Debating is often associated with ancient Greece or public school, but its relevance in today’s world cannot be understated.
So, why does debating still matter?
At its core, debating teaches crucial skills that are valuable in all aspects of life:
The ability to speak confidently in public and make sense, construct a logical argument, read an audience’s reactions, and most importantly, listen to and respond to opposing arguments are all skills that are in high demand in today’s world.
Debating forces individuals to step outside of their own personal beliefs and embrace a wide variety of arguments. It teaches people to respect the other side of an argument and question their own opinions. It also encourages individuals to see the other side and to recognize that there is a commonality of capability, capacity, and sensibility among all people.
In a world where social media often encourages individuals to only seek out information that supports their own beliefs, debating is a powerful tool for overcoming the echo chamber effect. It challenges people to consider different perspectives and to engage in constructive dialogue with those who may hold opposing views.
Role of debating competitions
Debating competitions are a fantastic way to teach young people how to argue in public. These competitions require participants to construct and present persuasive arguments and to defend their positions in the face of opposition.
This kind of training is crucial for modern life. Political events continue to remind us of the importance of persuasive arguments and good oratory that appeal not only to our rational side, but also to our emotional side.
Diversity and Debate
Debating also helps promote diversity. The more experiences and backgrounds there are on a debating team, the stronger the team becomes. This is because diversity brings a variety of perspectives and ideas to the table, which helps to broaden the scope of the debate and ensure that all viewpoints are heard.
So, should you debate?
As we move forward into an increasingly complex and interconnected world, the ability to argue effectively will only become more important. So, whether you’re a high school student or a seasoned professional, there’s never been a better time to start honing your debating skills.
A group of science student graduates, are sitting casually around some desks together, having an informal discussion. A female section leader is in dialogue with her mixed ethnicity colleagues. This is a real life scenario, in a real office building.
Great leadership usually starts young. It comes with a positive attitude and a desire to make a difference. Admission and scholarship review committees at colleges are always on the lookout for leadership qualities in young students. After all, investing in a bright future is beneficial for the college too.
Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities form an integral part of the learning experience. It would not be wrong to say that they are the nurturing grounds for qualities and traits that ultimately determine how the future shapes for a young student. Becoming a part of activities and events is a good way to start involving yourself in leadership building exercises.
If you want your college application to stand out and impress, you need to start the leadership demonstration process early.
Start Early
Talk to your mentors, parents, friends and siblings about the activities and the leadership opportunity each activity offers. Involve yourself in the activities. That is the best way to identify what appeals to you most. Identifying the right activity and the opportunity it presents in the future is a strategic decision that you have to take early. The sooner you start, the more time you will have to work your way to the top. A college application shows the activity you were a part of and the level of commitment you dedicated towards it.
Let your passion to drive you forward
When you have found an activity that appeals to you, dive into it wholeheartedly! Be it sports, arts, robotics, theatre etc., discover your passion and rise to the top in that. Excel at your activity – an application does look more attractive if it has the words ‘President’, ‘Captain’, or ‘Editor’ on it!
Be enthusiastic. Volunteer.
Enthusiasm plays a major role in sustaining and excelling in your chosen activity. Legitimate and sincere interest in a subject is the key to achieving success. Volunteer for tasks – do not hesitate to put your hand up! An activity that keeps you enthusiastic and active will likely earn you consideration for a leadership role. While leadership is often recognised and valued, the path to the mantle is also equally important – it is this journey that the admissions office will look for in your college application as it conveys your true level of enthusiasm.
Rise to the occasion
The best way to demonstrate your abilities as a leader is by becoming one. Do not be afraid to accept responsibility and rise to the occasion. Value everyone’s ideas and thoughts, but make sure that your contributions to the group are recognised. A college application holds more value if it acknowledges and recognises your leadership and contributions.
Know how to tell your story
Colleges look for leaders because they see in them the drive to succeed. Leadership is not just about the position – it is a story about what you achieved in that position. Your role in the entire process and your problem solving skill and collaborative efforts is what the admissions office wants to hear. Putting down in words the salient moments of your leadership journey requires skill and clear articulation of thoughts. Join a workshop that addresses the important aspects of college applications – the essay writing and resume building. Having a story to tell is no good if you do not know how to narrate one!
Big Red Education
At Big Red Education, we will help you create impactful essays and winning resumes that will impress and help you get into your dream college. Our workshop will help you master the essential skills of essay writing and resume building.
Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders – that is, only if they procrastinate! Young Leaders are not just the leaders of tomorrow – they can be the leaders of today as well. They have the passion, energy and commitment to make a difference. If the youth arise and act, they have the strength and dynamism to lead a huge transformation.
So how does one develop leadership skills and how early does the process start?
