Indonesian Debating Format

So, competitive debating is debating using a format. What format does the Indonesians use? How
does it work?
The Indonesian Schools Debating Competitions uses the World Schools format. This format
work as follows:

There are 2 teams debating, each consists of 3 (three) debaters who would be first,
seconds and third speakers of the team.

One team shall be the Government or Affirmative side the side aggreeing with the
motion. The other team shall be the Opposition or Negative side the side disaggreeing
the motion.

Each speaker will deliver a substantial speech of 8 (eight) minutes durations, with the
affirmative going first. Afterwards either the first or second speaker on both sides will
deliver the reply speeches of 4 (four) minutes duration, with the negative going first.

Thus, the complete order of speaking during a debate is as follow: 1st Aff -> 1st Neg ->
2nd Aff -> 2nd Neg -> 3rd Aff ->3rd Neg -> Reply Neg -> Reply Aff

In substantive speech, members of the opposing team are allowed to give an interruption,
called Point of Information (POI) to the speaker delivering the speech, POIs may be
delivered between the 1st and 7th minutes of the 8 minutes speech. Notes: No POIs are
allowed in a reply speech and the speaker has full authority to accept or reject a POI.

A time keeper shall signal the time. There will be one knock at the 1st and 7th minute, to
signal time for POI. Two knocks at the 8th minute to signal that delivery time for the
speech has ended. Any debater speaking before 7 minutes shall be considered undertime
and his/her points could be reduces as well.

For reply speeches, there will be one knock at the 3rd minute to signal delivery time is
almost over and two knocks ath the 4th minute.

Every debate shall be judged by an odd number of judges and only the judges shall
decide who wins the debate. There is no draw in the result of a debate.

In Indonesian 2004, every team is given 30 minutes preparation time after the motion is
released and before the debate begins. During this preparation time, team are not allowed
to get help from anybody (be it coaches, teachers, parents or friends).

Case Building
Steps for case building:

Brainstorm individually

Discuss the definition

Choose relevant arguments to the definition

Determine time split and team line

Recap the whole case

Individual preparation

Case building is the process of putting together the terms arguments and making sure that they
are solid and consistent.
Given 30 minutes preparation time, teams do not have plenty of time to case build. Here is a little
tips on the steps of case building:
1. Brainstorm Individually
First, debaters could write down and bring out anything that crosses their mind once they
hear the motion. Anything here could be an argument, example, parameters or other
things related to the motion. This process should not take too long, only 5 minutes at the
most.
For the Negative team, debaters should also brainstorm on possible cases / definitions the
Affirmative might bring.
2. Discuss the Definition
Once all the ideas have come out, the Affirmative team should decide upon a definition.
There are two things to look at when defining a motion:
a. Look at Keywords in the Motion
Find the words that need to be defined in the motion, do these words need further
explanation or parameters or limitations?
b. Look at Real Issues in the Real World
Motions usually take up issues that are debated in the real world.
Since the Negative team does not need to come up with a definition, what they could do
in case building is discuss possible definitions that might come up from the motion. Pick

one or two of the most possible definitions and make the negation. Also put analysis on
real issues in analyzing possible cases. Remember that your main task as Opposition is
not to create a definition but to respond and negate the Affirmative. Here you must agree
on how to negate each possible definition.
3. Pick Relevant Arguments
After discussing the definition, members of the team should decide upon arguments that
are relevant to the definition. Dont put in an argument only because it sounds good
although it is totally irrelevant to the debate. Given the duration of the debate, it is good
for teams to have 2 4 arguments to prove their point.
4. Determine Team Line and Team Split
Having the definition and the arguments, to ensure the consistency of these arguments,
teams have the option of finding a main reason connecting these arguments or having a
team line. They should also divide the arguments among the first and second speaker and
come up with a team split.
5. Recap the Whole Case
Having the definition, arguments and split, a member of the team should recap the whole
case to make sure that each members of the team has the same case in mind.
6. Individual Preparation
The last minutes of case building should be given for each speaker to prepare their speech
individually.
NOTE: In debating as the Opposition or Negative team, you have to follow the dynamics of the
debate. When your prepared case is irrelevant to the case brought up by the Affirmative /
Government team (they bring a definition that you didnt think of), you have to leave your
prepared case and construct a new one on the spot during the debate.
Remember, that teamwork is the key. Make sure the three of you have the same perception on the
case that you would bring.

Research
As you can read from the explanation about arguments, good arguments are not only statements
or assertions, but they also have reasoning and evidence. They should also be logical and
relevant to the point being proven.
Reasoning and evidence dont fall automatically from the sky. In order to know these things, a
debater must read a lot of books and keep up with current news. In preparing for a tournament, it
is good for debaters to do research especially when some of the topics are given a few weeks
before the tournament. If you look at the examples of motions used in past competition, debating
covers a broad range of topics. So it is also good to know about current events happening in local
area and in world.

What debaters could do for research?

