09-05-2004, 04:22 PM
I think one needs to tailor the debate to the audience. If your university class doesn't know or care anything about Diablo2 then a debate on maphack would bore them rigid
Reversing that logic and following the trail back, find a topic that really matters to them
Student funding, gender issues, religion and politics may be hot topics. Animal rights perhaps, civil liberties
Try to pick a subject where every single person is likely to have a strongly-held opinion. And not something that people argue about every day and are sick of
You know the demographic better than we do
I would advise avoiding things that will only engage a few of the audience. Two people arguing about some -ism that's just abstract is likely to send people to sleep on a hot autumn day.
Similarly if none of them are Canadian I doubt that Pete's idea will work well. If I had to sit there listening to people arguing about whether Canadians should speak French my overwhelming reaction would be "who cares?" followed by an hour of gazing dozily out of the window
If you want a specific how about: People under 21 shouldn't be allowed to drive - that pits concerns about the road death toll with concerns about individual freedom which may well touch most of your audience.
or Uninformed decisions damage democracy. Voters should be required to pass a simple current affairs awareness test before casting a vote
The test of a good debate subject is when people are still talking about it after they leave. Good luck!
Reversing that logic and following the trail back, find a topic that really matters to them
Student funding, gender issues, religion and politics may be hot topics. Animal rights perhaps, civil liberties
Try to pick a subject where every single person is likely to have a strongly-held opinion. And not something that people argue about every day and are sick of
You know the demographic better than we do
I would advise avoiding things that will only engage a few of the audience. Two people arguing about some -ism that's just abstract is likely to send people to sleep on a hot autumn day.
Similarly if none of them are Canadian I doubt that Pete's idea will work well. If I had to sit there listening to people arguing about whether Canadians should speak French my overwhelming reaction would be "who cares?" followed by an hour of gazing dozily out of the window
If you want a specific how about: People under 21 shouldn't be allowed to drive - that pits concerns about the road death toll with concerns about individual freedom which may well touch most of your audience.
or Uninformed decisions damage democracy. Voters should be required to pass a simple current affairs awareness test before casting a vote
The test of a good debate subject is when people are still talking about it after they leave. Good luck!