Introduction:

This project made me really think about what it takes to be a good debater. I’ve always loved watching debates online no matter the topic. If it’s a good debate or argument, it will make me rethink a part of my worldview and has proven time and again that my belief may not be fool-proof to criticism. I especially enjoy watching arguments trying to However, actually being the one doing the debate completely has changed my idea on debating as a whole. 

The greatest ever:

To start, we had to create a persuasive text on why “blank” is best thing ever. I naturally chose Succession, the best show ever of course! As we went deeper into the project we analyzed which parts were logos appeal and which were emotional appeal. This made me think about the balance in writing a debate and how a good debate should of have a even mix of both. We started presenting as well, I think my years of speech arts really helped elevate my voice however, I struggled a lot with annunciation at the start, especially with words with a lot of s and f sounds and talking to fast due to being very anxious. Overall, this persuasive piece set me up for the rest of the project. 

The Speech Draft:

After we were done the persuasive speech, we started getting prepared to create a speech for a live debate for the exhibition. I decided with my friend to argue on university tuition specially, I would against it and he would be for university tuition. I believe that tuition should be free however, I wanted to challenge myself by choosing an argument that I didn’t 100% believe in but, could see how it could be argued for. Thus, I started to research and at first it was challenging to find sources that supported my claim. After some shifting through articles, I was able to find quite a lot of statics and research supporting my claims. Moreover, one piece of advice that helped me greatly in this debate is that I don’t have to be totally apposed to my opponent. All have to do is argue for some level of free tuition in universities. Additionally, I wished I asked for more feedback in this stage since I think it could led to a better final draft. 

Rebuttal:

The rebuttal is probably is my biggest regret in this project. To say it simply, I definitely did not prepare enough. In both the research and speaking . I really wished that I though more throughly on this part the project and was more on the attack with how I framed some of my points. I especially whisked that I practiced more improvisation with how I would combat my opponent’s points on the fly in under 1 minute. I think this part really taught me that I can always be more prepared and to never overestimate myself. 

The Final Speech:

The final speech was not my best yet, not my best work. After handing in the script I started to look over the script and found so many mistake and bad phrasing. Additionally, I had to cut some stuff out due to not having the time to keep it in. Additionally, I changed my introduction completely due to feedback. I really regret how I wrote my introduction since I didn’t think it hooked people but I didn’t know what else to do. For myself, even though I am worried about the cost of post-secondary, I also am not to worried about it since I have saved my own money for it and my parents have also saved quite a lot of money for me to go. Thus I never been one of the people who didn’t go to university because of the cost(which is a very fortunate thing). However, I think that I could found some over way to better hook my audience than the way I chose to go about it. Moreover, I really loved how many statics I used and how I incorporating emotion through questions and asking the audience to think about the future of Canada with tuition. Overall, this final speech wasn’t like any speech I have made in the recent past due to it being created for presenting. 

Exhibition:

The day of the exhibition went better and worse than I hoped. When I woke up I got a surprised assignation attempted by God through cramps and the fast decline of my heart rate. This led me to missing school however, at home I was able to make a quick recovery from the surprised attack. I practiced for my speech and started helping with exhibition set-up at 3. I have to say that the set-up went very smoothly and we were able to get it done in a small amount of time. Then, around 30 minutes after the exhibition started I presented my case. During my opponent’s and good amigo, Nolan, speech, I choked on my saliva however, was given a glass of water and recovered to work on my rebuttal. Than it was my turn for my main speech, honestly, I think I did alright for this speech. I was extremely nervous however, I put in a lot of practice which shows in how I deliver my lines and the volume of my voice. However, I definitely failed on my rebuttal and my opponent had prepared a quite amazing rebuttal and was able to argue against a lot of my points in the timespan of 1 minute. My conclusions as also extremely week compared to my opponent who used both facts and emotion for his final conclusion. Overall, I think this debate showed me how I cannot just focus on one aspect of my debate and the importance of being prepared. 

Conclusion:

This project changed my idea of debating for the better. It showed me that you don’t need just facts to win a debate but also whole lot of charisma and persuasion. However, how you present your facts and what facts you use will have a huge impact on the debate. I do have to say though that this project was one of the best PLP projects I have done. I’ve learned so much about public speaking and how to present to an audience. These skills I will definitely apply to my life after PLP. Overall, I believe that this project will help me greatly in future debates I find myself in and in public speaking.