1. Search the internet
The internet is one of the easiest places to start research. But be careful not to get carried
away, as the internet is huge and you could easily get lost in it.
Here some sites that might help you for a start:
a. www.debatabase.com this is a site aimed for debaters. It has a number of topics
with arguments supporting or opposing that topic. We dont suggest debaters to
whip out arguments from this site, you should analyze those arguments as well
and decide whether its good or not. But its good place to start.
b. www.google.com this is the best search engine to find various topics. It will
give you a list of sites based on keywords you feed,
c. www.cnn.com this is the major news network. They usually give
comprehensive background and analysis on particular issue.
2. Read newspapers and magazines and watch TV news
Besides reading hard news to know the development of current issues, it is also good to
read the Editorial or Opinion column. These columns usually give analysis on certain
recent issues. It would also be useful to watch the news talk shows in television.
3. Dig the library
Start hanging out in the library and look for magazines, books or even encyclopedias that
could help your search.
4. Pay attention to your teachers at school
Believe it or not, but knowing basic stuff like United Nations and the way they work,
ASEAN, KPK, the structure of your government, etc. So start listening to your teachers
and take notes of what they say.

Style
Good style is when you deliver your arguments in a confident and persuasive manner.
Style is the way you speak. It is the manner in which debaters communicate their arguments.
Style constitutes 40% of the total score.
Style includes many aspects: speed of speech, tone, volume, use of language, clarity, fluency, use
of humor, stance, gestures and expression, and use of notes and eye contact.
Your style should be able to convince and persuade the judges that your arguments are better
than the other side. In order to do this, it is best to:

1. Use eye contact

Remember that when you debate, you should face the judges and not your opponents, as
the judges are the ones you want to convince. Avoiding eye contact would make you
seems as if you dont want to connect with the audience or the judges. Eye contact make
you look confidence.
Tips to use eye contact: for those who dont feel comfortable looking at another persons
eyes, try looking at their forehead. This makes you more at ease and the audiences still
feel you are talking to them.
2. Be clear in explaining your points
Being clear means using tone, volume and language that make other people understand
your points. Choose simple language or words to make sure audiences know what you
are talking about. Good grammar would be nice but one or two mistakes would not
matter as long as people understand what you say.
3. Avoid being monotonous
Change make people notice. So it is good to have variations in your speech so that people
stay interested. It would be a pity if the judges miss a good point you made simply
because your speech was boring.
4. Use sincere expression and gestures
Use the right expression and gesture to convince. Your speech would lose its appeal if for
example, you giggle or use humor while talking about the famine in Africa.
Different people have different styles and there are no absolute rules for style, except
that:
a. The use of swear word is extremely prohibited
b. Personal attacks or criticizing the person and not arguments are also prohibited.
For example:"The fat stupid opponents dont know what they are talking about".
Violation of these two rules could get a debater heavy penalty or even zero in the score.
The following are tips for practicing style:
1. Make the mirror your best friend
The best person to help you out with your style is yourself. Make a speech in front of a
mirror and judge on your own what kind of expression and gestures works best for you.
2. Tape yourself while practicing.
You could tape yourself while debating. This way you could analyze your performance
afterwards
3. Ask your friend to help you out
Make a speech in front of your friend and ask them to comment on your style.

Debate Strategy
Good strategy for Debaters is when a speaker:

Understands the critical issues in the debate

Fulfills the role of speaker

Delivers a speech that is easy to follow

Allocate appropriate time

Is consistent within his/her own speech and with teammates

English debate strategy constitutes 20% of the total score. It covers these concepts:
1. Whether the speaker understands what are the issues of debate
2. Structure of the speakers speech
3. Timing of the speakers speech
4. Consistency
Below are the explanations of each concept:
1. Understanding the issues of the debate
A debater should know what are the important issues raised up in the debate. If the
debaters fails to recognize critical points, then he/she seems to be out of the debate. For
instance, a speaker who answers a critical issue with weak responses would get poor
marks for content but good marks for strategy.
2. Structure of speakers speech
Structure of speech answers these vital questions:
a. Did you fulfill your role as First / Second / Third / Reply speaker?
As has been mentioned before, each speaker has a role that they should fulfill.
Failing to act these role could reduce the speakers marks for strategy.
b. Is your speech easy to follow?
Some speeches throw a bunch of ideas without any order. This kind of speeches
are difficult to follow because the speaker jumps from point to point. Speeches
with logical order of arguments, flowing naturally from one point to the other are
easy to follow.

