The Best Free Way to Get Better at Debate

You can get dramatically better at debate without spending thousands of dollars on camps or coaching. One of the best free resources is already online: Debate rounds. But there's a huge difference between WATCHING a great round and actually STUDYING one. In this video, I walk through the drills I used and wish I had used even more to improve my flowing, argument analysis, strategy, rebuttals, delivery, and overall debate ability by studying strong debaters online. This applies especially well to Lincoln-Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, and other argument-based debate formats. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Why watching debate rounds can make you better 00:28 Drill #1 — Flow without looking at documents 00:58 Train your listening at high speeds 01:24 Learn how strong debaters organize arguments 02:12 Drill #2 — Write your own RFD 02:41 Think like the judge 03:36 Steal techniques from great debaters 04:05 Practice their strategies yourself 04:30 The most valuable drill 04:57 Give the rebuttal yourself 05:26 Can you give a better speech? 05:52 Record yourself and repeat 06:17 Practice your own arguments 06:45 Why feedback matters 07:41 Use free debate rounds online 08:11 Final thoughts A FEW QUICK NOTES: 00:58 — Extremely fast “spreading” is much more common in some Policy and circuit-style Lincoln-Douglas environments than in every debate format. Train for the norms of the circuit and event where you actually compete. 02:12 — RFD stands for “reason for decision.” Normally this is the judge's explanation for why they voted for one side. As a practice drill, write YOUR OWN RFD before hearing or reading the real judge's decision. 03:36 — When I talk about “copying” excellent debaters, I mean studying and imitating useful techniques — organization, word economy, weighing, strategic choices, delivery, cross-examination, and argument structure — then incorporating what works into your own style. HERE'S THE TRAINING LOOP: 1. Find a strong debate round. 2. Flow the entire round. 3. Don't pause unless you absolutely have to. 4. Decide who you think won. 5. Write a short RFD explaining why. 6. Pick one rebuttal speech. 7. Pause BEFORE the debater gives it. 8. Set the same timer they had. 9. Give the speech yourself. 10. Watch what they did. 11. Compare. 12. Repeat your speech. That's completely different from casually watching debate videos. You're forcing yourself to make decisions under the same constraints the debater faced. Over time, you'll start noticing: Which arguments actually matter. When strong debaters collapse. How they weigh. How they organize complicated flows. How they use limited speech time. Which arguments judges care about. And how much unnecessary language you use in your own speeches. You don't need to become somebody else's debate clone. Study great people until you understand WHY what they're doing works. Then build your own style. Good luck :) You’ve got this. #Debate #LincolnDouglas #PublicForum