How Can Learning to Debate Benefit Your Career?

There are diverse cultural, sports, scientific, and social activities at school or university that you can practice alongside your studies. Some may think that engaging in such activities is a waste of time, but the reality is that each one of them will, one way or another, contribute to your personality, potential, and prospects.

Selecting an extracurricular activity depends on your preferences and interests, but you should explore as many of them as possible to broaden your horizons, so long as this does not affect your study, which should always remain a top priority.

If you are looking for a cultural activity that can significantly help you gain essential life and practical skills, consider debating. A debate is a discussion between two people, each having their own point of view on a particular matter, governed by a set of rules and regulations. The advocating side or team (Proposition) supports and argues for their perspective, while the other opposing side (Opposition) denies and argues against the Proposition’s stance.

People exercise debating in everyday life when different views are discussed between colleagues or family members. In the competitive debates held at school or university, things are more organized, as there is a panel of adjudicators to manage the process and judge the winning side.

Each organization has its own debate regulations, but there are universal features in all debates. Typically, a debate addresses controversial issues that cause disagreement among the audience. For example: Should violent video games be banned? Can e-learning achieve the same results as classroom learning? Etc.

Differences are naturally human and happen since the dawn of history. It is impossible that all people agree on the same opinions, attitudes, and ways of thinking. This does not mean that one side has to be right, and the other has to be wrong. The ultimate goal of debating is to prove an assertion or find a solution. One significant outcome of taking part in debates is learning how to respect the right of others to disagree with you in any discussion and be able to grasp the underlying rationale for their viewpoints.

You will also learn to make your standpoint persuasively presented by providing valid, reasoned, and evidence-based arguments. These acquired skills will be so beneficial for your career development.

And there is yet much more. As already said, debates are a perfect setting to develop your capacities and obtain many other qualities, such as:

Self-Confidence

Participation in debates improves your elocution, rhetoric, and expressive speech. This will boost your self-confidence, make you a better public speaker, and reflect positively on your day-to-day dealings with other people.

Critical Thinking

During a debate, you have to analyze things rationally and understand the other side’s motivations and arguments before forming a judgment. By doing so, you can think and reply well.

Eloquence

While debating, you are expected to organize your ideas carefully and express them clearly, so that the purport of your discourse is communicated thoroughly to the recipient. By extension, your rhetoric style and competence will be refined.

Research Skills

To have a successful debate, you have to capitalize on a comprehensive background knowledge on the topic at hand to help you put forward compelling and concrete arguments. This might mean hours of reading and researching.

Being in Touch

By participating in debates, you become in touch with, and more aware of, the public causes of interest both locally and globally. As a result, you can be a key influence on your society.

Interpersonal Skills

To be a good debater, you must cooperate with your teammates, something that will require effective communication skills and teamwork.

Creativity

When debating, you will need to develop plausible and articulate arguments in a limited time frame. Inevitably, your mind will be triggered to unleash its utmost creativity.

Now that you have discovered the benefits of debating, you may want to give it a shot. Talk to the debate coordinator at your school or the debate club at your university, and kick off your journey.