| Introduction | 11/22 | 11/23 | 11/24 | 11/25 | 11/26 | 11/27 | 11/28 | 11/29 | Alfred C. Snider | Debate Central |
I was awakened this day by
a wake up call from the front desk of the hotel. Well, better late than never.
I arose and made my way downstairs for the usual Hotel Conde Ansurez breakfast.
As I munched I thought about the duties of the day -- two lectures for Drina's
group, COBA, and some time in the middle of the day to walk around town and
do some investigating.
As I returned to my room I
decided to be "high tech Tuna" today and deliver my lectures from
the screen of my iBook. Just in case I printed copies so that no tech disaster
would doom my presentations. I packed it all up and went outside to find a taxi.
| BUNGALOW NEXT TO INSTITUTO CHILEANO NORTEAMERICANO | DRINA RENDIC OF COBA
|
The Instituto Chileano Norteamericano
Cultural is located on a side street in a very fashionable part of town. I was
glad that Benito had supplied me with a map so that my taxi driver could better
locate the place. Once again I was able to carry on a decent conversation with
the taxi driver even in my broken Spanish. We encountered some serious traffic
on the way, and it became clear that something was "going on" in the
town but I was not quite sure what. The drive to the Instituto was very interesting,
as I had not visited this part of town before. It was clearly middle and upper
class. The commercial areas looked like shopping areas in America before the
advent of the major mall and the strip mall. Instead of such mall designs stores
used solid and excellent buildings from previous years. Restaurants and professional
offices also were seen regularly along the street. Set back from the commercial
zone seemed to be more mixed use buildings with offices as well as housing.
We left the main street and found the Instituto with no problem. However, it
was clear to me that the driver would not have found it without the map, as
he did not know of the street named Pios X right off of Holandia right off of
the main boulevard there, Providencia.
The Instituto Chileano Norteamericano
Cultural is mostly a large brick and concrete building of modern design. In
the main building there seem to be offices and classrooms. In a lovely bungalow
off to the side of the main building but within their lovely grounds were spaces
for seminars and group presentations. This is where I was guided to as soon
as I mentioned my name --- I was expected. I was welcomed by many of those I
had met before, including Augusto. I met briefly with the translator back in
the translation booth and was very impressed by her as well as the technical
set up. Each member of the audience would have a wireless headset that would
play English into Spanish on one channel and Spanish into English on another.
Benito, Paola, and Miguel were there. They had the camera set up but there was
some disagreement with the translation team about who owned the rights to the
translation of my remarks. I decided not to get into this discussion and they
carried on their negotiations. Drina and others greeted me as the audience began
to arrive.
The audiences for the morning
consisted of those leading citizens that COBA draws on to judge its advanced
and national debate events. Alvaro Ferrer was also there. The attendance was
a bit over twenty, which is how many were expected. I plugged in my iBook [named
after the Doctor Who character K-9 the robot dog] and brought up my talk outline
on the screen. I began by introducing myself and thanking all of my sponsors
for making this trip and these presentations possible. My remarks then covered
the skills a judge needs, techniques used by judges (including flow charting),
techniques for awarding issues, and standard decision rules. In much of this
presentation I was critical of current Chilean practice. I am acutely aware
of the importance of developing a unique debating culture, and I respect what
has happened in Chile and have learned much from it, but there are concerns.
Many of the debaters have spoken to me about what they would like judges to
do, and I used this information to frame my remarks without officially noting
that these concerns were Òstudent complaints.Ó I handled these issues directly
while (I hope) diplomatically. In many cases the Chilean calculus was one I
had not considered. For example, when asked about format I suggested fewer speakers
and longer speeches in order to allow the debate to develop more depth of argument.
The answer was that this would significantly reduce the number of people who
were able to debate, and that six person teams would be superior in terms of
training the most people. I really had to agree with this point. COBA had sponsored
training of 20 or more students at each of 45 universities, and while some had
not followed through, a huge mass of students were trained by one modest program
resulting in a national tournament. However, some of the ideas presented to
me by the debaters of Chile had seemed realistic to me. These included over-emphasis
on speaking and presentation and lack of a clear decision protocol given the
complex nature of the points on the ballot. I attempted to present my ideas
as options to be considered. The response seemed to be good and a number of
excellent questions were asked when I was finished. Drina asked several very
pointed and specific questions that indicated her sophistication in interpreting
debate events as well as her concern for the future of the Chilean national
debate competitions. The audience, once again, seemed very attentive and energetic.
Of course, the fact that delicious fresh squeezed orange juice and delightful
small cakes were being served also helped to improve the morning mood.
| LUMINARIES AT THE JUDGING SEMINAR | SIMULTANEOUS TRANSLATION AT WORK |
At the conclusion of my presentation
and the questions, the crowd dispersed and other, smaller, conversations continued.
