11/21/13
The benefits and drawbacks of a group debate
When debating on a topic or pacific subject I prefer to debate one on one, but that is not the only way debating is done it is also done in groups and this can be a benefit in some situations and can also be a problem in some cases. When having a group debate it gives you a broad approach with having more than two people opinion, it’s going to be a harder fight, but you will get more than one standpoint on the argument. A group debate also provides diversity amongst the topic, the argument should still be based on facts and proven research but will also be debated different due to different peoples approach. Another benefit that I can see with a group debate may be strength in numbers if the group is one sided on the debate they can outnumber the opponent and win the argument they can also help brain storm and recognize different weaknesses in the opposing argument. This strength in numbers can be both a benefit and a drawback it just depends on what side of the argument you are on. I have never been in a group debate but I have seen a few on T.V. and from what I have seen it is hard to get your thoughts completed before someone is trying to respond to what you just said and when trying to wait for someone to finish their thought you may forget what you wanted to rebuttal or someone else may jump in front of you and now you have more than one comment that you want to respond to. When dealing with groups it’s a lot to process at one time and you have to be on your toes because you have more than one opponent coming at you. There seem to be an equal number of benefits as drawbacks in group debates I also think that the topic is a factor if it is a broad topic then it should be for a group debate and if it is for a narrow topic then it should be one on one.