The Role of Evidence in Debating: From Facts to Persuasion

Evidence forms the basis of every argument you will hear in a debate. Depending on the format, they may be incredibly structured into templates with the author’s name and exact quotes or the implied basis of a well-rounded argument without much specificity.  While debates can be quite the picture-painting expedition where we bring in every tool of persuasion, the evidence underlying the emotions makes it believable to an average reasonable person. Evidence can be in the form of facts, analogies, examples, expert analysis, legal precedence, etc. 

Depending on the format, debaters train to deploy their evidence tactics in different ways. With prepared debates, be it a Public Forum round or a prepared Worlds Schools motion, debaters will get weeks to research the topic before heading into the debate room. The expectation for well-researched evidence means that both teams enter the round with a thorough understanding of the subject matter. In training, debaters would have attempted to not just run ideas, but also prepare possible responses to ideas. If a speaker/team appears to be lacking evidence, that in turn makes them less persuasive to the judges in the round. So, the evidence-gathering process is not an optional part of the process but rather is a necessary part of winning. 

For formats where evidence is not expected in rounds, such as those that are completely impromptu, with very limited prep time and no access to the internet, the evidence comes in implied forms where debaters train to gain enough knowledge about the world around them to be able to utilize that information in forming key debate arguments. It helps to know current events and keep an eye on the news. The smallest of facts may end up being the basis of a debate-winning argument. 

One thing that all debaters, regardless of format, must keep in mind is that even when arguments are based on real-world examples and their research is airtight, their delivery must still be done meticulously. Even the best-researched, evidence-based argument will fall short of being persuasive if the delivery style is not up to the mark.