T H E B A S I C S

COACHING SESSION

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

• What happens in a debate?• What do you say in your speech?• How do you give a good speech?• How do you prep a case?• How do you debate a case well?• How do you get better?

WHAT HAPPENS IN A DEBATE?

• 3 v 3 debaters• One team affirms, one team negates• POIs• Adjudicator role

ROLES OF THE TEAMS

• Teams have differing role• Have to fulfill that role to win

ROLE OF THE AFFIRMATIVE

Propose the motion

Outline the context

Outline problem

Outline whether solution solve the problem

Show benefits

ROLE OF THE NEGATIVE TEAM

Negate the proposal• Disprove/minimize the problem• Point out the flaws in the proposal• Show how it won’t solve the problem

Prove the negative repercussions• Who will be hurt, who will be excluded, what other externalities would happen?

Propose significant harms to the proposal and wy it is generally bad

ROLE OF THE SPEAKERS

• All have individual role to play in the debate• Each must perform a specific role• Contributes to how well you are marked• Contributes to how convincing you are• Factors of your speech contribute to persuasiveness

FIRST AFFIRMATIVE

• Clear and convincing set-up• Problem• Model • Solution• Context• Benefits• Split of team case• Substantive points• 3-4 minutes of substantive

FIRST NEGATIVE

• Respond to affirmative• Rebuttal – key arguments straight off the bat• Set-up• Split• Substantive• ENGAGE

SECOND AFFIRMATIVE

• Puts forward the most substantive part of the debate• 2 minutes rebuttal• 4 minutes substantive• Rebut first negatives points• Propose substantive arguments

SECOND NEGATIVE

• Most substantive on the negating team• Similar split to second aff• But more rebuttal• Responsiveness – engage with second affs points• Clear proposal of arguments

THIRD AFFIRMATIVE

• Mostly rebuttal• Summarise the case• Identify the main areas of clash in the debate• Broader questions• Outline the themes of the debate and why your team

won

THIRD NEGATIVE

• Similar to third affirmative• Only rebuttal• Identify main areas of clash• Show how Neg has won clearly• Summarize the main points of your case and why they

are still convincing

NEG REPLY

• Adjudication effectively• Give it back to the judge as how you won the debate• Go through the points and explain how on• Summarize rebuttal and why it was good and effective• Outline what the other team did badly• Outline what you did well

AFF REPLY

• Similar to Neg• Focus more on your positive material• Focus on what you have done in the debate and why it

still stands