Balloon Debate Self Reflection

Overall, my balloon debate did not go over exactly as I had planned. I was convinced that I could confidently share my reasons for staying in the balloon. I recalled what I could about Mahatma Gandhi. When the British were occupying India, Gandhi led a resistance group against them. However, the group committed no violence against the British, for the goal of these Indians was to show their foes that no matter what the English did to them, that the Indians would not stop protesting until their nation was once again their own. After a while, the British realized that they no longer had any control of their citizens and gave into the desires of the Indians. Gandhi accomplished this task through reason, for he reasoned with his followers not to use violence, and he used reason to convince his enemies to back off from his nation. 

I wrote the majority of these points down when I was preparing for my debate. I argued that reason was the best WOK for exactly these outcomes. However, when I began to talk about my point of view, I got nervous, I forgot what I was going to say, and there were pauses in my debate. I still managed to convey my point, but I got eliminated after the third round. This could have been due to my nervousness, but it could also have been an effect of the taste of the audience. Ali and Olivia used the strategy of humor to convey their points, and the audience could have made their choices based on that rather than actual evidence. However, there is no way to prove or know that such an action occurred. Anyway, it was a fun experience, and I am glad that I made it as far in the competion as I did.