Week 23
NB. This is a metadebate: a debate on the specifics of debating.
An illustration of the four ways of jotting down notes.
Date: 4th Jun 2022
Motion: THB it’s better to debate impromptu than write down notes
Role: Member (opp.)
Sometimes you think you see an exceptional speaker who takes the podium and lets it rip up there, terrorising the audience with a verbal precision strike. Sometimes in movies, too, you see someone act like this and address a big group or at least a roomful of people. But, lest we forget, talking spontaneously comes to people who are leaders or experts in a given field – with years in the thing clocked in – whereas debaters are most often rookies on topics, with no clout. And in movies, the characters in a role deliver invariably speeches that are somehow gut-wrenching and soul-searching, for it’s their body and personal history that does the speaking rather than the mind.
A good speaker may appear to speak naturally, but the structure of the speech lies at the back of his or her head. And that takes memorising by heart. Memorising the speech structurally takes as long as coming up with things to say. So, prep time only avails itself to either thing: You can try to memorise something that you do not yet have – or you can try to develop that thing.
The good news is that notes do not have to be dull or written on dull surfaces, such as a Moleskine notebook or one’s laptop. Static platforms lead to static speeches. More dynamic platforms might lead to more dynamic speeches. I can present you with four alternative ways to write down a speech.
Bingo Card Method
My most recent innovation, from this spring, is the Bingo Card method. It boils down to creating a template, a 5×5 square grid, such as the one with which bingo is played. You are supposed to write down your arguments in the squares. As the space is tiny, you can only write the bare bones of your argument. But, keep on writing and try to fill in as many as you can. My best guess is that prep time does not let you cover all the space. At any rate, even if you filled just a dozen next to each other – beginning in the middle and straying from there – you’d have several “bingo rows” to follow. You can choose the combination of arguments, i.e. ‘party line’, that you like best. What is best about this method is that it permits some kind of matter-of-fact, real strategic thinking while being seated and awaiting one’s turn.
Cube Method
For the Cube method, you need a cardboard cube of some size. It could be the box of a Christmas-tree decorative ball or golf ball. Then, you attach post-it note stacks to each of its sides. When completed, you use the cube so that you write your arguments on the sides of it and revolve it as the speech progresses. If you leave protected time at 30 sec, you have one minute to use on the contents of each side. Finally, you remove each used slip of paper.
Gaussian Curve Method
A nice way to use a traditional sheet of paper is to draw the normal distribution on it. If you know that you are a have-lots-to-say speaker, you should leave it looking like a hill. Likewise, if you are a leader or whip on either side. You won’t be interrupted that much, and that’s why you need a lot of space for many arguments of your own. Conversely, if you know that you are a have-little-to-say speaker or are in the middlemost roles, you should leave the curve looking like a valley. You should fill up the left- and right-hand-side slopey areas with your arguments and leave the middle empty for the POIs of the rival side of the debate. This means you spend a lot of time listening to their questions and answering them; that’s why the middle space is hollow, for notes.
Post-It-Method
A close relative to the Cube method is the Post-It method. It means that you take a normal sheet and cover it with 6 post-it slips of different colours. You write your arguments down and put them in a certain order. If you leave protected time at 30 sec, you have one minute to use on the contents of each side. While the debate continues, if you see it fit, you can replace the arguments with one another and so change their order.
These methods should allow you to debate and excel in a ludic but not ludicrous way.
Perustelu(t)/puolustelu(t): Koska minulla on eksplisiittiset metodit merkintöjen tekemiseen, on paras, että olen viimeinen alkuperäistä ainesta tuottava puhuja. Muuten on vaarana, että “tunnelma lässähtää”. Edeltäville aiheiksi käyvät vaikkapa se, että muistiinpanot ovat harvoja tilanteita, joissa voi vielä käyttää käsinkirjoitustaitoja, ja että ne edesauttavat suuresti puheiden post-dokumentoimista, jos puheista pitää vaikkapa blogia.
Polar Ice Standpoints Society 