"I think our country deserves better."
A professional debate coach has these suggestions for improving the presidential debate format…
A professional debate coach has these suggestions for improving the presidential debate format…
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00:00Debates regularly get contentious.
00:01Wrap the left.
00:03Will you shut up, man?
00:04It's a competition.
00:05President, no.
00:07Egos are involved.
00:08It's hard to get any word in with this clown.
00:10It actually takes a very special type of debater
00:12not to become overly contentious.
00:14All right, that's the end of the segment.
00:16We're moving on.
00:18One thing I've learned is that as a moderator,
00:20the way the debate is designed
00:22and the way you enforce the rules
00:23can do a great deal to shape the content of the debate.
00:30If I was designing the presidential debate format
00:47and I was concerned with preventing crosstalk
00:50and interruptions,
00:51I would pursue one of two possible solutions.
00:54The first solution is a structural solution.
00:57I would place the candidates at tables
00:59on either side of the stage without microphones,
01:02and I would have them rise
01:03and come to podium center stage to speak.
01:06In other words, I would use physical spacing
01:09to prevent crosstalk and interruptions by the candidates.
01:17Second, I would implement an objective rules-based approach,
01:21allowing the moderator to inform the audience
01:24when rules are broken and reset the debate
01:27so that one candidate doesn't gain an advantage
01:29from the interruptions.
01:30After a certain number of interruptions,
01:33the moderator would begin pausing the speaking time
01:36of the interrupted candidate.
01:37They would announce that under the rules,
01:39they were required to let the audience know
01:42that that was the 10th interruption
01:43by the interrupting candidate.
01:45They would restate the question,
01:47and then they would allow the interrupted candidate
01:49to continue speaking,
01:50but with an additional 15 seconds
01:52so that they could deal with the interruption
01:54if they so desired.
01:55It would make it very clear to the audience
01:57that the rules are being enforced
01:59in an objective and even-handed manner,
02:02and at the same time,
02:03it wouldn't put pressure on candidates
02:05to feel like they have to fight fire with fire
02:08in order to avoid being steamrolled.
02:10Why don't you observe what your campaign agreed to
02:12as a ground rule, okay, sir?
02:13He never keeps his word.
02:14You can add back, sir.
02:15No, no, no, I'm not asking,
02:16that was a rhetorical question.
02:18One structural solution that's been imposed
02:20by the Commission on Presidential Debates
02:23is implementing a mute button
02:25so that the moderator can cut off the microphones
02:28of an interrupting candidate.
02:30In my opinion, unfortunately,
02:32I believe this may be the worst of both worlds.
02:35Given the proximity
02:37with which the candidates are gonna be seated,
02:39a comment by one candidate is likely to be picked up
02:41on the microphone of the other candidate,
02:44and second, even if it isn't picked up
02:46on the other candidate's microphone,
02:48if the other candidate can still hear it,
02:50it may still disrupt their speech.
02:52Voters at home who don't hear the comment, however,
02:54may not know why that candidate is pausing
02:57or stumbling or reacting,
02:59which takes it out of the hands of the voters
03:02in terms of assessing what it means
03:04that one candidate can't abide by the rules.
03:06If a candidate believes that they're above the rules,
03:09I believe we should trust the voters
03:10to assess what that means.
03:12As a debate educator, I deeply regret
03:15that our country is faced with having to debate
03:18how we can best structure a presidential debate
03:22in order to ensure respectful and productive dialogue.
03:26I think our country deserves better,
03:28but that's for the voters to decide.