The Debater's Guide, Fourth Edition

6. Speakers’ Responsibilities in Presenting the Debate

67 6 Speakers’ Responsibilities in Presenting the Debate Think before you speak! —Miguel Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605) We mentioned earlier that wise speakers budget their speaking time with great care. There is good reason to be careful, namely that there is much to be done in a short amount of time. But when debaters actually come to the platform to address the audience, they must also realize that each of the eight speeches and four cross-examinations in a typical debate is made under somewhat different circumstances. Obviously, the first constructive speaker has the full attention of the audience, while the last rebuttal speaker faces an audience that is probably weary and may be somewhat confused by the claims and counterclaims of the previous eleven speaking or questioning periods . Each speaker, therefore, may have somewhat different duties to perform in order to convince the audience. The debate situation keeps changing, and the debater must adapt to those changes. With the changeability of the debate situation in mind, we will now consider some of the factors each speaker should understand. The debate should be viewed as a sequence of opposing ideas—what the first negative says, for example, may force the second affirmative to revise a previously planned speech in order to meet the attack on the affirmative case. Therefore, it is unwise for a team to insist on a rigid time budget for speeches after the first affirmative. It is even more injudicious, however, for one team to ignore what its opponents have said—forgetting that the audience has heard those other arguments as well as its own. A sure sign of a poor debate team is a second affirmative who acts as if the first negative had never spoken. The following suggestions are, therefore, intended as a guide rather than as absolute limits as far as time. The duties are generally the same in most debates, although there may be some room 68 Speakers’ Responsibilities for adaptation as well. For example, in parliamentary formats, the speeches are labeled to reflect government (affirmative) or opposition (negative) assignments. Parliamentary debates will frequently have only a single rebuttal for each side. But the jobs of the speakers remain similar, so each label will be used in the following descriptions. Constructive Speeches First Affirmative or Prime Minister Constructive This speaker states the proposition for debate, defines any terms likely to prove troublesome, and launches the affirmative line of argument. It is advisable for this speaker to outline the entire affirmative case with great clarity, indicating which issues and arguments will be developed in the second affirmative. The first affirmative constructive, in short, should get the debate started with a clear outline of the affirmative’s philosophy in relation to the proposition with any related interpretations, limitations, or restrictions. Every word of the proposition need not be defined but only those that may be ambiguous or that the affirmative understands to have a technical or unusual meaning in the debate. The negative usually wins a debate in which both sides quibble extensively about a definition since such quibbling distracts the affirmative from its job of supporting the proposition. If you are debating a value-oriented proposition, then this speech must outline a clear value system to be applied in the analysis. A debater dealing with a policy question must present a compelling need orproblemareaandoftenwillalsoindicatetheplantosolvethatneed. Absolute clarity is the aim of the first speaker. Ordinarily, those in the audience can get a clear picture of the whole affirmative if the speaker outlines for them the issues and arguments to be discussed and identifies any reserved until the second affirmative. A clear summary at the end of this speech that reviews the outline of the affirmative case as a whole will add emphasis to the case and will probably prevent confusion later on. In chapter 2, we mentioned a possible time budget for this speech. The exact time apportionment may differ from speaker to speaker, but the important factor is that you plan each minute of the speech. Ideally, the second affirmative speaker should be involved in the writing of the first speech. The second speaker will have to defend 69 Speakers’ Responsibilities it and so must be completely familiar with its development and contents. Team members working together can produce a document that both can support. First Negative or Leader of Opposition Constructive The duties in this speech are two: first, to state the negative’s philosophy toward the proposition, and second, to indicate the...