Although leadership comes naturally, it is never a bad idea to seek guidance. The right direction at the right time can make all the difference. Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow. The best part about starting young is that you have the advantage of age and the benefit of fresh thoughts to guide your path.
Here are 10 ways by which you can develop leadership skills as a teen –
1. Be a Voice, Not an Echo
If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more and become more, you are a leader. Great leaders do not set out to be a leader, they set out to make a difference. They do not tell you what to do – they show you how it is done. Learn to lead from the front and lead by example. Think different. Be a voice that stands out.
2. Boost Your Confidence
A bird sitting on a branch is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings. Trust your abilities and sharpen your skills. Never be afraid of any situation. If you are capable, no challenge can limit your success.
3. Persist with Persistence
People have great plans for success, but rarely do they have a plan for handling failure. As a leader, it is invariable to face success and failure. By bracing yourself for disappointments, you can be better prepared to handle loss and march towards success. Success is not final, neither is failure fatal. It is the courage to keep pushing on that counts.
4. Decide and abide!
It is imperative to hone your decision-making abilities. Too many choices tend to leave a person bamboozled. When the pressure of the decision rests on you, it is but natural to feel a bit overwhelmed. It is good to challenge yourself with situations. By doing so, you can weigh the pros and cons and explore the facets of the problem. This allows you to practice making informed decisions right from an early age.
Role-playing different outcomes of a fictional scenario is an exercise that involves analysis and the decision-making process. It lets you experience how choices affect your decision-making ability.
5. Communicate
Practice confident communication. Clarity of thought results in effective communication. Effective communicators are usually great at rallying around a team. They get more work done with fewer words. Speak clearly and weigh your words. To improve your communication skills, you can proactively engage in confidence-building exercises like maintaining an assertive communications record, a daily log of assertive and effective communications you made on that day.
6. Enrol in a Leadership Development Program
A Leadership Development Program provides you with opportunities to participate in activities and workshops. It helps you learn from challenges and works at identifying your strengths and weaknesses. A good leadership development program provides you with real-world tasks that teach you evaluation, planning, strategies, work allocations and analysing results. It also gives you exposure and networks that are an invaluable advantage.
7. Find a Mentor
As a teen, you are capable of far more than you, or those around you, give you credit for. A mentor will help you discover your true potential and your capability of becoming a leader. A mentor is someone who has been down the road before and thus knows the way. They are always there to guide you, motivate you, encourage you, correct you, criticise you and cheer for you when you achieve the results. A good mentor is an invaluable asset.
8. Read Read Read
The benefits of reading are innumerable. Reading broadens the mind, stimulates thoughts and has a direct impact upon actions. As a teen leader, it is a great idea to invest in knowledge and learning. Intellectual progress is connected to success. Books like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, “Leadership & Self-Deception”, “The Making of a Leader” etc. are worth investing your time on.
9. Explore Your Limits
To push beyond boundaries you must first be aware of where the boundaries are. As a teen, you have the advantage of time and infinite energy. You can test your limits and discover your strengths. At the same time, you can also work at improving upon your shortcomings. Explore your limits, it is the key to expanding them.
10. Observe. Listen. Process. Implement
If you want to be heard, your first step is to listen. Observing and listening to others will offer you different perspectives. It gives you multiple takes to deal with situations. By gathering inputs, evaluating options, and implementing the most suitable solution you can always come out as a winner.
The path to leadership and success is long. The sooner you embark on the journey, the quicker you will reach the destination. Start young. Do something different. The dynamism of youth is a great catalyst for change. You have the potential to rock the world.
Unleash The Leader In You with YLC
Youth Lead the Change is a leadership development program created by professors of the Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard School of education, and held by Harvard students. Held for students in grades 8 – 12, the program aims at empowering students and unlocking their leadership capabilities as they develop tangible solutions to global problems. Over the 7 day course, the students work in a group to understand a global issue and develop a social change project to address it. Through this program, students learn about core leadership skills such as collaboration, public speaking, time management, and self-knowledge.
The Harvard trainers also hold one-on-one sessions with students who continue to serve as mentors after the program. On finishing the program, there is an opportunity to complete mentorship for an entire year, to implement their project. Presented by The Leadership Institute at Harvard College (LIHC), this Harvard student organization aims to provide and promote leadership development opportunities across the world.
Leadership is a journey and not a destination. A leader is always evolving and is open to new ideas and new ways of doing things by being open to different perspectives. A successful leader challenges stereotypes and grows from the opportunities.
The 7 Steps to Become a Successful Young Leader
The importance of leadership cannot be stressed enough. Leadership starts young. A good leader is focused, curious and always eager to learn. There are many steps to climb in the journey of becoming a good leader, but the 7 important steps to becoming a successful Young Leader are –
1. Pursue your Passion
Work should not seem like work. It is only when you believe in something 100% will you be able to convince others about your dream and lead them successfully. Set sails for the thing you love the most and turn your passion into your work. By starting young, you have the advantage of charting your own course.
