Adjudicator encourages debater to build a rapport with the audience by making eye contact and relying less on notes
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Ho Fung College lost to SKH Lam Kau Mow Secondary School in the fourth round of the Nesta-SCMP Inter-School Debating Competition last Wednesday.
The two teams squared off on the motion that Facebook enriches social life, at Ho Fung College.
Lam Kau Mow, the affirmative team, was declared winner for its better teamwork and stronger line of argument.
"The first speaker of the affirmative laid out a clear team line, making it easy for the audience to follow," Mary Thorpe, an English teacher (NET) from Pui Kiu College who was one of the debate's adjudicators, said.
"The second and third speakers did an excellent job sticking to the team line."
Thorpe praised both teams on their ability to think on their feet and back up fellow debaters.
Nigel Pearson, the debate's other Net adjudicator, from Shek Lei Catholic Secondary School, urged all speakers to rely less on note cards and interact better with their audience. "In a debate it is important to get the audience to like you. You need to have eye contact with them and smile more," he said.
During their debate, both teams raised some interesting points for and against the motion.
The first speaker of the negative, Christy Lai Sin-tung, a Form Five student, likened online social networking to drug use: "Drugs improve the health of sick people but harm those who take them for recreational purposes." Avid Facebook users, Christy explained, risked getting similarly addicted, harming their actual social life.
The affinitive team rebutted that argument by comparing Facebook use to studying.
The third speaker of the negative, Tsui Chun-yi, a Form Seven student, noted in response: "The problem of addiction does not happen only with Facebook. Without proper time management anything can result in addiction. Take for example studying: too much of it will affect one's social life, but can we say studying is bad?"
Tsui Chun-yi and the second speaker of the affirmative Jamie Tse Wing-tung were named best speakers of their sides.
The contest, jointly organised by the Native English Speaking Teachers' Association and the South China Morning Post, is sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.[IMG]