A debate at the European Youth Parliament lasts about 40 minutes. Most of it is open debate (where everyone can make a point), however, the speeches are a major part. There are three types of speeches:

• Defence speech; held at the very beginning of the debate and is used to clarify specific points and defend the resolution.
• Attack speech; follows the defence speech. Is used to point out flaws in the resolution and suggest alternative solutions.
• Summation speech; the summation speech is held at the end of the debate and is your last chance to convince the assembly to vote in favour of your resolution. It usually contains a response to the last points raised in the debate and a quick summation of the arguments supporting your resolution.

General remarks

Debating should first and foremost be fun. Use a little humour as this keeps your audience entertained and will ensure their continued attention. Also use your speech try to discuss the general idea or principle underlying your resolution (or your alternative solution). Don’t go into too much detail or name a clause by number (or letter). If you can, write down your main points, instead of writing out the entire speech; it can be very dull for an audience to have a speech read out. Use your notes to guide you when you lose yourself. Practice your speech in front of your fellow delegates (perform it, don’t just let the others read your notes!). Finally, make sure that the content of your speech really is what you believe, instead of just being an argument someone in a newspaper article you read brought forward.

This piece of speech truisms does not belong on the EYP NL website. – Micha Beekman Body language

An interesting little fact is that 55% of human communication is body language (posture, gesture, and eye contact), 38% tone of voice and 7% words used. It is therefore good to mind your posture and vary your tone of voice. A good trick to find an open posture is to hold your arms by your side and then turn your thumbs outward. If you want to, you can quickly do that before starting a speech. No-one will notice.

Structure

There is no perfect way to hold a speech. But as for many of you this will be your first chance to deliver a speech in English to a General Assembly we would like to provide you with a few pointers. A basic speech consists of an introduction (30 seconds), the main arguments (2 minutes) and a summary (30 seconds). In addition, here are some more advanced pointers:

1. It is always good to start with something that grabs attention. Research shows that people use the first five seconds to determine if they will listen attentively throughout your speech. An interesting and perhaps odd quote could do the trick.
2. After your “attention grabber”, list your arguments or points. For example, if you have the points “A European TV channel involves the European citizens in the decision making of the EU” and “A European TV channel increases revenues of European-made films in America”, you could list them as “I’m going to talk about democracy and the economy.” Labelling your arguments, like “democracy” and “economy” for much longer and complicated points, helps make sure everyone knows what you are going to talk about.
3. Speeches at EYP always last a maximum of three minutes. Within this time limit you have time to convey two or three arguments, unless you talk really fast. Instead of trying to talk about more things, try to elaborate on your two or three main points by using examples or explaining the mechanisms behind your points. This guarantees that your message is clear to everyone.
4. Finish your speech by quickly repeating your main arguments and their labels. Repetition is crucial for a good speech.

Attack

In an attack speech, limit yourself to two arguments (or alternative solutions, or points) and leave a bit of space to react to what was said in the defence speech. You do not have to do this, if you are uncomfortable about this degree of improvisation. Make sure your speech is constructive. You may have participated in other debating championships (For example: “Op weg naar het Lagerhuis” or “NK Debatteren voor Scholieren”), but EYP is slightly different. Unlike other competitions, you have to find a solution, not crush the opposition. Therefore, a constructive and polite tone is important. You may disagree with the proposing committee, but your tone should not be hostile.

Summation

The summation speech should be held by someone who likes the challenge of improvisation. It is the most difficult of the speeches to do very well at. You obviously can’t prepare the whole summation speech, but you can do some things in advance. Prepare some good and funny attention grabbers for the start, and use the one that’s most relevant. If they survived the debate, you can repeat, shortly, the points made in the defence speech. If you want to, you can do a summation speech with two people. You may pass the microphone once and the president will let you know when half of your time (90 seconds) has elapsed.

More

An excellent book on public speaking is Hughes & Phillips: The Oxford Union Guide to Speaking in Public, ISBN 9-780753-509555. If you (or your school) plans to do more EYP or debating in general, this book is a real asset for your personal or the school’s library.