No matter how well you prepare for a debate, there will always be an impromptu section called "rebuttal", in which you have to present a case against the arguments your counterpart has presented. It may not come naturally to you, and it is a challenge for your and your group's critical thinking… but it's easy if you know how to do it.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Things to Do Before Rebuttal
Step 1. Know the case well
If the debate is prepared, you should read your colleagues' speeches several times and improve them. Brainstorm as much as possible. If the debate is to be done in the short format (i.e. if you have about an hour between when you receive the topic and the debate), try to actively engage in the 10 minutes before the presentation of the arguments and focus on what your colleagues are saying, do not only on what the other party says.
Step 2. Fill in the gaps in your speech before they are exploited
If you can see the opportunity for the other party to attempt the rebuttal, she will find it too. For example, if you are arguing Car A against Car B and you say Car A is more expensive, be sure to add a disclaimer, such as “Even if Car A costs more, superior quality is worth all the cost”. That way the other party can't even try to disprove that point, and if they do, you'll have laid the groundwork for an easy rebuttal.
Step 3. Get into the counterpart's mindset
Sometimes it can be useful to pretend to be on the other side of the debate and try to get into the other party's mind. Is Auto B safer? Does it have a lower cost? Write down all these rebuttals and how you plan to counter them. If you can enter the debate with some rebuttals already partially prepared, you will make your job easier.
Step 4. Get to know the case of the other party
The first speaker of the counterpart will underline the arguments of the whole group. Write quickly and then pay attention to the rest of their speeches. You have to take all possible information from them.
Step 5. Look for something wrong with their argument
Do they contradict each other? Are they carefully chosen arguments? Can you counter their hypothesis with facts? The counterpart's argument is NEVER foolproof. If necessary, take notes if unsure of a possible rebuttal, then have a quiet group meeting just as the other party finishes their talk. Write down everything you could use.
Step 6. Prepare a rebuttal card
A useful format is to write which speaker you are refuting (1, 2, 3 or "all", if applicable), a summary of what they said, and a point that you will use for the refutation. Order your cards by speaker and then by importance.
Step 7. Relax and pretend you are somewhere else
When you disprove, you shouldn't speak to an audience or a judge. Instead, you should have a conversation with a friend who wants to argue or, even better, with a teacher. Be courteous and formal but, above all, relax. This will make everything much easier.
Step 8. Speak spontaneously
Once you've finished everything you've written on the card, treat the rebuttal as you would in a normal conversation. When you talk to your friends, you don't think about what you are saying first, right? It comes spontaneously. Try to set your mind as if you are having a conversation and it will be easier to improvise a rebuttal. You will get better as time goes by.
Step 9. Be confident
In a debate, there is nothing worse than one person who thinks the other group is smarter, better, or a winner. You are a winner and you have just proved it in the refutation. Be proud of what you have achieved.
Method 2 of 2: How to Refute
Start with the types of assertions that could be made.
Types of assertions
Step 1. Logic
Logic is reasoning. For example, if Car A is more expensive than Car B, you might argue: “Car B is better than Car A because it is cheaper and it makes sense that a family on a tight budget would buy Car B instead. of Auto A.
Step 2. Analogy
Analogy is a comparison. For example, if Car A is of better quality than Car B, you might argue: “Car A is better than Car B because it is of better quality”. You could compare this situation to someone who wants to buy fruit. Auto A is like the perfect red apple at the top of the apple pile, Auto B is like the rotten fruit that has been at the bottom of the pile for weeks. Any reasonable buyer would buy the perfect fresh apple rather than the rotten fruit that should be thrown away. As with apples, few people would buy a poor quality car that could break down at any point along the way.
Step 3. Historical Proof
- Anecdotes. This has happened to you or someone who has done research on the subject. An anecdote could be: “On January 1st 2000 my grandfather drove the car - it was almost identical to Auto B - and do you know what happened? The brakes broke and he flew off the bridge! My parents, on the other hand, drove a car similar to Auto A for decades and nothing bad ever happened. Any reasonable person would not want to end up like my grandfather - died from a poor quality car!"
