Top 10: Clinton and Trump throw down them fightin’ words

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Eunice Yip
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Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump went head-to-head in the first US presidential debate last week. We asked our readers what debating tips they learned from the two candidates ...

Eunice Yip |
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Our JRs steal debate tips from the finest America has to offer.

A shout-down

I learned from Trump that shouting can be the key to gaining attention, no doubt.

Eunice Yip, 16, Pooi To Middle School

Blame the mic

Trump showed that it is quite okay to produce a speech without any facts or figures and blame your abysmal performance on the microphone.

Henry Lui, 17, Sha Tin College

Pack of lies

Trump’s skill of passionately repeating lies until they can pass off as the truth. Speaking of truth, my name is actually Tangerine. No, the caption below has to be wrong. It is trying to misrepresent me. My name is Tangerine. Captions are wrong all the time – they’re sneaky, misleading, and violent. Trust me, my name is Tangerine.

Catherine Wang, 17, Chinese International School

Easy way out

When you are criticised during a debate and have no idea how to respond to your opponent’s rebuttals or arguments, or when you don’t understand your opponent’s speech, just put on your most sincere smile and say “Woo! Okay!”. That’s how you should react to avoid awkward situations and to hide your confusion.

Pauline Wong, 14, Maryknoll Convent School

Don’t get me wrong

I should not talk about my wrongdoings, but point out my opponent’s mistakes all the time. Also, lying can help me win the debate.

Angela Law, 15, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School

Vocab lesson

I learned some difficult words in the English language. That was the biggest positive for me.

Gigi Chan, 16, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School

On the attack

I learned how to attack your opponent. As the old saying goes, the best defence is a good offence. Hillary’s performance was very good. She expressed her thoughts very clearly and she was very calm. I think the American voters would have been impressed.

Brian Ngan Ling-hang, 16, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School

Hillary rocks!

Clever rebuttals are very important. Hillary said: “I think Donald just criticised me for preparing for this debate. I did prepare. You know what else I prepared for? To be the president of the United States.” Good comebacks show that you’re well-prepared, calm, efficient, smart, and you rock!

Ady Lam,11, Island School

Golden rule

Hillary on Trump’s Islamic State plan: “He says it’s a secret plan, but the only secret is that he has no plan.”

Trump: “I have a much better judgment than Hillary does ... I also have a much better temperament.”

Yep, we definitely learned something. The golden rule in a debate is: be as aggressive and as deceitful as you can.

Janice Yeung, 13, St Mary’s Canossian College

For crying out loud!

It must be very stressful to be the moderator in a presidential debate. Also, there’s no need to shout into a microphone, which makes your voice very loud anyway.

Belinda Ng, 16, South Island School

For next week’s Top 10, tell us: What’s the best thing about Halloween? Send your answers, along with your name, age and school, to [email protected], and our favourite answers will appear in next week’s Top 10!

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