Ladies and Gentlemen,  today I will be introducing you to the 3 most important words that any debater MUST know. These are:

• Matter
• Method
• Manner

If you are interested in debating, you MUST familiarise yourself with these terms. Here is how they all tie in!

Firstly, Matter. In any argument, it is important that you have material to back up your case. If you were trying to convince somebody that your opinion is CORRECT and RELEVANT, then you will always have examples and information to back yourself up. I’ll paint you a rather ‘extreme’ picture. Imagine you are trying to stop a  man from jumping off a bridge. He is convinced that he has nothing left to live for, and you are trying to convince him otherwise.

You conversation might go something like this :

You: Don’t do it, you have so many things in your life worth living for!

Man jumping off a bridge: No I don’t! I have nothing!

You: Sure you do! You have family, friends, a job, children, hobbies…and so on.

In this example, the ‘family, friends, job, children and hobbies’ are your MATTER.

I know, it sounds silly, but it really illustrates how much the concept of MATTER is valuable in an argument or proving your point. Without examples to prove your point, you really only are relying on your own opinion  - unfortunately, in an argument, your opinion means nothing!

So Matter, is your brainstorming, examples, arguments and facts to back up your entire case! The more well constructed arguments that you have the more likely you are to win!

Next we have Method. The method is all about the structure of your arguement. Generally, teams that are well coached have a very definite and easy to follow structure. With my teams, I get them to imagine their case as a giant tree that they must grow. Essentially, they start with nothing but grass, and then must create a thick tree.

The trunk of your tree is your CASELINE or ISSUE in the debate. This must be strong in order for your team to win.

The main branches off the tree are your ARGUEMENTS : These important to ‘branch’ out your case.

Your leaves of the tree are your EXAMPLES : These aren’t as important in creating a large tree or a strong branch, but are nessecary to make your case look like a proper tree!

All of these branches and leaves must be linked back to the tree trunk in order to prove your side of the topic correct - this will ensure relevant material! At the end of the debate, the tree that stands the tallest will win!

REMEMBER: REBUTTAL IS A CHAINSAW - IT HACKS AT THE TRUNK AND BRANCHES.

Finally in debating we have MANNER. Your manner, or mannerisms, don’t include you being polite to the audience and adjudicator! We judge manner on how convincing the DELIVERY of your arguements are.  Your eye contact, gestures, tone and pace has a major influence on how convincing you are overall! Remember, your delivery CAN sway an adjudicator - just convince them that you are right using your voice!

This concludes my overview of the 3 M’s!

Happy Debating!

J.