How to be a good orator in debates

 In memory of the great orator of all times Charlie Kirk, his untimely death will never erase his legacy.

In many English speaking countries the contribution of oracy is very important in the academic grades, also there are Mediterranean or Latinamerican countries where rhetorics is important as in Italy, Chile or Argentina, and according with the Classic education of Greek and Romans there were three great skills that every person should strive to excel such as literacy, numeracy and oracy, thus basic education from Classic era to Middle Ages, Renaissance, Modern Age till recent times has been focused on reading, writing, arithmetic and oracy, the four R, and nowadays we would include also ICT (how to use Information and Computer Technology)and cultural and civic literacy too. 

The art of rhetoric was taught since ancient times and nowadays to ability to converse and debate is an asset in enterprises and the professional field. Besides it is an asset to master a foreign language and thinking beyond the mass media news or political propaganda. We must search for all sides in an issue and compare the different points of views, also the inductive teaching of Greeks makes the audience realise about many facts of any issue to reach a logical conclusion. 

There are basic skills to become a good orator:

-Literacy: it is essential to look for good sources, do not copy-paste, acknowledge the author, avoid biased or fake news, do not plagiarize from other authors or works...

-ICT literary: to do searchs, use key words for information, treasure hunts.

-Numeracy: the good orator must search, compare and show statistics, diagrams, ciphers.

-Cultural and civic literacy: the orator must take into account the culture in which the issue takes place and the different p.o.v. and the different perspectives like Asian or African or the epoch, for example we have to think about the context of the Victorian period whenever we read an English author of that time.

These are the basic skills but also the excellent orator must have initiative, curiosity, persistence, charm or charisma, leadership and social and cultural knowledge and awareness in every topic.

The basic elements  for the presentation of a debate between at least two different people or groups or parties are known in the acronym ARET which stands for Argument, Reason, Evidence and Therefore: for and against. Also some consider PEEL with stands for Point or Topic, Explanation, Evidence and Link. Nevertheless I will choose ARET model and will explain it to create our arguments following it:

-Motion: it is the title of the issue or topic.

-Sub-argument 1, 2 and 3 (FOR). Each orator or group explains reasons why they support their p.o.v.

-Sub-argument 1,2 and 3 (AGAINST)

-Evidences and sources (according to...)

-Conclusion: therefore we conclude...

Debates are an entertaining part in the learning of any language and also it provides with knowledge in many issues such as History, Sciences, ICT, Literature, etc. it is highly advisable for students in the upper years of their high school as well as Baccalaureate or University students because it enhances their creativity and critical thinking and it is an holistic task which is related to many subjects and educational values such as tolerance, respect, solidarity, empathy, etc. Here below you can find great orators biographies and films about the ancient art of persuasion or rhetorics.

https://www.mediterraneanwayproject.com/cicero-one-of-historys-greatest-orators-reveals-to-us-the-secrets-of-persuasion/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB2pl1QbY3I

https://persuasionpointers.medium.com/possibly-the-best-orator-that-ever-existed-meet-cicero-44cd8df5a4f1

https://leadr.co/blog/famous-public-speakers/

https://thespeakerlab.com/blog/public-speaking-movies/

https://neelburton.com/2025/05/19/the-rise-and-fall-of-cicero-romes-greatest-orator/

https://nypost.com/video/best-charlie-kirk-debate-moments-compilation-revisited-in-wake-of-political-assassination/