How to Win a Debate: Lessons From the First Games Debate Club
Last night, we teamed up with Technically Brooklyn and held our first ever Games Debate Club at The Yard in Williamsburg. We don’t know of a more passionate crowd than us gamers, so it sounded like the right thing to do.
The motion to be debated: Boss Fights are Dead
I know, I know. You’re probably already boiling with thoughts like “this guy is a moron”. Good, you’re ready for a debate.
It’s important to mention a couple things. First, the debates are meant to be less than serious. While we use the Oxford format, everyone is there having a good time and talking shop about their favorite hobby. It sounds serious, but it’s not.
Second, the key to an Oxford debate is sway, not support. While personally I may believe that boss fights are, in fact, not dead I took the challenge of arguing that they are. In the end, the debate is won by the team that manages to persuade the audience more and not by what their personal beliefs on the issue are.
So, we argued that boss fights are dead and we won the debate. Here’s how we did it:
- We had measurable data and facts that were easy to reference. In our case, we referred to the fact that 8 of the 10 most played games on Steam have no boss fights to speak of and some of the most iconic games of the last year that focused on having boss fights were comparatively low on the list of popular games.
- We kept the argument focused. It can be easy for a debate to sink into deconstructing the motion. This comes off to the audience as misdirection. Holding your opposing side accountable for trying to redefine the motion keys the audience in to your clarity of thought and confidence in your argument.
- Our debate was set up Oxford Style, so there was structure to it. We tried to be sure we were calculated in our rebuttals in order to not come off disorganized, frustrated or overly emotional. We did have a few outbursts, but we kept them to a minimum.
- We listened attentively to the other side. This serves to clue you in to their faults in logic or weak arguments. Those weak points are important to argue against in order to reinforce your opinion.
- Our side took notes while they spoke. Theirs didn’t. It helped us have coherent and concise responses.
All told, everyone had awesome arguments and had a great time.
If you love games then you’ve debated with someone before. While you may not convince your opponent, you can be persuasive to the crowds with these guidelines. It definitely worked for us, despite most of the audience generally disagreeing with the motion.
This is the beginning to a strong debate tradition, I can say that with confidence. We had a great time and acquired a heap of enthusiasm to do more, so here’s to a future of friendly, heated mind sports.
DEBATE OR DIE.
*****
Collin is the CEO and Founder of PlayWell.
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