[iamshane487]

Participating in a debate is one of the most effective ways of learning how to present arguments and defend them in a clear and logical manner. It also provides an opportunity for the participants to apply attentive listening skills.

What is your point of view?

[vathsala]

I agree with you. In my school days, i used to participate in the debate competitions. What we think about a particular subject, that we should express without fear ,whether we win or not . Though i never got a prize but some of my points were appreciated by the judges.

[Jinglebells]

A debate on the forums, no I don't care for that too much, reason is, it can get out of hand.

[thisnthat]

I enjoy a good debate, as long as it contains well-reasoned arguments. I have no patience for the regurgitation of rhetoric or "arguments" that devolve into vitriol or name calling. I think we can actually learn something from a good debate (even if our stance on the topic isn't changed).

[tomford]

yeah...no I don't like debating because I get frustrated trying to convince someone of the logic of my point and have them use the wrong analogies to say why their point is more valid. I had someone tell me everything is up for debate and if everything is up for debate how can you convince anyone?. established facts can't be up for debate they have to be the foundation of your argument so when I debate this person it just makes me angry to the point I don't want to talk about it anymore. they think they won the debate but no if you don't convince someone you don't win... someone quitting means you lose because you didn't convince them.

[flipitup]

It depends on the topic. I could participate in debates about religion, video games or programming. It's fun and a good way to learn.

[thisnthat]

yeah...no I don't like debating because I get frustrated trying to convince someone of the logic of my point and have them use the wrong analogies to say why their point is more valid. I had someone tell me everything is up for debate and if everything is up for debate how can you convince anyone?. established facts can't be up for debate they have to be the foundation of your argument so when I debate this person it just makes me angry to the point I don't want to talk about it anymore. they think they won the debate but no if you don't convince someone you don't win... someone quitting means you lose because you didn't convince them.

The truth is that you will rarely convince someone or change his or her mind on important issues. The idea behind debate is not necessarily to try to force someone else to see things your way. It's more about getting them to understand why you see things the way you do, or in other words, backing up your position with well-reasoned arguments. Even if they never change their mind, they will have learned something (and you can learn from them as well, even if you never agree with them).

If you debate with the goal of making people give up long held or strongly held beliefs in order to think the same way you do, you will always be frustrated.