Introducción al debate: persuasión y adaptación a la audiencia

Students will be given a short lecture on how to develop their persuasive abilities and how adapt to an audience. They'll be taught how arguing with their peers can be different than arguing with teachers, parents, employers, and in a competitive setting. They will also be taught how to adapt how they speak given their audience and how best to be receptive to what others are saying so that they can better answer their arguments. After answering any questions students might have, they will be do a debate activity where they can implement the skills that they learned during the lecture. During the activity students will be given the opportunity to provide feedback to each other and will be given a decision by the instructor on who won, as well as tips on how to improve. After the first round of the activity is complete, we will have a second round so students can immediately build upon the feedback they received. In the second round, students who won the first round will against other students who won, while students who lost the first round will debate against other students who lost. If time allows, after the second round is complete, the top two students will compete in a final round to determine the session champion. This class is designed to build upon the lessons taught in my "Intro to Debate" course, but students can feel free to register for this course without having any prior debate experience or having taken my other class.