Why do people debate?

It's a very good question, and one the British Debate discussion list has tackled at length - whether people engage in competitive debating for its own sake (and for enjoyment, prize money and the applause of an audience) or whether there is a higher ideal behind it -- pursuit of truth, the cornerstone of democracy, etc..

We can't answer here why any individual student takes part in debating; but we can certainly explain why they should. The skills learnt through debating are many, and here are just a few:

the confidence to speak in front of a room full of people

the ability to present an argument persuasively

the vision to understand that there are two sides to most arguments

the respect for others, to let them have their say

the sense of timing, to prioritise your material and speak in a given time period

the structure to order your thoughts, to introduce, develop and summarise your points

the general and specific knowledge of many current affairs topics, learnt through research and debate

the flexibility to react quickly to new ideas, and to remain unflustered in crises

All of these skills are crucial in professional careers, which is why companies such as Procter & Gamble, Andersen Consulting, Ernst & Young, Prudential, the Financial Times, NatWest, Lloyds Bank and many others have sponsored debating competitions for so many years in Britain. All of the regular participants in school and university debating competitions have intelligence, which allied with the skills learnt from debate gives them a great basis for success in later life. Many work for the companies above and others with large graduate recruitment programmes; others you may have heard of include:

Benazir Bhutto - (former Prime Minister of Pakistan, former President of Oxford Union)

Bill Cinton - (former US President, former Lincoln-Douglas debater)

Robin Day, William Rees-Mogg and Brian Walden - (broadcasters, all went on American Debate Tour)

Michael Foot - (former Leader of the Labour Party, American Debate Tour 1934)

William Hague - (leader of Conservative Party, former President of Oxford Union)

Edward Heath - (former British Prime Minister, American Debate Tour 1939)

Lyndon Johnson - (former US President, former debate coach)

Richard Nixon, Jonathan Aitken, Stephen Milligan, Jeffrey Archer
- (all former university debaters, now disgraced)

Brad Pitt - (Hollywood actor, high school debater)

Dennis Potter - (playwright, former President of Oxford Union)

John Smith - (former Leader of the Labour Party, winner of Observer Mace in 1962)

Michael Stipe - (lead singer of REM, former NYU debater)

Adair Turner - (Director-General of the CBI, American Debate Tour 1978)

Ted Turner - (media mogul, former debater)

John Wayne - (actor, former debater)

Woodrow Wilson - (former US President, former debate coach)

Oprah Winfrey - (talk show host, former debater)

These are just some of the famous names -- you can find others for example in our debating alumni lists. But thousands of debaters have been equally successful in less public careers, as lawyers, journalists, academics, marketing managers, accountants, IT professionals and so on. Perhaps more importantly, many debaters in emerging democracies around the world have gone on to play a vital role in their countries' new Parliaments.