How to Frame a Debate
Debates are opportunities to present both sides of important arguments. Schools and colleges often organize debate teams to instill the values of critical thinking, listening and respect for opposing viewpoints. Framing a debate means putting the argument into a specific context that helps you make your point more effectively and wins support for your position. By highlighting certain aspects of the issue, you can sway the audience's opinion in your favor. As with all debate strategies, framing requires careful research and eloquent, direct language.
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Instructions
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Choose the context for the debate. An issue like climate change, for example, is too vast to discuss fully in a debate format. Choose one or two aspects to focus on, such as the effect of warming temperatures on agriculture or the water supply.
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Appeal to emotions with keywords and phrases that you know will resonate with your audience. A debate on a social issue might invoke such concepts as family values, responsibility and honesty.
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Make the debate relevant to the audience. Even if the issue is global, present ways in which the issue might affect people on a local level. Discuss effects and problems that people can visualize and understand.
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Resist your opponent's efforts to reframe the debate in his favor. Point out that your framing is more relevant to the issue. If possible, use your opponent's rhetoric against them. Explain to the audience that your opponent is simply clouding the issue with words.
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Tips & Warnings
Choose a frame for your debate that is both relevant to the audience and easily defensible. Some audiences may prefer logic over emotion, or be more concerned with individual issues than community ones. Learn whatever you can about the audience and your opponent before the debate, and let that knowledge guide your argument.
