By Benjamin Rutten

You have been doing it all this time but have you ever stopped to think about what debate actually is?

Debate is a competition of ideas.

But what type of thing does this definition make debate? Does this make it a sport? Does this make it an intellectual exercise? Does this make debate an art? How we categorize debate matters because how we view it impacts how we do it.

So what type of thing is debate? Calling debate a sport is crude and oversimplifying. Calling debate an intellectual exercise is vague and puts it in the same category as math tests, escape rooms, and Wordle. Calling debate an art is slightly better but downplays the logical and competitive aspects of debate and is still overly broad. So what is debate? 

Debate is a Form of Music.

I bet you have not thought of debate as a form of music before. Why not? The reason students do not typically think of debate as music is because they think of debate in terms of what the speaker does (competing) rather than in terms of what the listener experiences (beauty and emotion). 

How about we dive deeper into this idea of music....

In a world filled with sounds, music is about creating a beautiful one for the listener to enjoy. The best songs make you (the listener) feel something and you never forget them. Did you watch a debate five years ago that you still remember today? Did you ever listen to a 1AC so good that you wished you could "play it again?" Did a competitor ever say a sentence that left you in awe? 

The best debaters do not just write words for their listeners; they write feelings; they write beauty; they write music. The best debaters meet the listener where the listener is.

Did you know that music contains all the aspects of persuasion that the ancient Greeks claimed were part of rhetoric?

Music has ultimate Ethos. Ethos is about having the credibility to hold the listener's attention and to make the listener want to hear more. Musicians do an excellent job of making the listener feel attached to them and debaters do the same. Have you ever had a judge put his or her pen down and simply listen? Have you ever been able to make a judge step out of his or her judge shoes because he or she is hanging on your every word? That judge feels like he or she is listening to music and that judge is relishing the Ethos of it.

Music is the king of Pathos. Music puts words to all the feelings the listener did not know they could feel. Speech and debate judges are most compelled when speakers accesses their hearts and not just their minds because words are one of the best ways to access someone's heart. Both musicians and debaters know this and capitalize on it.

Music has Logos. Music has accepted forms and rules and progresses at a logical pace. Music is about creating a symphony of order, and order comes from Logos. Debates have structures and forms and logical consistency woven throughout (at least they are supposed to) because debates are designed to be symphonies.  

Most importantly, music has Kairos. The right song is most impactful when it is presented at the right time, and the same could not be more true of an argument.

But how should viewing debate as music (instead of as a sport, exercise, or general art form) impact the way you approach debate? This perspective should lead you to approach every aspect of the debate round from your listener's perspective.

Viewing debate as music enables you to live inside your listener's head.

When you walk into a debate round, do not appeal to the ideal judge, instead, appeal to your judge. Maybe your judge wants technical accuracy. If so, provide it. Maybe your judge is not flowing. In that case, put your flow pad in your bag and meet the judge on the judge's terms. Create something your judge will think is beautiful even if you are not convinced that it is. This is why Kairos, the ability to adapt to each circumstance and listener, is the core of persuasion.

The critical takeaway is this: If debate is music, it is how the listener feels that matters so give your listener what your listener wants. After all, that is what persuasion is all about and music is pretty persuasive, is it not?

I will leave you with the words of Bono, the lead singer for U2: "When we get it right, really right, you can feel it. Music stays with you. It becomes part of you. Music can change the world because it can change people."  When debate is done right, you can feel it. When it is done really right, it can even change the world.  

Kairos Coaching teaches music.