DEBATE LESSON 1 & 2

Lesson 1: BPD Format

Section 01: BDP’s History & Format

• BPD stands for British Parliamentary Debate, a popular format of debate

• In 1707, the British parliament held its first meeting

• BPD originated in Liverpool, Britain specifically Liverpool during the Victorian era

• This style was used in crucial events such as debating to enter a peace treaty with Germany during WW2

• It is still used today in Britain and it is the standard for academic debate

• Motion: the topic being debated

  • In the format “This House believes that”

• BPD (British Parliamentary Debate): a fair and balanced format which hears the voices of everybody practicing within the house

  • 2 sides: the proposition (also known as the government) and the opposition

• Each side is allowed 7 minutes per speech

• Rebuttals are 4 minutes and cannot present any new information

• There are 4 teams of 2:

  • 2 teams on the proposition and 2 teams on the opposition
  • There is only 1 winner out of the 4 teams, so even the teams on the same side will compete each other

  

• Proposition: the side which is in favour of the motion

• 2 teams: Opening Government and Closing Government

• Opening Government has the Prime Minister and Deputy Minister, whose positions are 1 and 3

  • Prime Minister: defines the motion (what the debate is about) & provides the arguments for their side
  • Deputy Prime Minister: refutes arguments made by the Opposition Leader

• Closing Government has the Member of Government and Government Whip, whose positions are 5 and 7

  • Member of Government: provides further arguments that are in favour of the motion
  • the arguments are different but consistent with the Opening Government’s views
  • Government Whip: summarizes the entire debate on behalf of the government's side

• Opposition: the side which is against the motion

• 2 teams: Opening Opposition and Closing Opposition

• Opening opposition has the Leader of Opposition and Deputy Leader of Opposition, whose positions are 2 and 4

  • Leader of Opposition: refutes the Opening Gov’s arguments & provides arguments for their side
  • Deputy Leader of Opposition: same role as the Leader of Opp

• Closing government has the Member of Opposition and Opposition Whip, whose positions are 6 and 8

  • Member of Opposition: provides further points that are against the motion
  • the points are different but consistent with the Opposing Opposition
  • Opposition Whip: summarizes the entire debate on behalf of the Opposition’s view

• Judges rank the debate and declare winners based on individual and team performance

  • each speaker is ranked on a scale from 0-100
  • there can be multiple judges, but the head judge is called the chair and the others are panelists

• After the debate is over, the chair will ask everybody participating to leave and the judges will decide a winner

• The chair will give reasoning to his rankings and respect should be shown towards the judge and their decisions

Section 02: Impromptu vs Prepared Debates

• Impromptu debates and prepared debates are 2 different types of debates used in the BPD format
• Impromptu debate: the format of debate where the motion is released a short time before the debate is about to start
  • time ranges are usually 15 mins before the debate starts
  • the use of the internet is banned
• Prepared debate: the motion is released and known to members participating ahead of time

Section 03: POIs

• POIs (Points of Information) are a key point of any debate
• POIs: short statements or questions the opposite side can use to challenge the speaker
• POIs cannot be longer than 15 seconds so questions should be short and concise
• The first and last minute of a speech by a speaker is known as protected time, and no POIs can be offered
• To offer a POI, a debater will give an indication such as raising up your hand, or saying “Point of Information”
• Even though speakers do not have to, it is best for speakers to accept at least 2 POIs during their speech
• In case of a POI being rejected, the debater who offered it should sit down immediately and keep silent
• Give the speaker time to answer questions
• There are many types of questions one can use form POI’s:
  • Clarification questions: questions used to clarify what the speaker said
  • To do this, one has to ask for a POI and if granted one, then they may ask a question
  • Purpose: to gain information, so avoid yes or no questions
    • Ex. “Can you restate your main point to the 2nd argument?”
    • Ex. “Did you say solar energy is cost effective?”
  • In these examples, the speaker can answer relatively easily and say yes or no without having to explain
  • A better question would be, “Can you explain how cost effective solar energy is?”
  • Asking better questions makes the speaker explain the evidence and you are allowing yourself to understand the topic further and making the speaker spend more time reiterating their point
  • Qualification questions: questions to show the quality of the argument
  • Ex. ”How does your evidence support your reason for this argument?”
  • For a speaker, it may cause them to make a mistake and can show a judge flaws that are in their arguments
  • To find flaws, it is good not ask/answer multiple questions, but should try to get home 1 or 2 solid questions as ways to challenge one’s logic
  • Follow-up questions: asking questions from the original question
  • The purpose of these questions is to “trap” the speaker into making a mistake
    • Ex. “You argued that marine parks help take care of animals, correct?” “Yes” “Then why does your evidence say that the workers don't have the same resources to properly take care of the animals?” “um…”
  • You want your questions to lead to an end goal
  • Most importantly, don't question if you do not have a clear follow up question in mind

Section 01: Main Terms

• Motion
• Rebuttals
• Proposition
• Opposition

Section 03: Main Terms

• POI’s (Point of Information)
• Clarification Questions
• Qualification Questions
• Follow Up Questions

Lesson 2: Your Change in the Limelight

Section 01: Use Of Voice (How to Use Your Voice Effectively)

• Tone
  • Nobody wants to listen to a monotonous robot
• Pacing
  • Make sure everyone understands you
• Pauses
  • Use pauses to add tension and grab attention

Section 02: Body Language (How to show confidence through Body Language)

• Hand Gestures
  • Don’t just say it, show it
  • Do not fidget
• Facial Expressions
  • Look like you mean it
• Express the emotion you’re saying