Why hiring a debater can boost your team’s performance?
Updated: Sep 13, 2022
When you see job applicants with competitive debating on their CV, what is your first impression? Good at arguing? Intimidating? Let’s debunk what debaters do and how they can help your team’s performance.
So... What do debaters do?
Debaters persuade.
In competitive debating, the ultimate objective is to persuade the judge to vote for your side. To win over the other team(s), debaters often do the following:
Define the keywords in the motion
Identify the problem hinted by the motion
Identify the yardsticks of success
Propose a solution to address the problem
Identify the key stakeholders
Explain how the solution-proposed maximize benefits
Mitigate the arguments from the opposing team(s)
Compare and contrast the views from opposing team(s)
Explain why the ideas from our side are better and more important
How can debaters boost the team's performance?
Analyzing what debaters do in competitive debating, we can expect debaters are:
1. Problem-solvers
Debaters are sensitive to what is happening in our world to tackle a wide range of motions. That is because every motion links to a societal problem/phenomenon with certain harms. We are used to coming up with potential solutions (i.e., models) to resolve the issues. When debaters are given a task, we are likely to dig deeply into the problem that the job is trying to fix. For example, getting to know what the clients' needs are or what dilemma the team is facing. We target the cruxes of the issue. Often, we may propose alternative solutions too. This would embark more discussions on what to do and how to do it. Even though that may take up slightly more time, we try to ensure that we do engage directly with the core concerns of our clients.
2. Goal Setters
Without a clearly defined success metric, it is difficult for the judge to decide which side wins over the other side. That is why debaters are trained to set goals and yardsticks. When you hire a debater in your team, they are likely to ensure that everyone is clear about the project's end goals. Goals are essential for three reasons:
They give team members a clear objective
They help to measure the process
They motivate team members
With clear goals and objectives, your team will execute the project more effectively because everyone shares the same focus by motivated members and the plan can be monitored along the way.
3. Analyzers
