Reflection on the Debates

The 3 different debates were quite different from each other and focused on totally different things. The most interesting thing I learnt was the “dress code” story that Dhanvi brought up about how her friend had faced a similar dilemma of how she was dress-coded and was sent home before her big assignment. This was interesting and I felt more connected to this as it was a personal story from her life and someone I know. The single greatest thing I learnt about rational argument is the fact that you do not have to use your voice or yell to win an argument, which is something that I often do to win debates. This was a new experience and I think I enjoyed it more this way. The biggest challenge to me was the first portion of my debate which was when I had to speak. This is because while debating I tend to enjoy attacking the person more rather than rehearsing a speech in front of an audience. This is because while attacking a person I get to bring up more points and direct them towards the person I am attacking, whereas, in a speech no one is there to contest my statements and I cannot direct my points towards anyone or put them on the spot. I honestly believe that as a class we did quite well in debating and I was honestly impressed with each individual as they surprised me in their capabilities. However, I must say I was most impressed with Parshva’s ability to counter each argument or point thrown at him and he really held his own in this aspect. In terms of my debate, I was not proud of much as I shied away from the spotlight for some reason which is something completely unlike me. I believe that my debating skills in my debate weren’t on display and were weaker than usual, however, I was pleased with my ability to be involved in the open discussion in Parshva’s debate as I believe I asked adequate questions to both sides, creating problems and points against both. Personally, I really enjoyed the debates as I got to see people in the classroom display their capabilities and I heard many people different views on different topics.