Public speaking can be a daunting task for anyone, and doing so with only 15 minutes to prepare a topic is even more so. But USC’s Spur-ing Debate club has helped students grow confident in doing just that.
The club seeks to provide students with a place to find and grow their presentation skills along with their voice and opinions, according to its Garnet Gate page. Over the past year, the club went from only about six active members to almost three times as many, and the group now participates in debate tournaments hosted by universities across the country.
Spur-ing Debate meets on Tuesday from 7:30-8:30 p.m. and Saturday from 2:00-3:00 p.m. On Tuesday, meetings focus on practicing certain skills while Saturdays consist of mock debates where members are broken into four teams of two, given 15 minutes to prepare their assigned stance on a given topic or motion and allowed about seven minutes to give their opening statements before debating back and forth.
Second-year supply chain, operations and finance student Tirth Thakar is the vice president of the club. He is acting president this semester as third-year finance student and club president Eleanor McMakin is studying abroad in Japan.
Thakar joined Spur-ing Debate his freshman year after falling in love with it in high school, he said.
"I was a shy kid who couldn't speak in front of a large group of people," Thakar said. "So I decided to join debate club, and I've been having so much fun going to tournaments, going to conferences, so I just decided to look up on Garnet Gate (if) there (was) a debate club at USC, and I found Spur-ing Debate."
Typically, McMakin covers logistics while Thakar focuses on training new members and running debates. Thakar enjoys helping newcomers improve while getting better himself in the process, he said.
“(New) members are welcome anytime — they can be caught up,” Thakar said. “I even try to organize one-on-one meetings with them — just try to clarify any questions they have — because we want to make sure that the new members understand what's happening, and we don't want them to feel left out.”
Second-year criminology and criminal justice student Brook Walker joined her freshman year with no experience in debate. With future plans to be a lawyer, Walker was drawn to the club by the opportunity to work on her public speaking skills as she struggled with anxiety over public speaking in high school, she said. Now, she is the social media and recruitment chair of the club.
“This club … was the first step in me pushing myself out of my current comfort zone," Walker said. "I think it was the best decision I ever made."
Debaters are not allowed to exceed seven minutes and fifteen seconds during their opening statements. Anything said after that cannot be taken into account by judges. Walker only spoke for two minutes during her first debate. The last time she spoke, however, she went over the timer.
"I improved a lot on my speaking time length. I'm more confident when I speak. I'm not shy. My posture is better. Still working on it, but it's getting better,” Walker said.
College debate tournaments are the best place for members to put together everything they have been practicing in meetings and compete against other schools, Thakar said. In Vermont, Yale and upcoming in Vanderbilt, tournaments give members the chance to experience debates in a more formal setting at schools with large debate teams with rich histories while also visiting other college campuses and cities, Thakar said.
“Experience is really important, because it's really hard to simulate a real debate setting, especially in a club, and especially in a club as small this one,” Thakar said.
Third-year marketing and management student Akshat Shah joined the club with no experience in debate in the spring of his freshman year. He started coming to meetings at the invitation of a friend and upon seeing his public speaking skills improve, he continued.
Shah said he views Spur-ing Debate as a speech club more so than a debate club, as topics are not highly contentious.
"They're not trying to divide you or (are) politically charged," Shah said. "It's really trying to get you to think critically and back up your points and create an argument that you can defend. And that's what this is all about.”
Shah's time at Spur-ing Debate helped him overcome public speaking tendencies he used to struggle with such as stumbling over words, fidgeting with his hands or not standing still. The club has also taught Shah to look at both sides of any issue, he said.
“I used to think a lot (in) black and white,” Shah said. “(Now I see) nothing can be truly defendable 100% — there's always two ways about everything … even though I know I have to defend one thing, I'll look at it from the other way and then either try to come to a compromise or say, ‘I acknowledge that way, but here's why my way, or my thinking, is better.’ And that's just, at the end of the day, how you win any debate.”
Debate has taught Thakar to be open to other perspectives, he said.
“In debate, you don't get to choose the side you're in," Thakar said. "So you have to think of the other side's topics, and then you might just grow a more open mind.”
It’s not all public speaking, though. Thakar prioritizes building community within the club, and many members said the welcoming atmosphere and friendships are important parts of the club.
“My philosophy is, if you're not having fun with debate, there's no point in debate,” Thakar said. “So we want to make sure it's a welcoming environment for everybody to come in. We all think of each other as friends … We try to learn from each other. We try to grow from each other.”
Students interested in joining Spur-ing Debate are welcome to attend a meeting, which are held on Tuesdays from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in Russell House 205 and Saturday from 2:00-3:00 p.m in the Russell Underground. More information can be found on the club's Garnet Gate page.