Organising Thoughts in Debate: How to Do It?

Learn organising Thoughts in Debate

Debate competitions are quite common in schools and colleges. Before attending your first speech and debate, you always think about how to ace it. Organising thoughts in a debate is necessary if you want to present strong arguments in front of your opponent. Learn how to organise thoughts correctly in a debate if you want to win it.

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Tips for organising Thoughts

A student’s guide to classic debate competition will encourage students to accumulate their thoughts before making an argument. Debating requires kids to think on their feet, but they should also have some prior preparation before entering a debate competition. It will help kids in organising thoughts in a way that guarantees a win. Some tips to follow for organising your speech are as follows:

  • Google the topic: If you want to organise the mind for success, begin by searching your topic on Google. Speakers often feel lost when they start as their minds can’t think of anything to talk about. Thinking about one aspect of the topic will not help you organise your thoughts. You should focus on multiple perspectives of the topic and accumulate your thoughts accordingly. Without research, you will not have enough thoughts and ideas in your mind to organise. After googling the various angles of a topic, you need to decide which angle you will be your point of focus. Once you have chosen a particular angle, organising your thoughts will become easy.
  • Create a mind map: Drawing a mind map is the best way to do it if you want to connect different thoughts together. In a mind map, one view is kept at the centre. The remaining thoughts and ideas surround the one in the centre. Write down the prevailing opinion in the centre on a piece of paper and circle it. Draw lines from the circle that are radiating outwards, and at the end of each line, write all your thoughts related to the predominant one. You can create sub-maps of the associated ideas to organise your thoughts even more efficiently.
  • Use sticky notes: Pasting sticky notes on your wall is a great way to organise your thoughts. Use one sticky note to write one of your thoughts and stick it on a clean wall. Use as many sticky notes as you need to separate your thoughts from one another. After pasting all your thoughts on the wall, you should step back and take a look at the wall. You can group similar ideas into one group and create as many categories as possible. It will ensure that you can make better sense of your thoughts.
  • Create a timeline: When you list your thoughts in a timeline, it will seem that you are overseeing your thoughts through the ages. You need to begin by deciding which timeline you will be using for the process. You can choose months of the year or days in a week. You can also organise your thoughts according to the hours of the day. After you have selected a method, you should focus on writing one idea in one slot. The process will ensure that you can organise your thoughts chronologically and prioritise them accordingly.
  • Meditate or sit silently: Meditation is a great way to organise your thoughts. It helps you accumulate your thoughts by relaxing your body and mind. Sit in a dark rook and close your eyes. You can sit on a chair, on your bed or even on the floor as per your choice. After that, you should practice slow and calm breathing. Your goal will be to sit silently and enjoy the moment. If you meditate for only a few minutes a day, you will become great at organising your thoughts.
  • Sleep on your thoughts: Some thoughts seem quite puzzling to us, and we don’t understand what to do about them. An excellent choice for organising your thoughts is to sleep on them, and they might seem less chaotic after you wake up. Sleep can help in clarifying your mind and decluttering your thoughts. Put on your comfortable pyjamas, get into your bed and close your eyes. When you wake up, you are likely to develop a fresh perspective and get a better hang of your thoughts. Sleeping on your thoughts is particularly beneficial when you are about to make an important decision.  

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The 3 Strategies for organising Your Thoughts

You need to follow these three critical strategies for organising your thoughts:

  • Select the right time: organising your thoughts requires you to be in a calm environment. You can’t really manage your thoughts while watching a movie or working out in the gym. Dedicate a specific amount of time in the day to organise your thoughts. You need to figure out which time is the most suitable for you to accumulate your thoughts. Some people are comfortable with organising thoughts after waking up in the morning. But you might prefer organising your thoughts before going to bed or after coming back home from school or work.
  • Choose a method of documenting your thoughts: If you want to organise your thoughts, you should choose a method of documenting them. It ensures that you have stored your ideas in one place, and you can get back to them later. You can use a planner, a notebook or even the notes app on your phone for logging your ideas and thoughts. An interesting way to accumulate your thoughts is to use the voice recording feature on your phone.
  • Put your thoughts into action: The final step involves implementing your thoughts and ideas into action. You should focus on organising your thoughts in terms of urgency. If you need to complete some activities today, create a to-do list. If you don’t have to work on some ideas immediately, don’t think about them in the present. Having too many thoughts will not let you organise your mind for maximum productivity.

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FAQs:

  1. What are some tips to improve verbal communication skills?

One of the crucial tips to improve verbal communication skills includes thinking before speaking. Take time to answer a question as it helps organise your thoughts and stops you from giving out an impulsive answer that you might regret later. You should also think about your audience before speaking and set the tone of your conversation accordingly. You should also focus on your body language, such as making eye contact and maintaining good posture while speaking.

  1. What is an executive function in speech therapy?

Executive function in speech therapy includes developing a set of cognitive skills that are essential for learning. Executive function in speech therapy often enables flexible thinking in children. A great way to improve executive functioning in kids is to make them complete a task within a particular time. You can also improve executive functioning in kids by setting realistic goals for them.

  1. How do I organise thoughts and ideas?

Creating lists can be a good way to organise thoughts and ideas. It will ensure that you document everything whenever a thought or idea comes to your mind.

  1. What are some tips for developing and organising ideas in a lecture?

Some tips for developing and organising ideas in a lecture include making speaking notes. You should only make an outline of your thoughts instead of preparing an entire script before a lecture. You can also involve cues in your notes that will remind you to smile, pause, use hand gestures and maintain eye contact with the class.

  1. What are some tips for organising your mind for maximum productivity?

If you want to organise your mind for maximum productivity, you should focus on decluttering it. Unnecessary and irrelevant thoughts in your mind can hamper productivity and prevent you from yielding the best results. You should practice mindfulness and decrease stress in life to be more confident about presenting your thoughts.

  1. What is the feeling of attending your first speech and debate?

Attending your first speech and debate is often a daunting experience. Even the most seasoned speakers were once afraid of attending their first speech. Your fear might hamper your confidence in your first speech or debate. But a great way to learn more tips for organising your speaking is to attend more speech and debate competitions.  

  1. Why is organising thoughts in a debate necessary?

Organising thoughts in a debate ensures that students are able to establish their points in a discussion firmly. A kid needs to show they are right and why they are right with strong arguments. Without organising your speech, you will fumble in the debate competition. It will show that you are underconfident and narrow your chances of winning. You will also fail to convince the opponent that you are correct even if you have better logic.