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ELA 4: Debating Like a Champ 744 Views


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Description:

Learn to debate like a champ. It's way better than debating like a chimp. That just takes mudslinging to a whole new level.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:13

Sure, debating might not look as hard as, say, football or cross-country or wrestling. [Man running cross-country and wrestling]

00:20

After all, the debaters are just standing behind a podium the whole time.

00:23

How hard could it be?

00:25

Well, a lot harder than you might think. Lots of preparation and protein powder goes into [Guy drinking a protein shake]

00:29

a good debate.

00:30

Okay, maybe not the protein. Once the topic of a debate has been called

00:34

and you know which side you'll be arguing, you'll need to do your favorite thing in the

00:38

world…

00:38

Eat a burrito! [Girl finds a burrito]

00:39

…Okay, maybe it's actually your second favorite thing in the world…

00:43

You'll need to research!

00:45

To win a debate, you're going to need lots of points to support your side, and that means

00:49

finding lots of facts, opinions, and statistics from different sources to help you make your

00:53

case.

00:54

But just reading the most books isn’t going to be enough for you to win. [Girl sitting with a stack of books]

00:57

Once you find all the information you need to support your side, you'll want to take

01:01

notes that you can refer to during the debate.

01:03

Nobody likes a debater who’s furiously flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia, wasting [Encyclopedia pages turning]

01:07

everybody’s time.

01:08

And, last but not least, it's a good idea to imagine the kinds of objections the other

01:13

side might bring against you in the debate. If you do that, you can do more research and

01:18

come prepared to block those objections…

01:19

…and that's a lot easier to do in a quiet library than on stage with sweat running down [Girl on stage sweating]

01:24

your forehead. You're pretty much going to have to know how to debate yourself in the debate...Okay so that's all you do ahead

01:32

of time, but what about game day? [Man on a football pitch]

01:34

Well, much like in football, or baseball, or whatever sportsball you happen to be into,

01:39

debates have their own set of rules.

01:41

The debate opens with the pro-side giving their arguments. [Girl on pro side and guy on con side of debate]

01:45

After that, the con-side gets a chance to hit back.

01:51

This cycle happens one more time with the con-side starting and each team gets a chance

01:55

to rebut the speaker's arguments.

01:57

In the end, the judge decides which team argued the issue better. [Judge points to girl on pro-side]

02:00

And although debating might get you a little fired up, it's important to remember that

02:04

interrupting, heckling, and general rudeness are all prohibited. So keep it civil, folks.

02:09

We still want to be able to look each other in the eyes come Monday morning in P.E. [Basketball hits girls head in P.E]

02:13

Also, this isn't exactly a rule, but when you're in a debate, remember to listen. Yes,

02:18

you put a lot of work into preparing what you have to say, but a debate is partly a [Girl falls off her chair]

02:22

conversation going back and forth. The better you listen to your opponents, the better your

02:27

replies will be.

02:28

Follow these guidelines, and you're well on your way to being named the Grand Champion

02:32

of Debating in the Entire Universe.

02:34

…What? It's totally a thing. You should see the kid from Neptune. She's crazy good. [Girl from Neptune walking on the moon]

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