Oxford Union Debating Workshop

Oxford

On Sunday 8^th March 2009, the Weidenfeld Scholars participated in an Oxford Union debating workshop led by Simon Quinn. Simon is a PhD student at Oxford University and is one of the university's most accomplished debaters. He was awarded the 'Best Individual Speaker' prize at both the 1999 and 2000 World Schools Championships and the 2008 European Universities Debating Championship where he was part of the Oxford team that made the finals. Simon was also the 2005 Rhodes Scholar for Queensland.

The workshop began with a two hour introduction to rules and techniques used in Oxford Union debates. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of structure, good public speaking, the need to be accurate and succinct and the benefits of having a broad knowledge base in order to become an effective debater.

Later in the workshop the scholars had the chance to take part in their own debate. An Oxford Union member organised a topical debate which asked ‘Should bankers be paid their bonuses?' The scholars were given a few minutes to prepare their arguments and present them in a traditional debate. The first hand experience of debating in a structured environment helped to demonstrate what judges look for in debating competitions. In addition to the strength of argument, logic, presentation and strategy, the judges described the importance of humour when debating. The scholars found the Oxford Union debating experience particularly worthwhile and several are considering becoming involved in future debates.