Q&A for How to Perform Well in a Debate

Practice what you're going to say ahead of time! When you get nervous, your cortisol (stress hormone) level increases a lot, which makes it very difficult for your thoughts to come out in a concise way. That's why it's important to practice, get a good sweat on, set your intention, and see the standing ovations so you can stand in your power and speak with clarity and conciseness.

Be polite, wait your turn before speaking and whatever you do, do not interrupt a person speaking. Do not swear as this can make you look careless and ill mannered.

Take deep breaths, speak slowly and confidently. Go in with the knowledge that you've prepared and practiced, and are ready to do your best, win or lose.

Just pause, take a deep breath, collect yourself, and continue. There will always be distractions, you just have to tune them out and concentrate on what you're saying.

Adjust your expressions what talking about different things to emphasize certain points. For example, use a serious face when talking about a serious point, or smile when you are making a joke.

Speak in a mid-tone, as if you were speaking normally. However, vary your tone. For example, on questions, raise your tone. Also, if you want to make a particular point, raise your tone slightly and slow down.

Reading from a paper shows bad preparation, and if you are constantly looking down at the paper, your focus will be in reading the contents; therefore, you won't be able to present effectively.

No, only if it is an absolute emergency, such as "My God! Your hair is on fire!" or "Watch out! That beam is falling your way! Move!" Otherwise, it makes you seem ill mannered and impatient, which leaves a very bad mark onto the judges.

Try using humor. You'll get an audience's attention much faster if you make them laugh. Or say something unexpected that makes people wonder what you're talking about, then tie it into the subject of your speech.

Use creative analogies and metaphors to keep your debate interesting and inject humor.

It can be, if you have a large space - such as a stage - for yourself to move around on. You don't have to do it if you're not comfortable. But do use some appropriate gestures and body language to add humanity and emphasis to your speech. Standing completely still doesn't usually make for the best delivery. You can try looking up some videos of effective lectures, speeches or debates and see how the people act.

To start in an interesting way, maybe ask a rhetorical question. Pause, take a breath and answer it in a way that fits your argument. Maybe add a brief comment on why the other side is wrong. This will send a message to the audience that you are in charge and your side is correct.

Start with a "hello" and "good morning/afternoon." Then introduce yourself to the audience.

Practice is the key. Prepare cards with notes, and be sure to take deep breaths, clear your mind, and focus during presentation. The more you worry about forgetting your speech, the more likely it will happen.

The key is to kindle their passion for some issue. Ask open-ended questions that will make them assert their belief in something. Then, ask why they believe in that, and disagree with them, stating your reasons for doing so. Make sure you maintain a polite and civil discourse.

Tell them that, at first, you shared your opponent's position. And then explain how and why you changed your mind.

Yes, it is acceptable to start a debate speech with a quote if it is relevant to the topic at hand.

If you give them a friendly smile, of course. But if its the kind of smile you wouldn't want to get at a debate, than don't make a smile at all.

If it's high school debate and at the end of crossfire (CX), you don't have to answer it. But if it's a question that lets the opposing side dominate the round, bring it up in a different speech - but not in summary or final focus.

This might not appeal, but practising debating can be the way forward. If you do not feel comfortable speaking in front of many people at the moment, try practising with friends and family. Another key tip is to always listen carefully to what your opposition is saying. A good stance to take in a debate, if you are not confident yet, is to play defensively. This means that you do not pose questions for your opponents, but you try to answer questions your opponents are asking your team. This way you can still keep your hand in the debate and it builds confidence at the same time.

See this wikiHow article on how to reduce stage fright .

If you accidentally made a mistakes such as repeating yourself or choking, then you shouldn’t panic. Just resume what you are doing. Nobody expects you to be perfect. They audience doesn't know what you had planned to say.

There are lots of tutorials online that can help you learn how to write and structure a speech. wikiHow has a few articles that can help get you started, like How to Write a Speech and How to Prepare and Give a Speech .

Depending on the debate, hand gestures could be appropriate. However, the rest of the times, I find it best to rest your hands at your sides, or behind your back. If you're using a podium, resting your hands on it may help you look relaxed and focused.

The third or last speaker should summarize their team's argument. It should generally cover the introduction, the rebuttal, the summary of the other speakers, and the conclusion.

You can't. Just work out what your basic points are, and formulate a basic structure. Listen to the arguments and respond as well as you can.

Just continually remind yourself that you're knowledgeable about your topic and prepared for your debate. Reminding yourself that you've done the best you can to put on a good performance will help you stay calm throughout the day. Also, look up some breathing techniques. They can help you slow your heart rate down and remain calm if you begin to get nervous. For examples, you can check out this article: How to Do Breathing Exercises

Stop talking, take a deep breath in, steady your hands, and breathe out slowly before continuing to speak.

Thank the audience for listening. Make sure before you do so that you have expressed all your ideas and that you have responded to your opponent's ideas as well.

You could try "clear inconsistencies within their case" or "evident lapses of logic."