Raising my hand in class gives me a little anxiety. I typically don’t get involved in discussions in class. Presentations are one of my biggest fears.
Despite this, I joined a debate club this year. I don’t know much about it, but I joined to overcome my fear of public speaking and to improve my speaking and debating club. I decided that I’m no longer letting the fear and anxiety of speaking in front of others control my life.
I’m hoping to muster up the courage to debate in front of my debate club sometime this month – literally any tips would be greatly appreciated!!
I did debate freshman year for the same reason (quit after that bc of time and the people but anyway). What helped for me was really knowing and working on my case till it was perfect and organized bc that helped me feel more comfortable about the speaking part. I also liked debating with a partner so all the pressure wasnt on me. Its nice bc usually, at compeitions youre only speaking in front of the judge, the other team, and maybe a few audince members so its not that scary compared to like speaking in front of a entire classroom. In terms of speaking in front of your club, they really want you to suceed bc that hepls the entire team so they should be super supportive. If you want though, it might be good to practice in front of a couple members before taking that step.
My son was in your situation exactly. Two years of debate club helped his public speaking tremendously. He did the PF debate with a friend so this could have been a bit easier than doing it alone, but they had to talk really fast. I’ve also been a debate judge. The competition is really not as scary as speaking in front of an audience, because you really talk to only one person (but make sure you’re talking to the judge, not the floor!) Good luck!
Good for you! Both my sons did speech and debate. There are lots of kids who seem shy about speaking in public, but excelled in speech and debate. Have a fun time! Those skills will help you in any career.
I didn’t do debate, but I do speech, specifically an event that’s very similar to debate. I started out a rather shy person, but the more I participated in tournaments, the more I became comfortable with public speaking. I certainly love to talk now lol. The best thing to do would be to become highly informed about what you are saying. When you know you’re correct, you won’t feel as much insecurity about what others will thing. You know that you can correct them at a moment’s notice. I’m not sure how your debate system works, but try to find things you’re passionate about to discuss. You’ll get so wrapped up in the topic, you’ll forget about what the audience thinks. This will help you ease into debate until you become comfortable with public speaking.
I coached speech & debate for 18 years. In my opinion, it is absolutely the best possible prep you can get for life as an adult-- who will have to interview for jobs along the way, and make your point to you colleagues at that job!! Good for you for stepping out of that comfort zone and joining!!!
There are several types of debate out there, so the advice will have to stay general:
1. Prepare. a LOT!! Knowing your arguments cold is your best weapon. Make sure you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each side of your case. Practice and practice and practice.
-2. Volunteer EARLY to debate in front of your club. This accomplishes two things: It gets that frightening first time out of the way, and it gets yours in when everyone is still expected to have lots of flaws because it’s so early in the school year.
-3. Realize that your actual competitive debates won’t be in an auditorium in front of an audience. They’ll be in a classroom with you, your competitor, and a judge.
