My Debate: How Was my Experience, Talking and Hearing Other Peoples Ideas

My Debate
Name:
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
Having a session whereby everyone shares his or her opinions, is usually an interesting one, especially if it is a class session. When everyone is charged up and ready to contribute on opinions, it makes way for a very interactive session. I had the chance to be part of a class debate, which our professor brought in to discuss about general topics. I guess the term ‘general’ was the best to use, since it opened a wide scope that we could cover in the debate. When I look back at the experience now, I feel great that I participated in it, as it gave me a whole new perspective about everything.
The professor did a very noble thing to come up with such a session, because it made me be able to open up in my own way. I must admit that it is not an easy thing to stand in front of a crowd, all eyes and ears on you, and manage to give and argue out an idea. Harder still, is the ability to maintain eloquence under such circumstances. At first, I felt like I would freeze out. I wondered how my classmates were managing to pull it off so easily. It actually looked so effortless to see them stand up, give their opinions and support with facts.
Much of what I used to know about debates was based on what I saw on television and other institutions. I had a bad mentality about them, since in most cases; they always ended up very badly. People jeered at each other, insults or even fights were commonplace. I think this is one thing that the professor wanted us to learn from. He was gauging our argumentative, oratory and self restraint skills.
I however came to realize that it takes a lot of effort, courage and composure, to pull of any kind of public speaking. The debate with my fellow classmates was not only informative but also a life-changing experience. For the first time, it enabled me to view them as intellectual minds and not just average students like myself. I realized that people have very interesting ways of thinking, and very unique ideas. The power of the free mind is limitless. Some of the people I thought to be so laid back, proved to be very creative minds. Another thing of note was that in any debate, however friendly it is, there will always be those people who take it so personal. It is under such situations that one needs to exercise intelligence.
Considering this was a deb...