Run a debate in ten minutes
You need one rule more than you need a topic list: halfway through, everyone swaps sides.
Most arguments, at a dinner table or in a meeting, are won by whoever is loudest. A debate quietly fixes that, and ten minutes is genuinely enough.
The format
- Pick sides. After five minutes, swap. This is the whole thing. It's what turns arguing into thinking.
- Two reasons each. Feelings count once. After that, evidence.
- Say the other side's best point out loud before you answer it. Extra applause for that.
- No interrupting, and the quiet one goes first.
Picking a motion
Warm up on something silly, pizza versus burgers, then move to a rule people at the table actually care about. A good motion is one where a thoughtful person could honestly land on either side. If everyone already agrees, it isn't a motion.
Motions that actually bite, by age
"I am against banning homework. My first reason is practice helps your brain remember. My second is teachers can see who needs help. The other side's best point is that some people get way too much homework, and that is true. So my answer is: do not ban it, cap it."
The Debate Arena
Inside Speaking, Ryzo has an arena where a coach argues back, kindly, with evidence, and never lets a weak reason slide. Motions run from playful to genuinely hard, matched to the debater's level, and there's a steelman shuffle that makes you argue the side you didn't pick. It's part of Ryzo Plus.
See how Ryzo does it