Structure of speech example

One way to structure a speech is by sign posting. Sign Posting is when you say what you
want to explain, then you explain them. And at the end you say what you have just
explained.
For example a third speaker could open his speech by saying:
As the third speaker, I am going to rebut three main arguments of the Opposition: One,
on the argument that zoo protects animals. Two, on the point that zoo is an educational
venue. And three, on the assumption that it is significant to the tourism industry.
Afterwards he explains the rebuttals of each point. And at the end of his speech, he
concludes it by saying:
So I have explained that zoo exposes animals to bad condition and does not protect them.
I have also described the failure of zoo being an educational venue and last I have
showed that zoo do not give significant contributions to the tourism industry.
3. Timing of the speech
Timing of a speech answers these questions:
a. Did you allocate appropriate time according to your role of speaker?
Each speaker has their own role and thus should allocate time according to those
role.
b. Did you allocate appropriate time in dealing with significant issues?
Strong arguments should be prioritized. If a strong argument is explored in less
than 1 minute, while a week argument is explored for 3 minutes, then the speaker
did not allocate appropriate time to deal with the important issues in debate.
4. Consistency
Consistency has to show in the following conditions:
a. In the whole case
One speaker in a team should not contradict or become inconsistent with the other
speakers. Team member usually become inconsistent after they think their case is
being rebutted well by the opposition.
b. In an individual speech
When responding to a Point of Information (POI) or the other team arguments,
c. make sure that your responses dont contradict or inconsistent with your own
arguments.

Arguments
Arguments explain why a point of view should be accepted. Good arguments are logical and
relevant to the point being proven. They should also comprise of:

Assertion: the statement which should be proved

Reasoning: the reason why that statement is logical

Evidence: example or data that support the assertion and reasoning above

Link Back: the explanation of the relevance of this argument to the motion.

Given the duration of the debate, it is best to have 2 to 4 arguments to support your point of view.
These arguments should be divided between the first and the second speaker. So some arguments
are explained by the first speaker and the rest are explained by the second speaker. This division
is called a team split.
Each of these arguments should stand on their own. This means that each of the arguments
should be able to answer the definition with a ..because.. statement.
Rebuttals

Rebuttals are responses towards the other teams arguments. Rebuttals should prove that the
other teams arguments are not as important as they claim to be.
As with arguments, mere accusations do not equal good rebuttals. It is not enough to say that the
other teams arguments are inferior, good rebuttals should also explain the reasoning and
evidence of why those arguments are inferior.
In responding to the other teams arguments, rebuttals could show that those arguments are:

Irrelevant to the point being proven

Illogical

Morally flawed

Correct but not important or involve unacceptable implications

Based on an error of fact or an erroneous interpretation of fact

Given limited time in a debate, it is not necessary for a team to rebut every single point and fact
raised by the other team. Better single out the opposing teams arguments and attack those first.

Team should prioritize rebutting strong and important points first and leave the weak ones for
last priority.
Points of Information (POI)

As has been mentioned above, after the first minute and before the seventh minute of speech,
members of opposing team are allowed to briefly interrupt the current speaker. This
interruption is called a POI (Point of Information).
In order to offer a POI, a person must stand up, hold out his/her hand and say On that point
Sir/Madam or On that point of information. Please note that POI should be offered politely,
not used to hackle the speaker. When offered a POI, the speaker having the floor has full
authority to either reject or accept the POI. If a person is rejected a POI, he/she should sit down
again.
Point of Information should be brief and expressed as a question so that the speaker is required to
provide an answer. Once accepted, the person offering POI has at most 15 seconds to deliver the
POI. The speaker then must answer or response to that POI right after it is given and not wait
until later in his/her speech. It is advisable that the speaker does not answer a POI more than 30
seconds as it would make him/her lose track of the speech.
This kind of interruption should be offered regularly and through out the course of the debate.
Offering POI shows that they understand the issue being discussed during the debate.
It is advisable to accept around 2 POI in a speech and accept them between points of arguments
or rebuttals. Not accepting POI at all (especially when they are often offered) would be bad
strategy as the speaker is not involving the other team in his/her speech. But accepting too much
also not good, it would risk the speaker of losing control of the speech.
Case

The word case would often be heard in a debate. A CASE refers to the whole package of a
teams arguments. Imagine a debate to be physical battle. Then the definition would be the
battlefield that both sides have chosen. The CASE would be the fort that each team builds using
arguments as bricks. The rebuttals would be the weapons that they use to attack the other side.

MOTIONS FOR DEBATE COMPETITION

By AHMAD SYAFII, S.Pd.

I. Politic
Motion:
1. This house believes that people are getting irrational.
2. This house would control the press.
3. This house believes that undecided voting is against democracy.
II. Education
Motion:
4. This house would abolish exams.
5. This house would merge any schools with their neighbors.
6. This house would exert minimum score in SMK National Examination.
III. Economy
Motion:
7. This house believes that telephone tariff increase fools people.
8. This house would pay state officers based on merit system.
9. This house believes the government failed to run the economy.
IV. Sport
Motion:
10. This house would legalize the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport
11. This house would censor sport uniforms.
12. This house would run national lotteries for developing sports.
V. Social
Motion:
13. This house would ban marriage to more than one wives.

14. This house believes that feminism has gone too far.
15. This house would give sex education in schools.
VI. Law
Motion:
16. This house supports the death penalty for corruptors.
17. This house condemns the use of animals for entertainment.
18. This house would not permit gun ownership.
VII. Entertainment
Motion:
19. This house would ban beauty contests.
20. This house would censor TV programs.
21. This house would ban animals hunting for business.

VIII. Culture
Motion:
22. This house would place its own culture first.
23. This house believes that you are what you see.
24. This house believes that Hollywood influences badly to our youth.