- One study might be: “Professor [name] has done some recent studies on cars. In the study of 200,000 people, of whom 100,000 drove Car A and 100,000 drove Car B, 10% of the people who drove Car B died in a fatal accident and only 1% of those who drove the Auto A had minor accidents! Of course we can deduce from this that Auto A is better than Auto B”.
Refutations
Step 1. Logic
Prove that other people's logic is wrong. A possible rebuttal to my previous example might be: “Yes, it is correct that someone on a tight budget may not be able to afford Auto A, but think about the value of life. Does a buyer really want to die? As we all know, life is priceless. We can't buy life, so it's more valuable than any amount of money! Obviously, it is better to be safe with quality Car A than to risk dying while driving Car B”.
Step 2. Analogy
Prove that their analogy doesn't work or is marginal. For example, one could argue against my earlier comparison between fruit and cars. A rebuttal might be: “Your analogy doesn't work. Apples all have the same price. Cars don't. You need a better analogy because the price of cars can also be a factor, while the price of apples is not”.
Step 3. Historical Proof
- Anecdote. Question the validity of the anecdote or discuss its meaning. For example, a possible answer to my anecdote might be: “First of all, you can't prove this to be true, but let's assume. What is the likelihood that a person driving Car B would be on a bridge just as the brakes break? Your grandfather was very unlucky. That's all. Having the slightest chance to save money can prove to be very beneficial in the long run. Also, we can logically infer that your grandfather was on a tight budget because Auto B is cheap. How do you know if he had the brakes checked or not? As far as we know, he may have had such a limited budget that he never bothered to have them checked. " (Be careful not to try to hurt the other party's feelings if you can, even if it's their fault for reporting an anecdote that you manage to destroy. It wasn't a true story, in my opinion, but if it were for someone, they might feel offended. if you insult his grandfather, who died in a tragic car accident.)
- Education. You can't prove this to be false, unless it is unlikely, such as: "In a recent study, 100% of the people who drove Auto B died in a car accident." You can only make the statement seem less important. For example, you could say, “Well, 10% of 100,000. That's just 1,000 people! It makes much more sense to have the opportunity to save money! " Also, emphasize the "solo" in the last sentence to make the statement stronger.
Step 4. Remember why you are there
You can make any assertion you want, even if you think they are the stupidest comments in the world and you absolutely disagree with them. But remember that you are fighting for your side - not for what you think.
Advice
- If you have too many arguments to use, pick the most important ones and keep the rest aside. You can use any of the arguments remaining in the rebuttal if necessary.
- Talk to your colleagues. Have you ever heard the phrase: “The whole is more than the sum of its individual parts”? It definitely applies here. Together you can work out a much stronger rebuttal than you would by working alone. Pass notes during the other party's speech.
- Find a friend who likes to argue, and argue with him often. This will improve your critical thinking.
- Never let anyone write your speeches. Otherwise you won't know what you need to talk about, or what the rest of the group will talk about.
- Get used to using analogies or hypothetical situations. They are a fantastic tool to have in your arsenal, not only because they are effective, but also because they take longer than a single sentence. But use them wisely.
- Try to know not only useful facts, but also their origin. You can often use facts to contradict the other party's argument (avoiding talking too much) or, if both groups present facts that seem to contradict each other, it would help if you present your facts from a credible source.
- Don't forget the "technical" refutations. If you and the other group disagree on the definition of the topic, be sure to explain why your definition is correct and the other is not. If the other party forgets to do this, this can earn you some easy points.
- Write by points. Don't write whole sentences, you won't make it in time.
Warnings
- Never admit that you were wrong. If you don't have a counterattack for their rebuttal, don't talk at all.
- Don't spend too much time on any of their rebuttals.
- Attack the arguments of the other party, not the other party itself.
