ARGUMENTS, THOUGHTS, WHO’S THE DEALER?

“I can never talk in front of strangers spontaneously, let alone without a text in my hand, confidently”

Something I had in mind a year ago, the kind of psyche that I hold and I believe most of us hold dearly. We rarely challenge ourselves to do something beyond imagination because we are scared of the pre-had perception that others might have on us. 

On 29 September 2011, the UT MARA Debating Society, an English debate club from UiTM has organized a recruitment drive to attract new blood into the society to be polished as well as assisting the society to have more critical and analytical member of society. The recruitment drive has attracted almost 50 turnouts of UiTM students coming from various educational backgrounds.

The organizer has organized few activities that shows of what a debate really is; mock debate, public speaking and a group orientation debate introduction from the eyes of the current and former UT MARA Debaters, are some the activities that has been organized.

UT MARA Debating Society is a club of youth that polishes the diamond in the rough. This tradition has been going on for the past 15 years. Along this journey, the Club has received enormous quantity of local and world recognitions as well as produces the next generation with intelligent and high empathy with mind of a sharp shooter. The next question that you may ask now is, how so?

“I will not make it during the speech”

“I probably may cry while giving a speech”

“Everybody will laugh at me because I sound stupid”

Eventually will lead to, “I can’t do it”. A mind set up that underestimate a human ability to go beyond the skies. Albert Einstein once said “Imagination is the power of mind” which indirectly pointed out that human imagination adds up to self-belief, would generate the most powerful shield against the adversities in life.

Now, debates mould these self-destructing thoughts into a golden shield that comes handy in the future. Being in debate is all about learning, be it you cannot converse in English, that you are stage fright, it teaches you to face the fear and keep learning. The main ingredient is to stay believe in yourself, something that cannot be bought but rather earned.

“Apart from honing my social skills, debate is important because it allows us to meet new people and the confidence I learn through debating assimilates with my daily life and eventually helps me to be a better person”, said Nur Addina Rahim, one of UT MARA Debaters.

Being in a debating team, a member needs to go out for tournaments to compete. This opens an avenue for the debaters to get to know other people coming from other learning institutions such as International Islamic University Malaysia(IIUM), Damansara Utama College (KDU) and many others. The sphere of getting to know people is also a practice of sharpening the social skills such as mingling with strangers and more than that being comfortable with it.

The fruits do not come in overnight but in the future when we are ready for working field that needs most of it, confidence and comfortability in adapting is one tool towards it.

Arguing with people to make a point is a practice on assisting us on fast and critical thinking in problem solving. This also applies in class where usually students with debate background have the tendency to speak up their mind.

“Debate participation promotes problem solving and innovative thinking, and helps students to build links between words and ideas that make concepts more meaningful. Debate students are taught to synthesize wide bodies of complex information, and to exercise creativity and implement different ways of knowing,” an extract of The Benefits of Debate: Why Supporting High School Debate is a Worthwhile Project.

These skills cannot be apprehended in daily life unless one practices it. Debate gives fathom of opportunities to the normal ones to reach the impossible and the bright ones to be even brighter. It is oneself that deals with the thoughts and arguments, to have a little control of turning the table to favour ourselves, debate helps individuals to reach this point.

Posted in: variasi