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HUGH BARTLEY: Now, let's talk about how to work as a cohesive team when you're in the debate. Three things again, here. The first is, one person should always be listening to the other team's speeches. Now, I have so often seen debates where you see 4 people sitting on the bench, and they're furiously writing their own speeches or rebuttal or something like that.

And the other team says something really, really good, which they don't pick up on. And I asked them afterwards, did you hear them say this? And they said, no. Did they say that? And I said, yes, they did. And that's because they weren't listening. So make sure there's always one person. If you can see that your 3 teammates are writing, look up and listen because the speaker on the other team might be saying something really good. And you can get it down in your notes, and you guys can rebut it. That's a really useful thing to do.

Good arguments and good reasons for arguments are often buried in word vomiting and verbiage of the other team. And some adjudicators can really pick up and highlight that. And those things can become an issue in much-- it can become a greater issue as the debate develops. So be aware. Make sure one person is listening to catch all of those important things.

But what happens if you do pick up something? You're listening, and none of your friends are. And they don't know what you're talking about, but you've heard something really good that the other team said. This brings me to tip number 2. And that is pass really clear notes between your teams.

Now, these notes should be really large writing on them. They should be a page, not palm card. They should be different colours. They should be your neat handwriting. If you want the other person to stand up and use some of their speaking time presenting your rebuttal, you got to better make sure that rebuttal is clear.

You should have a section for what the other team said what your position is. And then maybe 1, reason why it's wrong, 2, reason why it's wrong, 3, et cetera, et cetera. So super clear, super obvious, easy to read. And the other person can understand that and integrate it into their speech somewhere.

Note that you probably shouldn't be giving it to them as they're standing up because they're not really going to be sure about it. They're not going to know where it fits in. Try and give it to them at least a few minutes before they have to stand up to speak. So passing notes is a really, really good thing to do. And that's my tip number 2. Just make sure they're really clear, easy to follow for your teammates.

My final tip number 3 is just have a good time and encourage your friends because debating is quite a hard thing, right? It takes a lot of commitment to stand up in front of a room of people or in a Zoom full of people as it is these days and argue for something that you might not necessarily believe in. Some people don't believe in themselves. And they feel a bit down once they've given a speech because they think it wasn't as good as they could have done. And that's normal. These things happen.

But as a teammate with a first row seat to that speech, it's your job to encourage that person because they might be really good. And you want them in your team next year, or it's also just the right thing to do. So give them a pat on the back. Say, well done, friend. That was an amazing speech. And before they speak and say, you're going to kill it. You're going to be awesome. And that encouragement will then be extended to you when it's your turn to speak.

So these are the things that foster a cohesive team environment when you're debating. I hope you guys have enjoyed my tips. Those are the 3. When you're in prep, make sure you have moments to let each other speak and moments where you can argue. Everyone should write the first speaker speech and appoint someone to have the final say.

And my 3, for when they're in the debate are, make sure one person is always listening. Pass clear notes and encourage your friends. If you do those tips, your team will be super cohesive. So thanks for listening, guys. Good luck in your debates. And I'm sure your team will work excellently together now. See you later.