‘Behes’ conducts and trains for debate in what is a simplified
parliamentary format. Two teams with three speakers each face off against each
other in each debate to argue a set motion. Points are not awarded merely for
extravagant language, what matters is the quantity and quality of your
arguments. Every Behes tournament is held in a knock-out format with one
winning team emerging at the end of a series of challenging debates. The
motions will be formulated from a set of resources that are made available to
the students before the tournament.
A
‘Behes’ debate flows in the following manner:
1: The adjudicator flips the coin to decide the proposition and
opposition team before announcing the motion.
2: The adjudicator will announce the motion and give 15 minutes to both
the teams to prepare their arguments. Participants are allowed to use any kind
of device (mobiles, laptops etc.), the internet or reading material in any form
during this preparation time.
3: After 15 minutes, the first speaker from the proposition team (for the
motion) will come forward and present his/her arguments. S/he can speak for 3-4
minutes. The adjudicator will tap once when 3 minutes are over and twice after
4 minutes. Any arguments presented beyond this time won’t be considered,
however the speaker can complete his/her sentence after the tap.
4: After a gap of 60 seconds the first speaker from the opposition team
will come forward and speak.
5: In this way, speakers from each team will speak alternately with a gap
of 1 minute between each speaker.
6: The adjudicator will announce the winner at the end of the debate
after all the speakers have spoken, and the scores have been tabulated.
Rules:
1.
Each speaker can speak only for 4 minutes.
2. Any kind of electronic device cannot be used after the preparation
time is over. However use of notebooks is permitted while speaking.
3. A preparation time of 60 seconds will be given after each speaker.
4. The adjudicator is not allowed to give her/his feedback after the
debate.
5. The adjudicator’s decision is the final decision.
Scoring Criteria:
Every speaker in every debate is scored separately on three criteria-
a. Matter (Content)-What was the actual argument(s) presented by the speaker? Were
any actual examples, facts or studies stated? If so, how relevant were they?
b. Manner (Presentation)–How good was the speaker’s body language and poise? How well
did s/he maintain eye contact? Did s/he use their voice and well?
c. Method (Structure)–Were the speaker’s arguments structured in a way that they
were easy to understand? Was every point elaborated sufficiently? Did the
speaker’s rebuttals flow naturally?
Every tournament is
held in a knock-out format with one winner (and one best speaker) emerging at
the end of two days. All our adjudicators have been trained in the finer points
of this format of debate.