and recruiters for your organization.

ReferencesLATER

Additional MaterialsLATER free websites