The theory and practice of argumentation and debate

by Victor Alvin Ketcham

The debater must make plain the important parts of his argument by means of emphasis. In speaking, as in writing, it is useless to try to emphasize everything. Only those parts which have been emphasized in writing out the argument should be emphasized in delivering it. An attempt to emphasize everything results in no emphasis at all. The speaker should therefore study his argument carefully and pick out the parts which are indispensable to his position. The audience will not perform this task of picking out the most important passages; the speaker must do it himself. In the delivery these parts should be emphasized by means of gestures, by speaking them more slowly and deliberately, or by any other legitimate method.

4. Key, rate, and inflection.

The debater should speak in his average key. By key we mean the pitch of the voice in speaking. By average key is meant that key to which the voice of the particular individual is especially adapted. Average key should not be confused with habitual key. One may easily acquire the habit of speaking either above or below the average key. The tendency of the inexperienced orator is usually to speak in a key which is too high. This defect is tiresome to both audience and speaker and should be overcome at any cost, for the debater should speak in a key which is easy and natural. This enables him to derive the benefit of full inflection both upward and downward, and bestows confidence and ease.

A common fault of the inexperienced speaker is a too rapid rate of delivery. In the beginning of the speech it is especially important that every word be spoken slowly and distinctly. At no part of the speech should the rate be so rapid as to prevent the audience from grasping the full significance of what is being said. The average rate of delivery has been computed to be one hundred and twenty-five words per minute, allowing for pauses and transitions; but the rate should vary according to the speaker, the subject, and the audience. First of all the rate should be adapted to the thought and to the emotion. Simple ideas can be presented rapidly, while complex ideas must be presented slowly. In all cases the audience should be given ample time to grasp the ideas presented. With this caution in mind the speaker may dwell upon the important thoughts and emotions and pass lightly and quickly over the unimportant. Thought and emotion must be fully appreciated by the speaker at the time of delivery, and this appreciation should be indicated in part by the rate of speaking. In general it may be said that the emotions of awe, grandeur, reverence, sorrow, etc., should be voiced with a slow movement, while emotions of joy, anger, indignation, enthusiasm, etc., should be voiced with a rapid movement. However the student should be careful to avoid either a jerky or a drawling delivery. These faults are due usually to a failure to dwell upon the vowel sounds. No set rule can be established, but all of these things should be considered by the speaker when he is preparing to deliver his argument.

Inflection should be used to give variety to the argument, to bring out the special significance of important passages, and to show the bearing which the evidence has upon the general principles. The amateur speaker usually varies his inflection according to the punctuation. This is not a safe rule to follow. The falling inflection indicates that the thought is complete, but not that the end of the sentence has been reached. In argumentative speaking the falling inflection is most frequently used because it indicates positive assertion. It denotes confidence in what is being said. On the other hand, the rising inflection denotes doubt, indecision, negation, or appeal. It is often necessary to express all of these attitudes in delivering an argument; but the falling inflection, which denotes a positive statement, should predominate.

5. Gesture.

The memorizing of gestures is as ineffective as is the memorizing of words. Both tend to make the delivery mechanical and hence should be carefully avoided. The student should never pick out certain emphatic parts in his discourse and seek to emphasize them by means of gestures which he has studied out and practiced. In fact gesturing is not a necessity in the delivering of an argument. It is certain that poor gesturing is worse than none at all. Gestures add to the effectiveness of an argument only when they are simple and natural. As a general rule they are natural only when they are made spontaneously. Here, again, practice before a competent instructor, or at least before a sensible critic, is indispensable. Every gesture that is made must appear as a natural effort to be understood and believed.

The student should learn to use gestures, not in connection with any particular argument but in connection with the expression of his own thought and feeling. Here, again, the instruction to be natural may prove misleading. The speaker may be naturally awkward, or at least his gesturing may be awkward, and thus produce only a desire to laugh on the part of the audience. This natural awkwardness must be overcome and replaced by a natural gracefulness. The gestures used in argumentation need not be elaborate, in fact simple gestures are more effective. The gesture should seem to be a part of the thought or emotion, and training should be resorted to only for the purpose of securing naturalness, gracefulness, and ease. In gesturing, only that which is natural in the right way, that which enforces the thought instead of diverting attention from it, is effective.

6. Transitions.

The transition from one part of the speech to another should be clearly indicated. In constructing the argument these transition points were made plain by means of transition sentences showing the division between the introduction and the proof, the main issues of the proof and each subordinate issue, and the proof and conclusion. When the argument is to be delivered, however, the delivery should make these transition points stand out like white mile posts. In this way two advantages are gained. First, the structure of the argument is vividly impressed upon the mind of the hearer. Second, these transitions break the monotony of the speech and keep alive the interest of the audience. In beginning each new main issue, and often in beginning the presentation of an important piece of evidence, the speaker should drop to the conversational tone. He should talk directly to his audience as though it were an individual. Then he should gradually increase the force of his delivery until he is speaking in his strongest persuasive manner. This method gives variety to the argument, and thus prevents it from growing monotonous. Furthermore, it insures a better appreciation of the argument as a whole.