Speaking

Speaking

Debate

A debate is a discussion in which speakers form two groups, and argue in favour of or against a topic. Debates are conducted in lecture halls, parliament, legislative assemblies and public places.

The speakers from each group not only give reasons to support their argument, but also counter the arguments made by the members from the opposite group.

The topic is called a motion.

The process / procedure:

There are two teams, each consisting of two or three speakers.

One team supports the motion, and the other opposes the motion. A moderator controls the proceedings. Each speaker makes a prepared speech to argue his or her case. The teams prepare collaboratively, building up their case.

The sides speak in turns, starting with the proposer of the motion followed by his or her opponent and then the others in similar order. Each speaker has a specified amount of time to speak, maybe a minute or two. Then the debate can be opened to the floor, with the speakers from the audience standing up to offer points supporting or opposing the motion.

Important Rules

❖  The speakers must greet the chairperson, judges and the audience.

❖  The team supporting or opposing the motion must not change their point of view.

❖  If a speaker makes a statement, he or she must be able to provide evidence or reasons to support.

❖  The facts presented in a debate must be accurate.

❖  Speakers may not bring up new points in a rebuttal speech. Reinforce your points and conclude confidently.

❖  Points must be conveyed clearly and effectively without getting diverted from the main stream.

Given below is a sample speech

Good morning Respected Judges, my honourable opponent and members of the audience. I am Bharathi of XII A and I’m going to speak for the motion “Wars create more problems than they solve.”

The world has already faced two World Wars. Now, there is the added dimension of terrorism and suicide bombers. We have witnessed the destruction of the WTC Towers and the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. War clouds are looming large. Yes, the world has seen many wars. But has it solved any problem? I firmly speak for the proposition “Wars Create More Problems Than They Solve’. Wars have left in their wake only death and destruction. The feelings of enmity, hatred, jealousy and greed that cause war have still remained in the hearts of the people. Entire cities have been destroyed, large areas of fertile agricultural land have been laid barren, many have become refugees, large numbers have lost their livelihood and sunk into poverty. These are the legacies of war. War has certainly created more problems than it has solved. Wouldn’t my worthy opponents agree with me?

I sincerely feel that dialogues and negotiations are the only way to solve disputes between nations or even communities within a nation. It is better to spread the language of love, peace and understanding instead of sowing seeds of hatred and violence in children. If heads of State and religious leaders sat face to face, thrashed out the problems, took sincere efforts to find a solution, made the necessary compromises without any ego hassles, then most of the disputes could be solved. I reiterate once again – refrain from war, war once started may go on and on and create a host of problems.

Thank You.

Task

a) Now it’s your turn to speak against the motion “Wars create more problem than they solve.” Express your views with valid points.

Good morning, Respected judges, my beloved opponent and all audience. Now I want to express my views on “Wars create more problem than they solve”.

According to myself, all wars are miserable. These dangerous wars lead to poverty, as well as millions of families suffer. It creates economic problems among the people. The people will suffer uncountable problems such as lack of food and medical supplies. During war, many people lose their lives and there will be lot of chaos in the county. Wars don’t arise, wars are fought to increase their power, or empire over a particular area. After war, when the winning country celebrates, the other country is trying to get revenge on the country. So I want to say that war does not solve problems. It merely creates new ones. It is entirely true. After war is over, people are left with no homes, jobs, families can be taken from you. War not only damages the people but also destroys the very world around us. After being in a war, It is hard to go back to normal life. Finally I want to conclude that wars have been destroying entire cities. Fertile agricultural area have been laid barren, many people have become refugees, lives of the people have lost. So in fact, war has created more problems than it has solved. I firmly think that all opponents agree with me. Thank you

b) Conduct a debate for and against the motion.“Mobile phone - a big boon”

Honourable judge, and my dear schoolmates very good morning to one and all. Now I am going to speak that, mobile phone - a big boon for all of us. It is proved that everything in the world has both pros as well as cons. In my opinion, mobile phones are boon for those who use it for effective purpose.

Mobile phones are used for many purposes such as for playing games, listening music, using social networking sites. Students use mobile phones for study purpose undoubtedly. If mobile phones are in right hands, then they are a marvel. Now 1 want to ask a question. Is a knife useful instrument or a perilous weapon? It depends on how , it is used. Mobile phones are used keeping in touch with family members, for conducting business. The uses of Mobile phones are

> Calling and messaging using mobile phone.

> Taking pictures and videos with camera

> Browsing the internet

> Using the flash as a flash light

> Being able to read books and documents

> Sending e-mails to detached places

> To know time and to fix alarm, doing calculation

> Getting news of different channels.

So we can communicate with the people of any country within a few seconds. The world has become a global village with the touch of modem technology. Thank you (OR)

Distinguished judge, very good evening to one and all. Now I am going to speak on disadvantages of using ! mobile phone. In my opinion, using mobile phone every time is keeping far from your friends, family, and other relatives. Firstly it is waste of time. So don’t waste your time because of cell phones, don’t use it much. Then the serious factor that effects on human health. It is cause of waste the energy, during use of cell phone all the parts of human body are spending energy on it like eyes, hands and mind etc. Then another biggest disadvantages for students is they have very high loss of their studies. So many of them get very bad results and get fail in the exam. The most important things that it may cause death, some people use it during driving, which may cause accident. Then if you have your personal images, videos or files etc. in your device. Other people can easily steal your images, and videos. Mobile phones which are very expensive. People spend money on these which is loss of money. Some people speak lies while talking on cell phones, which is fraud and make people more liar. Finally I suggest you not to use mobile phone too much. Thank you

c) Organize a class debate on the motion ‘The advantages of social websites’. (Use the expressions for arguments like - First, firstly, I mean, My point is, In my opinion, Let me consider, etc.)

The advantages of social websites:

Respected Headmaster, teachers and my dear friends, good morning to all. Firstly, I am very happy to convey the messages of the advantage of social websites. In my opinion social networking has become a fundamental sales and service component for many business owners. These sites can help to run a more efficient business and then it helps you to develop more effective marketing strategies. The major social networking platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin. Let me consider, Facebook is the world’s largest networking site. By using Facebook, we can establish both a personal profile as well as site for your business. If you post, visitors can view the information. So viewers can make comments on it and ask questions or can provide feedback. And we can get fast breaking news and topics through Twitter, Instagram that can be very useful for highlighting product styles, especially clothing and technology. Linked in is a site for professionals to communicate with one another, both as individuals and as a company presence. So many businesses are now creating groups or pages for their customers to share ideas, give feedback and get additional insights and resources. Thank you