You Debate? You Must Be Good at Arguing

       What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the words, “Speech and Debate”? For most it may be, “wow, that’s lame”, or “wow…nerd”. For me and hundreds of people I know, those words spark, “Ahhh!! Can’t wait for another debate tournament”. Debate is far too often stereotyped and if we always seem so excited about it, then maybe you should be concerned. Most often times it is something that sounds unappealing. Many people do not know about it because they really have no interest for it.

There are two types of debate and ten different speeches that people can compete in. The first type of debate is Lincoln Douglas debate where two people debate on a value resolution. The other type of debate is team policy debate in which there are two people on a team that debate a U.S. policy reform. A common misconception that people associate with debate is, “all debate is, is arguing.” It is much more complex than that. It is formulating arguments in an effective manner. That does not always happen when a heated argument is going on.

As far as speeches go, there are speeches such as impromptu speaking, humorous interpretation, and persuasive speaking. This video is an example of a type of speech that is performed called a Duo Interpretation. It is hilarious so please watch! It gives a great taste of what speech and debate is! So, I was wondering if any of you ever considered or competed in speech and debate. If not, did you ever have a desire to?

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