As well as holding public debates, NAD provides free training workshops on debating skills for students and youth.
The aim of the workshops is to develop skills needed for debating, holding people to account and questioning. They focus on using facts and research to ask challenging questions (to hold people to account) and to prepare arguments and debates.
The workshops are ideal for debaters but are also suitable for non-debaters as the skills can be used anywhere.
The information provided in those workshops is now available to everyone in this section – you can find the information and watch some video clips that give examples.
NAD offers three main workshops with the aim of building debating and question asking skills.
- Introduction to Debating
- Question Asking
- Research and Topic Development
Introduction to Debating: This workshops examines the importance of free speech and debating and covers some basic question asking skills – how to ask good questions to try to get answers.
Question Asking: This workshop will build on skills developed in Introduction to Debating. It will focus in more depth on the importance of fact-based question-asking and the role of research. This workshop will be more interactive, with everyone attending expected to take part. They will be given a fact sheet on a topic and will to prepare and ask a question. Everyone will be given constructive feedback with the aim of improving the effectiveness of question asking.
Research and Topic Development: How do you start organising your arguments? This workshop will focus on how to develop arguments and questions starting with topic and angle selection. It will also focus on research skills and utilising research to prepare questions and debates.
Workshop duration: Workshops are usually 2 hours in duration, but can be modified to suit individual needs.
Workshop numbers: Ideally, workshops should have around 20 people. We recommend around 20 people for the Question Asking workshop as everyone needs to ask their questions.
How to join workshops
NAD workshops are free but limited. Our priority is to provide workshop for young debaters and students.
We will let you know where the next workshops will be and if you are in the area and interested, please let us know.
If you can’t join a workshop we can still offer you some useful information here on this website. Find out more about question asking skills and research here.
Next workshop
Amman, Jordan- 28-30 September, 2015
West Bank- 3-8 October 2015
If you are from an educational institution or another organisation and would like to express interest in a workshop please email: info@newarabdebates.com
Follow the workshops
We post information and photos of the workshops on Facebook and Instagram so you can follow us there.