I have always enjoyed debating ever since I had my first real taste of it as I was growing up. I had a mentor who was constantly challenging my views and knowledge of certain subjects so I suppose it was natural that I would become interested in debate and joined the debate team in high school. Whether it is a formal Lincoln-Douglas discussion or just some quick one on an internet forum, I have always enjoyed a good debate. Ideally, a debate is a civilized exchange of opposing ideas, even though it doesn't always work out that way. However, that is always what we should be trying to achieve and it is still a great form of "mental workout" regardless of how it turns out.
My favorite topics are science, history, feminism, religion and philosophy. Both my parents and my mentor pushed me pretty hard to learn as much as possible as I was growing up so my education extended well beyond what I learned in school. Yeah, it was stressful at times but it has given me the opportunity to be able to successfully debate people who are often twice my age.
Anyway, enough about me! I mostly posted this to give you guys some advice to help improve your debate skills. :P
#1. Try to be civil. This means no personal attacks or ad homs. In fact, try to avoid being hostile entirely. I know it can be difficult during a heated exchange, especially on the internet. If your goal is to sway other people to your side, it will be helpful if you are conveying your points in a mature and comprehensive manner while your opponent is raging incoherently. We are all passionate about certain things but you have to keep emotions under control.
#2. Always ask for evidence. Be sure that they back up their assertions with evidence and cite their sources. I can't stress the importance of this one enough. When your opponent makes a claim, always be sure that they actually support it with something other than opinion. This is one of the most frequent issues I deal with when I debate anti-feminists. They constantly make claims about what feminists supposedly believe and yet they are ALWAYS (100% failure rate) incapable of providing evidence that most or even a large percentage of feminists believe what they claim. They will usually attempt to provide anecdotal evidence and use it to paint feminists as a whole. When I call them out on that, they will then resort to dancing around the issue or try to shift the burden of proof. "Oh yeah, well prove that feminists don't believe it!" Don't let people get away with these tactics. Always call them out. Which brings me to my next tip.
#3. Do NOT let people shift the burden of proof. If someone makes an assertion, then the burden of proof is entirely on them. If you say Bigfoot is real, it is not my responsibility to prove it doesn't exist.
#4. Know your subject! If you want to debate a certain issue then be sure that you are actually well-informed about the topic. My advice would be to spend some time studying the issue in general and learning about different viewpoints. It will help you fully understand the issue from a variety of perspectives.
#5. Learn to separate facts and opinions. Far too often I see people trying to pass off subjective personal opinions as facts. If your claim can't be verified as 100% true then it is not a fact. If I am arguing with a Pro-Life person and they claim that a life is taken during an abortion procedure, that is a fact. If they say abortion is murder, that is an opinion due to the definition of the word in question. Don't say something is a fact unless you know with complete certainty that it is indeed a fact.
#6. One tip that will help you become better in debates is learning to speak extemporaneously. Meaning you should try to discuss topics without any prepared script when involved in a face-to-face debate.
#7. Never just say your opponent is wrong. Show him or her WHY they are wrong.
#8. Stick to the subject and watch out for red herrings from your opponent. Also learn to steer the discussion back to the topic.
#9. Always ask people to define their terms. If someone starts talking about Feminists, ask them to define the word in their own words. If someone mentions "God" during a religious discussion, ask them to define the term. Then you can learn to shape arguments based on their definitions.
#10. If your opponent seems to having difficulty with a certain point then focus on it. If you were lucky enough to find their "Achilles Heel" in a debate then latch on to it and it will usually frustrate them. I'm not saying to just repeat the argument ad nauseum. However, you should be sure that they have given a satisfactory response and you may be able to find other points to make about the argument.
#11. Learn to debate against yourself. Being able to attack your own points will help you find any weakness in your argument and gain a better understanding of the points made by the opposing side. This will also help you be able to predict your opponent's responses to your arguments.
#12. Feel free to point out logical fallacies made by your opponent but be careful not to dismiss your opponent or his position as a whole because some of his points are based on bad logic. That is a fallacy as well. :P I recommend spending some time studying all of the different formal and informal fallacies so that you can avoid using them in your own arguments as much as possible.
#13. Don't let your opponent dance around a point and attempt to move on to something else without actually addressing it. It is okay to agree to disagree about a specific point but your opponent should at least address it.
#14. Have all of your facts ready to go and be sure that you double check them.
#15. Try to find common ground at some point during the debate. Mention a point that you think both of you can agree on to some extent. If your goal is to sway others then this will be helpful as you appear to be the more reasonable person.
I could probably add more but those are the main tips that will help you win more debates.
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