What to do about clash?
Kat and Cai
What is clash?
 Clash is vital to debate.
 Why?
 Interact with the other team
 Simply put, clash is pointing out the differences between
your arguments and your opposition’s arguments
 Basically it is your offensive tactic
 Better to stumble a bit on your clash, then have no clash
at all
What to clash?
 You trying to convince to your judge’s that you’re right
and you have to prove why your opponents are wrong
 Clash with every MAJOR notion, assertion (statement
without reason), argument, example and statistic or
anything else that will bring the other team down
 Don’t judge your opponents, it’s not your role to inform
the judges that they went over their time or that they
were stuttering
 You’re pointing out flaws with their case
Clashing with Themes
 Easy way – target the main idea in their
opposition’s case
 Don’t make the mistake of clashing with one
sentence of your opposition’s case that they have
called their theme
 More experienced, identify and attack the ideas
that are the pillars of their case and refer their to
your opposition’s theme while doing this
Clashing with Themes cont.
Simple Approach
“The main problem with our
opposition’s case is their
theme, which states [X].
This theme is wrong
because....”
Difficult Approach
“The main problem with our
opposition’s case is their assumption
that [Y]. This assumption is vital to the
oppositions’ case. For example their
theme stated [X]. Now, the assumption
is not true...”
Clashing Examples and Statistics
 Examples and statistics by themselves prove nothing.
 You do need to constantly consider and discuss their relevance
and context in the debate round.
 In simple terms, it can be effective to clash with an example or
statistic, if you show how your opposition’s case was reliant on
that material.
 Be careful about trying to take a machine gun to all their
examples and making the debate ‘argument by example’
where the debate becomes all about examples and statistics
instead of principles and arguments.
“If our opposition has
managed to attack
one of our
arguments, should
we let this act
stand?”
just kidding, no.
Clashing with Clash
 You should always answer the opposition’s attack.
 Defence of your case is important BUT, the goal
of your clash is to ultimately attack your
opponent’s case
 It’s important to spend time to clash with some of
their clash, but don’t waste too much time
getting defensive
 Be careful and don’t clash with the fact that they
clash but defend your own constructive
arguments.
Conclusions
Premise
Paradigm
Conclusions: A and B are true, but do not lead to C
Premises : A and/or B are false
Paradigm: Even if A and B led to C, NONE OF THESE ARE
GOOD.