Leaders That Listen Public Speaking Curriculum
Debate Guide
Debate is an engaging and rigorous way to explore issues that directly impact society -- it also trains your brain to listen carefully, which is important for leaders! When done well, debate can be used to develop empathy, perspective-taking, and productive conflict by teaching people how to navigate difference and interrogate ideas (as opposed to personal attacks). This toolkit is an introduction to debate protocols and argumentation skills, as well as how to judge debate, how to run a debate practice, and even how to start a debate team. Whether you are involved in formal debate, these resources can help you improve your spontaneous speaking and ability to persuade an audience!
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This essay discusses how debate can be used to develop empathy and promote listening.
This essay discusses why debate can be exclusionary and inaccessible, unless taught using inclusive methods to navigate difference.
The author shares experiences helping a middle school student create a debate team to address issues of diversity and equity.
This one-pager contains 6 personal checkpoints for helping people improve their debate skills.
This one-pager contains 6 personal checkpoints to help speakers prioritize key skills to develop in debate.
This one-pager contains 6 personal checkpoints to help people provide better feedback to help debaters improve.
Use this resource to create different debate formats utilizing six common protocol elements.
These tips guide how to analyze topics, outline arguments, diversify arguments, and generate sufficient offense and defense.
Use this resource to respond to arguments in a debate in a clear, well-organized manner.
Use these tips to practice strong closing speeches that summarize key points in a passionate, compelling way.
This resource covers the basics of a spontaneous debate format modeled after British parliamentary procedure.
This resource covers a classroom method for discussing and debating philosophical questions.
These 8 short activities can be used as drills and warm-ups to focus on specific skills used in debate.
Practice argumentation skills through standards-based activities using these protocols for panels and mini-debates.
This assignment sheet describes how to run a culminating debate “tournament” to assess debate skills.
This instruction sheet and example ballot can be used for guest judges for a debate tournament.
This extensive checklist outlines what is required to start a debate team.
This planning tool and calendar help organize public speaking project goals and prioritize specific skills and milestones.