What we’re about
We believe there are three ingredients to civil disagreement that you only get by debating face to face: listening to what other people have to say, looking them in the eye when you tell them you disagree, and stepping into their shoes to understand why they think differently.
This is what we require all of our speakers to do at our Face to Face debates and though this has been made a lot more difficult by the pandemic, holding our debates on Zoom has allowed us to continue this tradition while moving all operations online until it is safe to stage live events again.
How Face to Face debates work
Face to Face debates are all about providing a space for people to practice civil disagreement themselves, so we recruit speakers from within our own community and give them a platform to make the case for or against each debate motion.
We set only ONE condition: they must agree to defend whichever position we assign them, even if it means arguing against what they personally believe. This is how we encourage our members to step into the shoes of people who think differently and try seeing the world through their eyes. It is then for our audience to work out if they genuinely hold the position they are defending.
The audience has a big role to play on top of this. After being given time to discuss how they feel about the topic in breakout rooms before the debate starts, we then hand the floor over to them after hearing the opening arguments for both sides, so they can cross-examine the speakers with their questions and comments.
The debate ends with closing arguments from both sides and an audience vote to see where they stand. We follow that with a short discussion to see how many people changed their minds and why.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Network event7 attendees from 2 groups hostingState of Free Speech In The West? - Fleet Street DebateYe Olde Cock Tavern, London
This House believes that no one should be cancelled for their speech
Why Are We Having This Debate
News, both at home and abroad, has been full of headlines that have raised questions about free speech across the west. With political assassinations in the US to free speech demonstrations in the city of London - Free speech and the idea that many people are worried about what free speech looks like in a modern western world is taking hold.
Debate London is a home for free speech - we tackle the arguments not the people and we feel in our hearts that it is more important now than ever before to come together with our London community and debate the state of free speech in the modern west.
"Free speech rally" in LondonOverseas in America political violence has escalated to a fever pitch with 2 assassinations in 2025 alone this year alone and several attempted assassinations across the country in the last 2 years including an attempt on the life of the now president during the 2024 elections.
CNN article with list of all known politically motivated attacksWhat To Expect
3v3 panel debate where our members explore the strongest arguments for a given topic.A debate should tell the audience what they need to know and not just what the speakers think. If you feel the same way, then we want to meet you.
Debate London is the year-round series of free public debates held across London. The series is run by Debate London, a social enterprise that helps its members to advance their personal and professional development by teaching them how to debate.
All of our speakers are club members who have agreed to defend a particular perspective the audience need to hear, rather than just share their own personal opinion. After presenting the point of view assigned to them, the audience are then given the floor to cross-examine them and share their own position.
The only time we hear what the speakers really think is at the end of the debate when they tell us where they really stand and whether this changed at all while learning how to defend the perspective assigned to them.
- Network event1 attendee from 2 groups hostingPersuading with Rhetoric - Debate WorkshopYe Olde Cock Tavern, London£35.00
An introduction to rhetoric and persuasive speaking so you can begin to develop your own personal persuasive speaking style.
“The problem with political jokes is they get elected - Henry Cate VII”
In this 4.5 hour hour Masterclass we will be exploring persuasive speaking and the fundamentals of rhetoric.
Persuasion takes many forms but ultimately is a single communicative skill to deliver information effectively and with a motivation to act. In the debate space it's persuading an audience our ideas are the better solution this winning votes. At work it may be that all important discussion about a pay rise or why x product is better for your customer... Don't even get me started about how crucial it is in the argument of what you and your partner should eat for dinner (or who does the dishes.)
The Key Skills You Will Learn:
- Ethos (persuading from authority or audience connection)
- Pathos (Persuading using emotion)
- Logos (persuading using logic)
This workshop is for debaters and speakers of all skill ranges and free for all to attend. We will cover a range of rhetorical devices that we as speakers can take to the podium and use to our advantage. each one an additional tool we can use to bring our audience on side.
Our Coaches
Debate London's Coaching team brings together 6 of the greatest debaters from across the UK and the USA with a combined experience of over a century in debating. Wether that is leading on the debate competition circuit, judging debates across university & professional levels or running debate training organisations to develop the next generation of debaters our team will give you the skills you need to debate with the best of them.Venue
Food and drink available at the venue and a lunch break is scheduled within the workshop.
Please do not bring external food or drink into the venue you WILL be asked to throw it away.Running Order:
12:00 - Doors Open: Grab a drink and get comfy :)
12:05 - Introduction to Rhetoric and Persuasion
13:00 - Drinks break
13:15 - Active Learning and Debate Exercises
14:15 - Lunch
15:00 - Rhetoric Recap
15:15 - Practice Debates
16:00 - Coach Feedback & Final Q&A
16:30 - After Workshop Social
Past events (586)
See all- Network event23 attendees from 2 groups hostingAsylum Hotels, who decides where they go? - Victoria DebatesThis event has passed
