Brainstorming

Explanation

Being on a debating team is a fundamentally collaborative activity. Everyone is jointly responsible for every aspect of the case. This is particularly important because once the debate has begun, having a shared understanding of the case enables everyone to respond consistently to the other team’s unfolding position.

A few minutes’ silent reflection on entering the prep room allows everyone to note down anything they know about the current situation, or status quo, relevant to the debate topic (but don’t include thinking up arguments at this stage). It is a common experience that once teams start discussing their case, some salient details about the real world get lost in the intensity of discussion!

Following silent note taking and group brainstorming, paring and sharing is a very useful technique—for instance, first and second speakers working together to make sure their parts of the case build consistently, and third and fourth also working together to examine the opposition’s options. Genuinely testing your ideas for weaknesses is essential here and should be embraced—it helps arrive at the best version of your arguments and avoid inconsistencies and contradictions.

Why?/Why Not? Although simple, this is an effective method for case construction. In the middle of your whiteboard, or paper, you draw a circle and write within it: WHY, if you’re affirmative, or WHY NOT, if negative. Then, as you come up with reasons why (or why not), you write them radiating from the circle. Once you’ve exhausted your ideas, you then look for links that enable you to group them. Generally, you’ll find they fall into three or four groups. Finally, you come up with labels for the groups, allotting the most important couple of them to the first speaker, and the secondary one or two to the second speaker. From there, the arguments of each speaker can be fully constructed.

Common mistakes

Sometimes speakers hold back an argument, example or analogy from the team discussion because they want to be the one to bring it up in the debate. Frankly, this is just a form of hogging that hurts a team. All material should be shared so it can be used at the right time in the case no matter who delivers it.

Brainstorming is an intense process, and this can cause tension. Disagreement can derail a team in the short and long term. Debating is like a team sport—everyone on the team should be interdependent and cooperative.

Conclusion

Brainstorming is a time when ideas are flying, so you should listen carefully to what your teammates say and then constructively test everyone’s ideas, including your own. You need to be willing to have your ideas challenged and learn to adapt or drop them when real flaws are pointed out. Similarly, you need to learn to examine objectively your team members ideas and offer constructive criticism.

The Why?/Why Not? method should include at least a quick analysis of the opposite question to help test your arguments and provide some framework for your rebuttal.