About us
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
3
- Network event
Were Student Loans A Bad Idea? - Ealing Debate
The Drayton Court, 2 The Avenue West Ealing W13 8PH, London, GB6 attendees from 2 groupsWhy Are We Having This Debate
Student loans have been a topic of debate for over a decade. From their introduction, to the cost of tuition hikes under Cameron and now again with Labour continuing to freeze the thresholds until 2030 further piling pressure on graduates with ever mounting debt.MPs across parties are calling for a change to the student loan system with proposals ranging from a flat graduate tax to a student loan reform and even some voices in the public square calling for debt forgiveness.
Given this decade long ongoing debate we ask - Should we have adopted the student loan system to begin with?
Articles
Student loans: why is Martin Lewis clashing with Rachel Reeves? - The Guardian
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Student Loans - Experian
Martin Lewis: On a Plan 2 Student Loan? Beware! - Money Saving ExpertCome along and have your vote!
What 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.3 attendees from this group - Network event£301.00
Persuading With Evidence - Debate Workshop
The Windsor Castle Pub (Victoria), 23 Francis St, Victoria, SW1P 1EQ, GB1 attendee from 2 groupsLearn how to prepare a quality speech, presentation or argument in 20 minutes! From one of London's leading Debate Coaches.
In this 4.5 hour Masterclass we will be exploring: the tactics used before the speech. What to include, what to leave out, and what order to say it all in! Especially, when you are preparing to give a talk or a speech without much time to really prepare.
Key Skills we will be covering:- Stakeholder analysis & evidence (what sort of arguments can you build?)
- How to build an argument
- The basics of narrative building
This workshop for debaters and speakers of all skill ranges will introduce you to stakeholder analysis and balancing. A core aspect of effective debate preparation and argumentation. This is a key debate preparation skill that can be applied to any form of persuasive communication from the board room to presentations and, of course, debating!
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 organisiations 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 lunchbreak is scheduled within the workshop.
Please do not bring external food or drink into the venue you WILL be asked to throw it away.1 attendee from this group - Network event£30.00
Introduction to Public Speaking
The Windsor Castle Pub (Victoria), 23 Francis St, Victoria, SW1P 1EQ, GB1 attendee from 2 groupsIn this 4.5 hour Masterclass delivered by Debate London Founder Michael Pautsch, we will be exploring: The aspects of debate that is most personal to each speaker. Delivery. The skills that speakers use to overcome the nerves involved with public speaking and even how to channel them to work for you!
We will introduce you to the 3 core skills in delivering great speeches - Vocal Image, Visual Image, Verbal Image - And how we can apply simple tools to take ownership of each of these areas so we can be confident our audience sees the image we are choosing to present.
This workshop for debaters and speakers of all skill ranges will cover the causes of public speaking anxiety, the exercises we can use to find our voice for delivering a speech and the applied rhetoric skills developed from years of speaking experience..
What to expect over 4.5 Hours
12:00 - Doors open, grab a drink and get seated
12:10 - Coach introduction and understanding the 3 Vs
13:00 - 15 minute drinks break (lunch orders placed here)
13:15 - Exercises:- Tone of voice control
- body language control
- understanding an audience
- Single point speeches
14:20 - Lunch break
15:00 - Practice presentations & debates with coach feedback
16:30 - Head down to the bar for a post workshop chat.Meet Your Coaches
Michael is the host of all Debate London events and the regular chair of the It's Debateable public debate series. He is a sales and recruitment specialist focusing on the training of sales teams across a host of industries from direct sales to property to recruitment. Within the club's training syllabus, he connects the skills we teach to the professions you love so Debate London members can apply what they learn directly to their workplace.Venue
Food and drink is available for order at the venue. There is a 15 minute drinks break and a 45 minute lunch break included in the running time.
Please do not bring external food or drink into the premises you will be asked to throw it away1 attendee from this group
Past events
617
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Members
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