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Sobia, Year 8 (pictured), reports on what it's like to be part of the Harris Academy Bermondsey debating team.

On Tuesday 25th January, we took part in a debating competition which was fun yet challenging. Debating is not only about winning an argument, it is also about the style and way you present your arguments.

As part of the debate competition, we took part in two rounds. We won the 2nd round which is outstanding as it was our first time debating against another school.

If you do not know, much about debating I am going to explain it for you.

In a debate, two teams of four people are given a motion (which is a topic you debate about). One team is the opposition who go against the motion and the other team is the proposition who argue for the motion.

The first speaker introduces the team’s ideas about the motion and defines important words. Then the second speaker states their second point. After the third speaker states their third point, and then the fourth speaker makes a conclusion about what the other speakers have said.

The fourth speaker has a really important role because they also must come back to some points that the opposing team stated and challenge them. 

During the time that the opposing team speaks, you must listen carefully to their arguments. The first 30 seconds of each speech is protected but after that you can interrupt with a ‘Point of Information’.

Point of Information is when you don’t agree with what the opposing team says and question them based on in an attempt to challenge and weaken their point. To raise a point of information, you put one hand on your head and stretch the other one out in the air whilst saying, “point of information.”

For example, if the opposing team states that McDonalds is better than KFC you can reply with Point Of Information and say that KFC is better because it has more options. If your team is ever interrupted by a point of information, you must think carefully about how to respond straight to the point and rebuttal the comments.

You might think that debating is not really that important or useful but from my experience it has really helped a lot with my public speaking.

I was nervous to begin with and worried that I would just stutter for the whole competition, however I was amazed at how well I did! Speaking in public might seem intimidating when you have not done it because you are scared that you will fail but once you get out there you’ll be spectacular!

Sobia, Year 8