I again spoke with Augusto Coello of the Australis Group about his reaction
to some of my remarks as well as a discussion about the Tercer Torneo Hispanopamerican
de Debate to be held in Honduras next year, with Honduras being a nation he
was very familiar with. I packed as I talked and as a result of my own foolishness
I left my power cords behind. Benito, Paola, and Miguel accepted my offer to
share a car and we were off after confirming with Drina the time and location
of my evening presentation.
We grabbed a "red car"
(a sort of limo service, not a taxi per se) and headed back to the center of
town and towards Universidad Diego Portales. As we neared the center of town
we noticed a huge protest march headed towards the same neighborhood. Half of
the road was full of marchers, who seemed to be health care workers. They were
dressed in their hospital and clinic uniforms, blew whistles, chanted, and carried
banners that I quite honestly could not read. We emerged in front of this group
and sped towards downtown. People were dropped off at the Sociedad de Debate
offices and I was the last one to be let out, and the hotel was my stop.
I took a few moments to relax
and thought about my presentation for that evening. Since it was just the middle
of the day I decided to go and get some dollars changed into Chilean pesos while
also looking around and taking in the scenery and culture. I stopped at several
banks and they all refused to change currency, and urged me to go to the money
exchange (ÒcambioÓ) that was further down the main street (Bernardo OÕHiggins)
but never appeared. I gave up after my fourth bank and no cambio and just withdrew
pesos from an ATM machine. My ATM card worked beautifully wherever I tried to
use it. I decided to head back to the hotel and stop at a restaurant called
ÒPalacio AzulÓ for lunch.
I noticed that the protest
we had seen earlier was now in full arrival at the center of town, a science
fiction type media tower bristling with antennae. The marching workers had also
been joined by some groups of ÒLa Bandera Negra,Ó which I assume are the young
anarchists I have heard about. Huge speakers came out of a neighboring building
and blasted a song with revolutionary Spanish lyrics and pure reggae rhythm.
On closer inspection I saw that on my side of the street, I was away from the
main action with a small between-the-roadways park and the other side of the
boulevard as a buffer zone, many people were clearly doctors and senior medical
professionals. I was unhappy that I had not brought my camera on the walk. When
I got to within about 100 meters of the target of the demonstration, I heard
a gasp and saw water canons being fired. I also noticed that the newsvendors
and store operators on my side of the street had begun to board up with metal
plates and grates, even though they were well away from the action. I also saw
a metro subway entrance being closed. Police seemed to be very present on my
side of the street away from the demonstration. I lingered as people began to
rush away, and saw the black flag marching into the face of the water cannons.
These are the ÒGuanacosÓ I had heard about, the water cannon trucks that spit
a sometimes stinging liquid just as the guanacos of the Andes will spit in your
eye given provocation. The water cannons focused on those with the black flag
and eventually drove them back. Now a full-scale retreat was taking place, with
many people running but almost no screaming. I watched briefly and then walked
on a few blocks more. By the time I got to Palacio Azul things on the street
were back to normal and except for several of the protestors stopping there
for lunch things went on as usual. The menu had to main dishes Ð Relleano Italiano
and Goulash. I chose the relleano, a large Chile pepper stuffed with cheese
and shredded meat. It was very tasty but the salad, as usual, was the star of
the event if nothing else because of its variety and uniqueness.
I walked back to the hotel
and had a brief nap before rising to finish the preparation for my evening presentation.
I decided on a new series of elements to add to the presentation and typed them
into my already prepared script. This is when I noticed that I did not have
my iBook power cords with me, and I feared that they had been left at the Instituto
but would, hopefully, still be there. I introduced battery conservation measures
to make sure I would make it through my presentation reading my outline from
my screen.
When the time was right I
caught a taxi to the Instituto. I was much more familiar with the trip now.
As we went by the location of the large demonstration I noticed that all of
the papers and confetti that the protest had produced had been quickly cleaned
up.
I arrived at the Instituto
suitably early and checked in past the main desk as easily as before. Now, of
course, my initial focus was on finding my lost power cord. I was told that
it had not been found. I consulted with those who had broken the room down after
this morning to turn it into a lecture venue for this evening and they told
me they had seen no such thing. Upon conducting my own search I did find one
part of the cord sitting on the seat in the translators booth. The other part
of it, however, was missing. As I continued to search the manager of the translation
crew noticed that his audience microphone was also missing. My theory is that
someone saw two pieces of interesting equipment and lifted them. The microphone
might be valuable, but half of an Apple iBook power cord, not so valuable. It
just looked so stylish it had to be an important device! Finally Apple style
has a cost.
The title for this talk, selected
by Drina, was "A Master Class in Debate." The audience was to be composed
of debate organizers and the most experienced debaters in the Santiago area.
I saw Alvaro Ferrer and Gonzalo Downey in the audience. I recognized other faces
from the national final as well as a few that had been there this morning. I
was a little concerned by the pretension of anything called ÒMasterÓ (perhaps
a reaction to the traditional Doctor Who villain by the same name) but I was
willing to do my best.
|
SOME OF THOSE IN THE "MASTER CLASS FOR DEBATERS" |
I selected 15 points in no
particular order, and they covered argument, strategy, and delivery. They are
also the sorts of public influence skills I think are most useful. They include
the following issues:
1.
