Public Speaking in debates
I got an anon some time ago asking about tips for public speaking in a debate. It was in Spanish so I answered back in Spanish and now I think it may be also useful for some of you who can't understand Spanish, so here it goes in English:
There are many ways of avoiding that your nervousness affects your presentation or your public speech.The first way is that you have to be steeped in your topic and confident about what you are going to say. If you have worked your arguments and you can reply correctly to any question, you don't need to worry. If that is not the case, you should get somebody to prepare a simulation of the situation and that person has to attack your arguments until you are outside of your comfort zone and you have to think about new answers. If your brain gets used to look for answers quickly it won't collapse during the real situation.
If apart from debating you also have to give a public speech, prepare flashcards with key concepts or even very important lines but avoid reading the whole speech. It is better to explain yourself using your own words than presenting a complex and rhetorically embellished artificial product. If people understand you, you get a point.
Don't think the debate is a personal attack. They can criticize your argument, and that is great because it means it has been interesting enough to be counterargumented. It is not a face to face, a you vs. the rest; it is a group of people that have gathered together to find a solution. You work with them, next to them, not against them. My technique is thinking they are my mates instead of imaging them on their underwear which is very confusing and does not help you focus.
Go there feeling confident also physically. When I went to a simulacrum of an international meeting in which I had to represent Iraq, I wore a suit, heels, my hair up and makeup. It was not designed to impress anybody but to get into my character completely. You don't need to transform, just get the right attitude.
Bring a bottle of water with you and drink when needed. If your mouth dries it will send a signal to your brain which says “hey I am nervous as F***, can you make the rest of the body run so we save our soul?”. If your mouth is moist you won't feel that nervous. If your hands shake, grab a pen, don't ever grab a sheet of paper because it shakes, makes noises and crumples and it will make you and the rest of the room nervous.
Last but not least, think you all are nervous and it is ok if it is not as perfect as you wanted it to be. My mum always says “nothing is that important” and that is true, you have to make the effort, do it the best you can, be a lion out there, but don't get obsessed. You have been trained for this, soldier, you can do this and a lot more.
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