We chat with coach GREG FORSE from Debate HK and find out why there’s a lot more to developing debating skills than just public speaking and winning an arguments. And we delve into why debating is important for students and can give them a significant boost in life and learning.
Greg’s debating background
After completing his first debate at a young age at school in Hong Kong (topic: “That the US should not have dropped the Hiroshima bomb”), Greg Forse went on to represent the HK national team at the world championships in Canada, before becoming national coach in 2008 – a position he held for 11 years. He has also judged both the world championship final and the world individual public speaking final in the debating category.
Today, along with coaching at the German Swiss International School (currently the reigning Junior and Senior champions in Hong Kong), Greg heads up Debate HK, which offers debating and public speaking coaching from introductory to advanced level.
Tell us why debating is important for students to get involved in?
Debating is in my opinion one of the key skills that students need, and yet it isn’t taught (or isn’t taught meaningfully) in schools. In a world consumed with misinformation, polarisation and a proclivity to confuse volume with substance, the need to be able to think critically, logically evaluate and remain informed is paramount.
From building logically coherent arguments, relating them to the real world and critically evaluating why they fail, debate is a fun, team-based and highly engaging method of competitive thought. Students really enjoy debates and dipping their toes into the never-ending pool of arguments, issues and perspectives that it offers. It’s also a fantastic tool for social interaction, social empathy and social perspective. You debate every day with people who are just like you, about people who are nothing like you and are often judged by someone who is somewhere in the middle. Once that flame is lit, it rarely goes out.
What are some debating skills?
Good debaters are a truly bizarre mix of many qualities, but if I were to distil it down to a few things, they might surprise:
- Curiosity. A genuine desire to see the world around you more clearly and accept that there will always be far more to know than you know now.
- Imagination. The ability to see things as real from inside your own head. Being able to hypothesise and think in abstract and hypothetical terms is critical.
- Hard work. You have to practice (like, a lot).
- Confidence. You have to be willing to give it a go and not hide from failure.
- Humility. You must also be willing to identify what you need to do to improve.
Can someone be a debater if they find public speaking a challenge?
Public speaking is usually right at the top of most people’s worst fears. It has been shown to trigger the same fight or flight reflex as being attacked by a wild animal.
In my experience, everyone fears something relating to public speaking, whether it’s the act, the perception, the possible failures or the fact that it will end. However, none of these are obstacles to debate.
Debate is a bizarre space that is rendered safe by its pressures – no one knows the answer, everyone is under prepared, no one is serious in what they say and everyone just has to give it their best shot. Many excellent debaters had terrible public speaking skills when they started, but it’s something that you overcome along the way.
What does the structure of a school debate look like in 2024, and what kinds of topics are debated?
School debates vary by format. Some are British Parliamentary debates (four teams of two) and some are WSDC debates (two teams of three). The formats may change but the basic expectations on teams to offer arguments, rebut and ask points of information are fairly standard across them.
Topics vary from simple social issues such as whether to ban smoking, to complex philosophical ones such as whether higher primates should be deserving of basic human rights.
Tell us a bit about Debate HK and the services you offer.
Debate HK opened its new premises in Sheung Wan in the summer of 2022 and immediately began to enjoy great reviews from students and parents. We are unique in being the first and only dedicated speech and debating centre in Hong Kong. We broke away from the integrated educational model used by other centres where debate was simply one service among many others and focused solely on it.
A large and literally immovable podium sits squarely at the back of our largest debate room as a symbol of our specific commitment to it. We offer many services to our students including regular debate classes, regular public speaking classes, a “speech and thought” fundamentals class for younger students (7 to 10 years) as well as team training for tournaments, one-on-one fundamentals coaching, arranging online guest lectures from the cream of the world’s debating community (including national coaches and university A team speakers), and much more.
What does a typical lesson look like?
A typical lesson will usually involve a skill development activity and a discussion at the beginning relating to an argument, issue or technical skill. We will then prep and hold the debate, providing detailed feedback and then assigning homework where necessary.
What debating skills can students expect to develop through your lessons?
We pride ourselves on being able to achieve a few very important things for our students. The first is obviously a love of debate and speech. It is no exaggeration to say that we have a turnover of near zero. Our students almost never quit, and based on the reports from parents, this is in part due to the environment we create. We like to think of ourselves as a big family and the work our senior students put in to helping the younger ones grow is really exceptional.
We also provide direct contact for all students to the biggest three things they need to grow as debaters: coaching from our instructors with decades of experience working with kids and understanding their developmental needs, lectures from the best of the global debate community, and tournament experience.
At the very least, you’ll have fun, learn a lot and get better at debate. At most, you could end up discovering a talent that will literally change your life.
Can you touch on a few of the milestones Debate HK students have gone on to achieve?
Our former students have been named in the top 10 speakers in the world no less than six times! Last year, the Hong Kong national team had three out of five former Debate HK students on it, and in
tournaments we comfortably outperform all other HK institutions. Taking simply the most recent tournament we attended, the 2024 Indo-Pacific WSDC event hosted by India, Debate HK made the open grand final, knocking out national teams in the process, losing a very close final to team Singapore. Our under-14 teams also blew everyone away, with one team being named champion and seven of the top ten speakers being our students, including the best under-14 speaker.
Debate HK is at 1502, Arion Commercial Centre, 2-12 Queen’s Road
West, Sheung Wan. Find out more here
This article about learning debating skills at Debate HK first appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.