Watch the audience and judges. Read their signals.
Use their signals as you speak.
2.
Have diverse body language. Develop a gesture vocabulary.
3.
The voice -- dynamism with diversity. Integrate voice
patterns with content and strategy.
4.
The turn, the capture. React with offense to arguments
made against you. Two kinds of turns, link and impact. Avoid the double turn.
5.
Personal relevance is persuasive. Use examples that
the judges & audience can relate to.
6.
Put on a show. You are on display from the moment you
enter the room. You need to look confident and relaxed at all times.
7.
Multiple forms of support. Use a variety of techniques
to support your different arguments, such as statistics, expert testimony, historical
examples, narratives, trends, personal testimony, common knowledge, statements
about human motives, etc.
8.
Weigh the issues at the end of the debate Ð ours is
bigger: number, size, probability, risk, time frame, reversibility, personal
choice, and moral required ness.
9.
Using the weakest opposing argument. Hold it up as
an example of the standard of argumentation offered by the opposition.
10.
Build in defense they donÕt see. Put things in your
early remarks that answer anticipated arguments, but hide them. Then say, "we
have already answered this, perhaps they were not listening."
11.
Take advantage of factual errors. Ridicule such an
error tastefully.
12.
Make a personal connection with the judges. Gain eye
contact, watch non-verbal signals, refer to them specifically but not by name.
13.
Time allocation. Divide your speech into 30-second
segments, plan it out in advance.
14.
Steal all good arguments and techniques from other
debaters. Watch debates after you are eliminated.
15.
Note taking
techniques. Learn to flowchart a debate. Use separate columns and separate sheets
if necessary.
After my remarks there was
a short break. Because the microphone was now missing, it was decided that questions
would be taken in writing and translated to me, I would repeat the question
and answer it while my remarks were translated through the headsets. The break
featured various beverages and tasty cakes, but I spent all of it answering
more questions from members of the audience who approached me in English. Drina
asked me if I had always been such a good communicator, and I took this opportunity
to tell her about my very serious stuttering problem I had as a child. I was
unable to communicate clearly and as a result was hampered academically, kept
in low reading groups, and generally angry about the entire situation at school.
Through considerable therapy I was able to overcome that barrier, and now I
only stutter when I am talking about the problem itself. She shared with me
her attempts to overcome communication anxiety. I think we have both done very
well in this regard. As we finished our stories it was time for the question
period. We all went back into the main room and the translator read me a number
of questions. They were, again, excellent. Questions included how to properly
integrate emotional expression into a debate, the differing cultural implications
of various gestures, and other concerns.
I asked for a brief photo
of the group, although some had to leave before the photo due to personal commitments.
After the photo I was able to say farewell to both Drina and Augusto, who had
been so kind to me. One of the most active of the students attending was Christian
Vera, a member of the national championship team from Universidad La Republica.
I expressed an interest in having a real Chilean meal and he indicated that
since his job was as tour guide, he could do that. He advised a seafood restaurant
near my hotel, and that sounded fantastic. I invited him to dinner, and when
Gonzalo Downey came over I was anxious to have him join me for dinner. We left
the Instituto and found a taxi.
We arrived at a section of
town very close to my hotel that I had not been aware of. We left the taxi and
then looked at several potential restaurants, since there were many in this
part of town. We settled on a beautiful restaurant called Ocean Pacific. It
had the most overdone "maritime" decor I have ever seen. The floors
were covered with clear plastic and below were collections of crabs, fish, shells,
and blue neon. The walls were dotted with round windows and ropes and nets along
with other maritime kitsch seemed to be everywhere. We went upstairs where the
decor was even denser. We ordered some Pisco Sours (traditional Andean drink
I really like) and inspected the menu. The menu was extensive but I was told
that many very fresh offerings were not on the menu. We decided on a series
of dishes, including calamari ala pil-pil (squid with pungent garlic), a delightful
abalone dish, and for my main dish I had a steak covered with a sauce of mixed
seafood. I will just say that all of this was very delicious and was followed
by a creme de menthe cordial.
| WITH CHRISTIAN VERA AND GONZALO DOWNEY | DINNER AT THE OCEAN PACIFIC |
The dinner was a delightful
and enjoyable experience with two of Chile's most talented debaters. Gonzalo
had been an international champion and Christian was just recently national
champion. We talked about a wide variety of subjects, including the cultural
differences in various South American countries, their debate experiences, the
recent USA elections, and the possible futures of these two talented young men,
and their fascination with the stunning beauty of the women of Chile. On this
last topic I remained mostly a listener. We enjoyed our conversation greatly
and all of a sudden I looked up to see what we were the only people left in
this large restaurant, as we had closed the place down. We quickly paid and
were on our way.
We walked the short distance
to my hotel and said goodbye. I went up to my room and realized I only had one
more day left. I went to bed a little after 1:30 AM.