Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Big Debate

Tonight, students gathered in O’Donnell lecture hall for the Communicating Excellence Symposium’s second event to hear the SMU debate team discuss the pros and cons of a possible new U.S. policy of humanitarian intervention.

The opposing sides both provided clear, strong arguments fully supported by evidence and facts-- their rhetorical skills clearly products of semesters spent in Dr. Mark McPhail’s infamous intro rhetoric class.

This being my first attendance at a live debate (ever!) I discovered a few things:

1.    There’s never a right or wrong answer. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I always thought debates were all about the “I’m right and you’re wrong” mentality, but tonight I realized that they are simply forums to express your feelings in hopes of moving and persuading others to share similar views.

2.    I’m fortunate to be a communications student at SMU. I was blown away with the students’ level of professionalism and ability to educate and empower others with their words. I truly believe that the professors in this department can be credited for this. Daily currents events quizzes, essays, and extemporaneous speeches might make most communication studies students cringe, but without these assignments we would never successfully grow as communicators, which leads me to my next point…

3.    I really, really, REALLY need to practice my public speaking skills. Most communication professionals stress the importance of writing, but being able to effectively voice yourself with words is an essential skill not just for success in the industry, but for life in general.  

After tonight, I’m looking forward to attending more debate team events and sharpening my public speaking skills next semester in either Forensics or Mock Trial. 

1 comment:

  1. I really like your second point about the quality of professors here! They always push you to be the best you can be. SMU Communication Studies are very different from many other disciplines here, but I am extremely impressed with everyone's professionalism and desire to do a great job on their work for the future.

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