As we all know from the famous saying, most people would rather be in the casket at a funeral than giving the eulogy. It takes discipline, preparation, and a bit of bravery to stand up and defend a position in front of those arguing the exact opposite and judge. Debate encourages effective speech composition and delivery. Debate not only requires work in knowing speech material, but in the presentation of the material. Debaters will present before hostile teams and in front of class.
Debate develops social maturity.
The business like atomosphere of a debate tournament coupled with the diversity within the debate community forces debaters to react to various situations. Along with the competive prospect of losing or winning, debaters learn manners and proper behavior. Debate develops multicultural sensitivities. Debate develops computer competencies. Most research by debaters is now done on various types of computer systems.