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Successful debating essay

Communication and Thought Task 4 – Argumentative Essay Topic: What are the key factors for success in debating: group/team processes and preparation, or the public speaking skills employed in the debate’s delivery? Use your own debate as a case study to answer this question and ground your analysis in communication theory. In your analysis, you must consider both the group work processes and presentation in answering the question.

Student Name – Student number – Tutor – Word count – 1240Communicating is successful debating and successful debating is dependent on the group processes and preparation because without the appropriate group planning the debate will lack cohesion and will therefore affect the delivery of the speech. A debate is to be grounded in the appropriate content regarding the topic, effective rebuttal and persuasiveness. Synergy is two or more forces that create a combined effect greater than that of an individual and to achieve synergy it is vital that all group members unite to successfully communicate, prepare and practise through group meetings. Conflict is often inevitable in group tasks due to many different factors whether it be a disagreement on ideas or because members are not contributing equally. Although conflict may seem like a disruption to the task and will therefore make it more difficult to work as a group, conflict is actually beneficial to the group members and to the task if dealt with appropriately.

Public speaking skills employed in the debates delivery have a small contribution to the success of the debate. Public speaking skills come into play to add those finishing touches on a successfully planned debate. Public speaking can be a daunting task triggering nerves and all the domino affects that come with those nerves such as sweating, fast paced speaking, fidgeting and so on, that’s why it is vital that the group is prepared to lessen those nerves. Throughout the essay these points will be discussed further on how they can be used in group processes and preparation to create a successful debate. The case study is a debate topic of ‘ same sex education creates a better learning environment than coed schools’ that took place at the University of the Sunshine Coast on 18th of October 2012. The group consisted of four group members who all took on a particular role. This case study will be referring to the views from the affirmative team and peer feedback.

Successful debating is an effective presentation that communicates a particular message to an audience that results in a change in understanding or opinion (Hadfield-Law 2000: 200). Team meetings are one of the most important processes to a debate because without these meetings one or more group members are left uninformed and without the same information. Dwyer (2000: 174) discusses how team meetings allow information to be provided and clarified as well as giving and receiving feedback, allowing for discussion and encouraging problem solving. The group members involved in the case study attended several meetings to organise, discuss and share ideas which began creating synergy. The members in this particular case study believe that these meetings are ultimately the reason behind their success.

It is also evident in the feedback that other peers could acknowledge that the group had a cohesive and well-planned argument. Team meetings allow all members to consider the structure of the presentation and then have the ability to organise it into sections(Dwyer 2000: 199). These sections are then allocated to each speaker, however for a successful debate the team should aim for a unified and coherent series of arguments rather than a series of individual presentations (Dwyer 2000: 199). To allow for a cohesive debate it is imperative that all group members continue to organise and attend team meetings to ensure all members are still on the same track. With the use of team meetings throughout the duration of the task it allows for a well prepared and organised successful debate.

When there is a group task it is often inevitable that conflict will arise but if dealt with appropriately conflict is beneficial to the group and to the task. Conflict can arise from many different factors whether it is a disagreement on ideas or whether members are not contributing equally. In the preparation before the case study the group encountered difficulties with another team member. To resolve this issue the remaining group members discussed what they hought would be the best solution to resolve this issue and decided that it would be best to approach the other member and share what was expected as a group. Once all members spoke openly to each other it released tension and enabled the group to communicate and work more efficiently. Communication allows group members to become aware and fix errors of individual judgement (Hirokawa et al. 1999: 168).

A research found that teams made better decisions when preferences were in disagreement rather than agreement as it allowed for further discussion and for everyone to express their thoughts openly (Schulz-Hardt et al. 002, cited in De Dreu et al. 2003: 741). Individual contribution to the group is another area that consistently causes disagreements if one or more team members feel as though members are not contributing equally. The amount of individual contribution depends on the interaction between several factors – supportive team’s communication, members’ personal skills, recognition of individual and team efforts and a sense of belonging (Dwyer 2000: 156). Conflict encourages further discussion between group members which is more beneficial as it allows for a deeper incite to the task creating a more successful debate. Lastly, public speaking skills put the finishing touches on a well-planned speech to help emphasise and persuade the argument to the audience.

In the delivery of the debate for the case study all the group members definitely suffered from nerves. Some of the feedback given to this team was that they seemed a bit nervous and eye contact wasn’t the best, there was little nonverbal communication and it lacked persuasiveness in the form of emotion and paralinguistic communication. These are all examples of presentation skills that are an important in the delivery of the speech to ensure a successful debate. Nerves, stress or performance anxiety cannot be eliminated but it can be managed and can actually enhance the performance (Eunson 2012: 356). Eunson (2012: 356-358) discusses how stress management is understanding the fight/flight/freeze response and then working with it. He provides a table with twenty two strategies to reduce performance anxiety including exercising, breathing deeply, going to the toilet beforehand, rehearsing and being over prepared just to name some examples (Eunson 2012: 356-358). The members in the case study referred to these strategies before the debate and found them to be incredibly helpful to lessen the nerves enabling them to speak more confidently to help emphasise and persuade the argument to the audience.

By controlling and conquering the stress of public speaking it allows the speaker and the team to communicate more efficiently to the audience and therefore create a more successful debate. In conclusion, the success of a debate is dependent on the group processes and preparation which allow for a well-planned and cohesive successful debate. Group meetings enable all team members to organise, discuss and share ideas to create synergy.

Team meetings were a large contributor to the case study’s success as it allowed all members to communicate efficiently and openly. It is imperative that team meetings continue throughout the duration of the task as members of the group reach different stages as it allows all members to be on the same page and still ensuring cohesiveness. Although conflict in a group task is often inevitable conflict creates further open discussion on disagreements allowing deeper insight into the topic and members ideas. Public speaking skills are often over taken by stress or performance anxiety but it is important to take a deep breath and conquer the nerves which will then enhance the speech. Word Count – 1240 References De Dreu, C & Weingart, L 2003, ‘ Task Versus Relationship Conflict, Team Performance, and Team Member Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis’, Journal of Applied Psychology.

Pp. 741-749. Dwyer, J 2000, The Business Communication Handbook, 5th ed. , Pearson Education Australia, NSW. Pp. 156-199. Eunson, B 2010, Communicating in the 21st Century, 3rd ed. , John Wiley and Sons Australia, QLD.

Pp. 356-358. Hadfield-Law, L 1999, Effective Presentations for Health Care Professionals, 4th ed. , Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Pp. 200-212. Hirokawa, R & Salazar, A 1999, ‘ Task Group Communication and Decision Making Performance’, The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research, Pp.

168-169.

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