"Have you ever, in listening to a debate among adult and presumably responsible people, been fretted by the extraordinary inability of the average debater to speak to the question, or to meet and refute the arguments of speakers on the other side? Or have you ever pondered upon the extremely high incidence of irrelevant matter which crops up at committee meetings, and upon the very great rarity of persons capable of acting as chairmen of committees? And when you think of this, and think that most of our public affairs are settled by debates and committees, have you ever felt a certain sinking of the heart?" --Dorothy L. Sayers from "The Lost Tools of Learning"
Thinking about ethics and current events (Began 1 April 2008)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Quote of the Week - Dorothy L. Sayers
"Have you ever, in listening to a debate among adult and presumably responsible people, been fretted by the extraordinary inability of the average debater to speak to the question, or to meet and refute the arguments of speakers on the other side? Or have you ever pondered upon the extremely high incidence of irrelevant matter which crops up at committee meetings, and upon the very great rarity of persons capable of acting as chairmen of committees? And when you think of this, and think that most of our public affairs are settled by debates and committees, have you ever felt a certain sinking of the heart?" --Dorothy L. Sayers from "The Lost Tools of Learning"
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1 comment:
People who participate in a debate or a committee meeting need to ensure that they stick to the topic being addressed when they speak.
To avoid speakers from floundering to different topics, the head of the debate or chairman of the committee should intervene by telling the speaker to focus on the matter that should be addressed.
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