Written by Mahek Acharya

Walking into your first debate tournament feels like stepping onto another planet. Everyone seems to know exactly what they’re doing, throwing around terms you’ve never heard, typing or scribing faster than you thought humanly possible, and speaking with such confidence.

However, losing is part of the learning process. You don’t show up to your first tournament expecting to win, any more than any other activity or sport. Each loss teaches you something specific: maybe you’ll learn how to handle speed better, or how to structure a rebuttal, or simply how to stay calm when someone throws an argument you’ve never heard before.

Everyone Was a Beginner Once 

That person who just rattled off a five-minute constructive without notes? They were once in your exact position, probably feeling just as lost and overwhelmed. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Other debaters, even competitors, will usually help you understand the format or point you toward the right room. The person you’re about to face isn’t your enemy; but another student once in, or possibly also in, your position.

Your first speech will probably feel shaky, rushed, too quiet, or some combination of all three. You might forget key points, stumble over words, or lose your place entirely. And that’s okay.

Pro tip: Keep talking. Even if you lose your place or forget a point, keep going. Say something to fill the time and maintain your composure. You can say “moving to my next point” even if you’re trying to remember what that point was. Forward momentum always helps every single time.

When you first hear debate terminology, it sounds like everyone’s speaking in code. Debate has developed its own language, a shorthand that makes communication faster once you understand it. But right now, it probably sounds like absolute gibberish.

Don’t panic about this. The terminology will click through exposure and practice. You don’t need to understand every term before your first tournament. Focus on the basics, and the rest will come naturally as you gain experience. In a few months, you’ll catch yourself casually using words like “turn” and “flow” without even thinking about it, and you’ll remember how foreign they once sounded.

Time Management Is Harder Than It Looks

In practice, three minutes feels like plenty of time to make your points. In an actual round, with adrenaline pumping and your opponent’s arguments rattling around your head, those same three minutes evaporate like water in a desert.

In your first few rounds, you’ll probably run over time or finish way too early because you spoke too fast and forgot half your points. You might spend two minutes on your first argument and realize you have thirty seconds for the other four. This is normal. Time management in debate is a skill that takes many days and multiple tournaments to develop.

One piece of advice would be to use a timer during practice rounds and pay attention to how long each segment of your speech actually takes. Then, in your first tournament, if you run a bit over or under, don’t beat yourself up about it. The judge will give you signals, and you’ll learn to pace yourself naturally with experience.

How to Prepare to Feel Overwhelmed

Your opponent will probably say something you didn’t prepare for. Actually, they’ll probably say lots of things you didn’t prepare for. They might speak faster than you expected, use evidence you’ve never seen, or make arguments that catch you completely off guard.

When this happens, your brain might freeze (it definitely did to me). You might feel like a deer in headlights, wondering how you’re supposed to respond to arguments you didn’t know existed three minutes ago. This feeling of being overwhelmed is part of the debate learning curve, and honestly, it never completely goes away. You just get better at functioning through it.

The secret? Write down everything you can, even if it’s messy. Circle the arguments that seem most important. Underline evidence that’s used. And when it’s your turn to speak, respond to what you can and don’t apologize for what you can’t address yet. Your analytical skills will sharpen with each round, and what feels impossible to track now will become manageable sooner than you think.

Document Mistakes

After my first tournament, I made a list of every mistake I could remember making. But that list became my roadmap for improvement. I knew exactly what to practice before the next tournament.

Whether it be speaking more slowly, or organizing your flows better, or managing your prep time more efficiently. Whatever your mistakes are, they’re valuable information. Write them down. Talk them through with your coach. And then deliberately practice those specific skills.

The debaters who improve fastest aren’t necessarily the most naturally talented. They’re the ones who analyze their performances honestly, identify specific areas for growth, and systematically work on getting better. The biggest thing to remember is that mistakes aren’t failures, but a pathway to improvement.

Your Real Competition Is With Yourself

While there is a win-loss record and trophies, rankings and elimination rounds; the real competition in debate isn’t with the person across from you. It’s with yourself from the last tournament, last week, last month.

Can you organize your thoughts more clearly than before? Can you stay calmer under pressure? Can you spot flaws in arguments faster? Can you construct more persuasive cases? These are the metrics that actually matter for your growth.

Some of the best debaters I know have losing records because they’re constantly pushing themselves by competing in the hardest divisions or taking on challenging positions. Meanwhile, some people with winning records have plateaued because they’re playing it safe. Don’t let wins and losses be your only measure of progress.

Every skill that matters, writing, playing an instrument, learning a language, competing in sports — requires pushing through that initial period where you’re bad at something in front of other people. Debate just makes that process more visible because you’re standing in front of someone, performing in real-time, with a judge evaluating your work.

The overwhelming becomes manageable. The confusing becomes clear. The terrifying becomes routine. Eventually, maybe not at your first tournament or your second, but someday, you’ll walk into a round feeling confident. You’ll deliver a speech you’re proud of and realize you’re actually good at this thing that once seemed impossible.

When most people think about debate, they picture high school students standing behind podiums, rapidly firing off arguments and evidence. However, the skills you develop through debate extend far beyond the competition circuit as they become invaluable assets that shape your success in college and throughout your professional life.