This year’s edition of the Debate Fundamentals Training Course was held on the week of February 5 at the Exhibition Hall on the campus of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO) and, as usual, was the prelude to the League itself in its pre-university and university formats, to be held on the week of February 19 and 26, respectively. Between the two competitions, more than one hundred students will compete.
With the course taught by Mónica Bóveda, trainer of public speaking techniques and creator and director of El Show de la Palabra; by Fran Carrillo, journalist, political consultant and advisor on political and business communication, CEO of La Fábrica de Discurso; and by Sara Sua, journalist, presenter of galas and television programs and professional singer; three training sessions were held that caused interest among the students who participated actively during the course.
To start the course, the creator and director of El Show de la Palabra, in addition to making recommendations on how to make an effective speech, based on three guidelines, explained why those who convince do so. The rule of three, the mastery of storytelling, and the importance of the balance between reasoning and emotion, will be fundamental. He also spoke about pechakucha, and a demonstration of this technique was given thanks to the help of some volunteer students.
On the second day of training, Fran Carrillo captured online the attention of both the participants connected by conference, as well as those present in the Exhibition Hall. He emphasized that the quality of information in a debate is generally more important than quantity, and that getting into someone else’s territory and mastering both positions are basic to take into account when debating. It also provided certain indications on how to carry it out.
To conclude this session, Luis Prado, professor of UNEATLANTICO and organizer of the Debate League (Liga de Debate), added a phrase that Fran Carrillo had already said in another edition of the public speaking course —and also the title of his new book— “si no sabes venderte estás vendido” (if you don’t know how to sell yourself, you’re finished). This led the speaker to explain its significance and thus the importance of knowing how to take advantage of it when applying for a position.
In the last conference, Sara Sua provided a series of recommendations for the moment of facing an audience, such as preparation, improvisation skills, intonation, tips to avoid certain jargon, and so on. One of the foundations on which it was based was Albert Mehrabian’s rule, which states that in a face-to-face conversation the verbal component is 35%, and more than 65% is nonverbal communication.
Body language as nonverbal communication and paraverbal language, distinguishing its nuances, were key in this session. Through dynamics related to the way of expressing oneself and facing the public and the ego-consciousness of each one, the speaker helped the attendees to lose their stage fright, practicing their way of speaking in front of a group of people and writing on a piece of paper what they felt in those situations of “stage fright,” making them read it out loud and then tear it up as they said: “beat the ego-consciousness.”
With the closing of the training course, the seventh edition of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico’s Debate League begins, whose central theme will be the question: “Does the use of artificial intelligence in academia, as a tool, benefit student development?” Students will have the opportunity to take a position for and against this approach in different turns.
An opportunity for young talent
It should be noted that this 7th edition of UNEATLATNICO’S Pre-University Debate League will take place between February 19 and 23. This competition has attracted the attention of more than 70 young people from different Schools throughout Cantabria. These participants will compete not only to be crowned champions of the 7th edition of UNEATLATNICO’S Pre-University Debate League —which this year is a qualifying tournament for the Ledu Cup— but also for the opportunity to be the first team to represent Cantabria in the LEDU Pre-University Cup in Madrid.