Knightsbridge Debating & Interview Club - 23rd May

This was a great last session pre half-term with our Knightsbridge Debating & Interview Club. 

Our skill focus this week looked at Persuasive Language including flattery, opinion, hyperbole, triples, imperative commands and rhetorical questions amongst other examples. Well done all for engaging with this important part of public speaking and incorporating these techniques (and other skills covered thus far) into your debates and arguments this term.

Our newsround saw reference to Iran and the death of the Iranian President, the General Election in the UK, the November Election in the USA and the Post Office Scandal. 

For our warm up we then turned to our interview style philosophical question with an emphasis on 'why'/justification?:

'Should we write by hand or type?'

Here arguments centred on tradition, a skill to preserve, a technique for memory and revision; against speed, efficiency, and real-life application from school typed work to the job market. 

Our main debate looked at the premier league VAR discussion as to whether assistant referee technology should be scrapped? We then expanded this motion to include technology on decision making in sport more generally from rugby union, to tennis, cricket and even the Olympics.  

The group divided into teams, but all voted overwhelmingly at both tellings in favour of retaining the technology to improve decision making and avoid obvious wrongs/poor decisions, and 'cheating'. However, an impressive opposition argued for removing VAR on the basis that it was still not perfect, and human error was part of sport, and furthermore, it raised the question of the point of the need for retaining a referee or umpire more generally. Great examples were given from across the sporting world.  

At the end of the session we asked whether the wealth of a leader (as with Rishi Sunak PM) can be an asset or a disadvantage for leadership. The majority felt that this was not a key factor, but rather that competence and imagination mattered more. 

We look forward to resuming sessions after half term. Well done all.