Speech and Debate are valuable pursuits for students of all ages. Experience with speech and debate hones skills for other academic pursuits.
Most obviously, it builds confidence in public speaking, and it helps students to express their ideas eloquently.
The comfort of speaking in front of others is useful in so many areas of life, from interviews to school presentations to discussions in college seminars.
The benefits of speech and debate include developing strong critical thinking and research skills. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
Debate (and research based speeches) require students to research their ideas, analyze them, and support them with evidence. This teaches students to conduct research and assess sources. According to Arne Duncan, then-Secretary of Education, debate is “uniquely suited” to build skills required of a modern citizen, including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Those skills help students express their thoughts better in their academic work and their college applications.
The College Board recently revamped the SAT test to focus more on exactly the sorts of skills speech and debate teaches. As the New York Times explained, students taking the new version of the test must write “a critical response to a specific argument” based on analysis rather than personal experience. Debaters are used to responding to unfamiliar arguments in time-sensitive situations; thinking critically about a written passage on the SAT is not so different from responding to an opponent’s argument in a debate round. Debaters likewise outscore non-debaters on every section of the ACT.
For students who commit to speech and debate, it offers a lifetime of benefits. Forbes published an article titled “How to Find the Millennials Who Will Lead Your Company,” suggesting that the leaders of the future are ex-debaters. As that article notes, [speech and] debate teaches “how to persuade, how to present clearly, and how to connect with an audience,” exactly the skills businesses look for in their young employees.
You’ll find ex-debaters in every area of public life, from Bruce Springsteen to Oprah Winfrey to Nelson Mandela. 60% of Congressional representatives participated in debate, as well as at least a third of the Supreme Court. There are ex-debaters excelling in business, law, politics, academia, and many other fields.
Sources:
Forbes
New York Times
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Stanford
Latitudes in Learning by Frank Duffin