Intermediate Debate: Elevate Your Thought will build on the basic skills that they have learned in Debate for Beginners: Accelerate Your Thought course. This 12-session program intends to help students:

1. Construct a winning debate case: Train students to set up a strategic case to bring their team to victory.
2. Develop persuasive arguments: Beyond speech fundamentals, students will learn the art and science of building well-structured and logically coherent arguments.
3. Plan effective rebuttals: Help students learn how to counter opposing arguments and adapt their responses on the spot.
4. Improve judging criteria awareness: Educate learners about how judges evaluate Asian Parliament debates, aiding them in tailoring their arguments to meet judging criteria.
5. Deal with pressure: Help students learn to cope with nervousness and perform well under competitive pressure during debates.
6. Build confidence: Boost students’ self-confidence in public speaking.
7. Foster collaborative skills: Encourage students to work together, strategize, and support each other as a team. Motivate students to have sportsmanship even in defeat.
8. They will get numerous opportunities to do debate practice rounds in class and get constructive feedback, both at a team and individual level, from the coaching team. The feedback aims at enhancing students’ debating performance and preparing them for competitive international tournaments.

Similar to all programs at One Publique, classes are hands-on and action-oriented. The learning atmosphere is encouraging and supportive, carefully designed by One Publique’s unique philosophy. 

WHAT WE DO IN CLASS:

The primary debating style in this course will be the Asian Parliament (AP), which is a popular competition style in Thailand and this region. This format is different from the Debate for Beginners level which focused on the World Scholar’s Cup format (4-minute speeches).
− 7 minutes per speaker
− 2 x 4-minute reply speakers
− 30-minute preparation time
− No internet allowed during preparation time
− Opponents are allowed to raise objections (Points of Information)

If students have any upcoming tournaments, they should inform the coaching team as soon as they know, especially if the debating style will be different from AP. The coaching team can adjust the style of debate, so the students get to practice before the tournaments.

COURSE OVERVIEW: 

Since debating fundamentals and basic speaker roles will already have been covered in the previous course, the focus of this Intermediate level will be on:
− Case-building strategy
− Case set-up tactics
− Creating impactful arguments
− Strategic rebuttals
− In-depth argumentation
− Stakeholder analysis
− Current affair discussion: debriefing of recent controversies and hot topics
− Contextualization & framing
− Clash points for whip speakers
− Exposure to various speaker roles (as opposed to fixed roles)
− Exposure to more complex motions
− How to flow (track) the debate
− How judges adjudicate the debate


FINAL OUTCOME:

• The last session is the Debate Showcase. Every student will debate in front of a live audience. Participation in this event is mandatory for course completion. Parents are invited to join us at this event.
• Each student will receive a Certificate of Completion and a Performance Video.
• Each student will receive debate tournament news and invitations from One Publique. Should they decide to join any competitive tournaments, we are happy to provide debate coaching, chaperoning support, and event report services in the future.

Class Schedule