2. Observe
Listening and observing others is a great way to learn about people and work. Different people have different ways of getting things done. A successful leader observes, understands and decides upon the best course of action having evaluated all possibilities and by taking everybody into confidence.
3. Lead by Example
A Leader leads by example. Right from being punctual, to respecting others, to taking responsibility for actions, a successful leader should set an example to everyone and lead from the forefront. Be the kind of leader you would follow yourself. When you lead by example, you inspire your team to emulate your good traits. Your habits organically trickle down to your team and it improves the work culture and raises the overall efficiency of the organization.
4. Stay Organized
Clear, concise and precise – a successful leader stays organized in thoughts and actions. From the workspace to the decisions made, everything must reflect clarity. When clarity is lacking, everything quickly descends into chaos. Finding the right space for files and utilities on the desk, organizing resource inventories, assigning the right instructions to the right people, everything requires clear organization and execution.
5. Accept Mistakes and Learn from them
Mistakes are bound to occur owing to age and inexperience, but accepting the mistake and learning from it is the trait of a successful leader. A good leader never makes the same mistake twice.
6. Identify Strengths & Work on the Weaknesses
Successful leaders are well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of not only themselves but also of their team. They are great at delegating and identifying the best person for the job.
7. Evolve
Mistakes are bound to occur owing to age and inexperience, but accepting the mistake and learning from it is the trait of a successful leader. A good leader never makes the same mistake twice.
Hone your leadership skills
A leadership development program can go a long way in nurturing and developing leadership skills. A leadership development program offers a great opportunity to indulge with qualified professionals who can help you define a purpose and educate you to reach your full potential. A good education consultant or counselor can tap into your potential and push you in the right direction to be a successful leader.
Unleash The Leader In You with Harvard YLC
Harvard Youth Lead the Change is a leadership development program created by professors of the Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard School of education, and held by Harvard students. Held for students in grades 8 – 12, the program aims at empowering students and unlocking their leadership capabilities as they develop tangible solutions to global problems. Over the 7 day course, the students work in a group to understand a global issue and develop a social change project to address it. Through this program, students learn about core leadership skills such as collaboration, public speaking, time management, and self-knowledge.
The Harvard trainers also hold one-on-one sessions with students who continue to serve as mentors after the program. On finishing the program, there is an opportunity to complete mentorship for an entire year, to implement their project. Presented by The Leadership Institute at Harvard College (LIHC), this Harvard student organization aims to provide and promote leadership development opportunities across the world.
Leaders inspire others to do more. They carry their team to greater heights by influencing people to achieve more. Most leaders want to lead well, but only a few succeed.
Leadership, learning and development are indispensable to each other. The foundation of leadership is constant development through learning. A good leadership development program helps metamorphose leaders into great leaders and accelerates growth. It has the ability to transform an organization.
Great Leaders Build Great Organizations
Leadership is a personalized, ongoing and engaging approach. It is by no means a one-and-done process.
Good Leadership Development Programs like Harvard YLC uncover unique strengths and areas of improvement. The programs work on the needs and requirements to nurture young leaders. They serve as a great platform to connect the young leaders with engaging content that is personalized based on their unique needs. The programs create opportunities for leaders to practice their skills and work with their teams.
Leadership Development Programs will give you clarity on where the gaps are and where help is needed the most. They give you a measure of where you stand. An assessment of your current skill is an effective way of knowing where improvement and strengthening is needed. It gives you the clarity to know where to focus your time.
Access to resources is another attribute of a good leadership development program. It helps in rapid skill acquisition and a better level of absorption and retention.
Helping young leaders connect with experienced leaders is yet another trait of an effective leadership development program. The transfer of knowledge between a mentor and a mentee is a powerful method of augmenting and nurturing young leaders.
A Leadership Development Program helps you identify and improve your communication skills and empowers you to have the greatest impact.
Discover & Nurture the Leader in You
Leadership is a proven program that accelerates growth and transforms organizations. Harvard Youth Lead the Change is a leadership development program created by professors of the Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard School of education, and held by Harvard students. Held for students in grades 8 – 12, the program aims at empowering students and unlocking their leadership capabilities as they develop tangible solutions to global problems.
A 7-day conference provides the students with an opportunity to work in a group to understand a global issue and develop a social change project to address it. Through this program, students learn about core leadership skills such as collaboration, public speaking, time management, and self-knowledge.
Presented by The Leadership Institute at Harvard College (LIHC), this Harvard student organization aims to provide and promote leadership development opportunities across the world.
