Debate: 28th of Oct. '13

Today in debate club I shared my experience competing in BPK Penabur two weeks ago. Some others who joined also did the same thing. I felt glad that we can all share our thoughts and feelings about the competition we went to earlier. I shared to my friends the ups and downs of the competition. I told them that at some points I felt really nervous that I blanked out. It was relieving when I knew that did not just happened to me. Some of my friends who joined the competition also had the same experience. We also talked about the times when we lost. We were disappointed when we lost but I believed that I learned a lot when we lost. I learned the ways in which I can improve myself. For example, once when my team lost, we came up to the adjudicator and asked some feedbacks. The adjudicator told me that I could have explained things more in depth. Although the adjudicator said that she understood what I meant, I should still explain everything step by step because when I don't do so, it seems like that I am making an assumption and assumptions are not acceptable in debates. This feedback really is an eye opener. I realized then that I should not assume that everybody is on the same page as I am. I should explain everything, even terminologies that are specific to a certain area of study (e.g. the term "GDP" in economics). Besides sharing our experience in BPK Penabur, we also prepared for next week's debate motion "THBT children who commit major crime should be punished equally as adults." I believe that I didn't use the time given in the debate club effectively to research and prepare for this motion. I was really tired, however, next time I should use my time efficiently and although I feel tired, I should still be engaged in my team's discussion about the motion. I should put in all of my efforts to put up my best debate performance every time I have the chance to do so. Thus, before next week's debate, I should come prepared with a complete research of the motion and effective arguments for my side.