Debate · Tools
Practice drills
Short workouts for the skills that win rounds. Most take five minutes and work alone; a few are better with a partner or a coach listening.
Random resolution
Pick a topic for a practice round, an impromptu speech, or a quick argument at dinner. Narrow it down if you like.
Impromptu speech
Get a topic, plan for a short time, then speak. A common pattern: say your position, give two or three reasons with an example each, and finish by saying why it matters.
Ready
2:00
Steelman it
A strawman is a weak, twisted version of someone's view. A steelman is the view as its best defenders would put it. Read the strawman, then write the steelman: the version a person who holds that view would say, "Yes, that's what I mean."
Four-step rebuttal
Answer an argument in four steps: They say (name it), but (your answer), because (your reason or evidence), therefore (why it matters in the round). Try it in writing, then out loud in under a minute.
Cross-examination
Good questions are short, have one clear answer, and set up what you'll say in your next speech. Good answers are honest, brief and calm. Practice both.
Fallacy spotter
Each exchange below comes from a made-up round. Which mistake in reasoning does it make, if any? The names match the Logic Ladder, where each one has a full lesson.
Weighing
When both sides win an argument, the judge has to decide which one matters more. That's weighing, and it usually comes down to four questions: how big (magnitude), how likely (probability), how soon (timeframe) and whether it can be undone (reversibility).
Weigh your own two impacts
| Score each from 1 to 5 | Yours | Theirs |
|---|