A lot of fresh debaters, especially whip speakers are often confused when it comes to the idea of key clashes. But the concept behind it is very simple and if you keep to some basic rules it is very easy to properly identify and use Key Clashes.
In one line:
"There are some ideas that go untouched/unrebutted (So, they are already established) and some ideas which are contested. Now contested ideas are said to clash and those clashes that are key to winning the debate are known as key clashes."
Explanation:
As a whip speaker you have already heard at least 32-40mins of debate before you get up to the podium. And within that time, your opponents have obviously argued against your ideas and you have obviously argued against theirs. Now this inevitable disagreement on the various issues of the debate is known as "clash of ideas" or just Clashes for short.
For example, in an "Abortion on Demand" debate if the proposition side speaks about the idea that: "women deserve to have control over their bodies and whether they want to go to labor or not" the opposition might clash with it by saying that: "they can't do so because they are taking an active decision to end a life and all rights stem from the right to life so women don't really have the autonomy to decide on this" then both sides clash on "Women's right to her body vs the child's right to life". Some people would also interpret this clash as: "Whether or not women have the autonomous right to not allow a fetus to develop in her body" but both really mean the same thing.
These clash of ideas can be either a direct clash of constructive arguments or even just rebuttals. So, at the end of the debate you will find many clashes in your hands but, in reality, not all of them are key clashes. Now for a "clash" to be regarded as a "key clash" it must be something special!
This one requires a bit of experience and judgement from your part, but you have to understand which issues are important to win the debate. In the example above it is very clear that the side that wins that clash might as well win the debate since that issue is very important for an "Abortion" debate. So, those clashes involving the major issues in the debate are key clashes.
Conclusion:
To sum up, "You need to":
- Have a good note of the entire debate.
- Note down or mark all the ideas that clashed
- Know which issues are important and weigh them accordingly.
- On a separate place, note down the more important of these clashes (usually three)
And when you complete the steps above, you will be left with proper key clashes just ready to be analysed! But the analyzing part is for another post, until then...
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