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Debate topics

179 debate topics for a class, a table or a team meeting, from silly to serious, each argued from both sides, so you never start from nothing. The serious ones have the full case for and against, plus a question to research. No politics and no religion. Or play the game: pick a side, hear the other side’s best line, and hold or cross the floor.

Debate topics to start with

Twelve motions to take to a room right now. Tap one for both sides, or jump to a theme below.

  • For class

    For a big argument

    For a laugh

Deal me a debate topic

A random motion with both sides, for a table, a lesson or a team meeting. Pick a theme or take whatever comes.

  • This house believes

    The middle seat gets both armrests.

    For

    The window has the view. The aisle has the legroom. The middle gets the elbows.

    Against

    Two armrests for one person means two people flying with their arms in their laps.

Debate topics for students

The best classroom motions need no research to start, so every student can speak in the first minute. These reward a clear reason over a pile of facts.

Debate topics for high school and college

Older students can handle a motion with a real trade-off in it, where both sides have to give something up. These suit a formal format with a proposition and an opposition, and each has room for research.

Debate topics for adults

For a dinner, a book club or a team away day. Adults argue best about the rules they already live by, and the ones they’ve never said out loud.

Debate topics for ESL and English learners

For language practice, a motion should use everyday words, need no special facts and let a nervous speaker agree or disagree in one sentence. Start with “I think … because …” and let the other side answer.

Debate topics for school and college

The classic classroom arguments: homework, phones in class, grades, testing, AI and uniforms. These are written for college and adult classes, so they’re about how learning works, never about children.

  • Attendance shouldn’t count toward a college grade.

    For

    A grade should measure what you learned, not where you sat. Some people learn it from the book.

    • Students differ in how they learn best.
    • Adults paying for their education can decide how to use it.
    Against

    Half of learning is showing up. A class of empty seats is worse for everyone left in the room.

    • Discussion only works if people are there.
    • Turning up is a habit employers care about.

    Go further: What’s the difference between a class you need to attend and one you don’t?

    Colleges should replace letter grades with written feedback.

    For

    A B tells you nothing about what to fix. Two honest sentences tell you exactly.

    • Grades encourage chasing marks over understanding.
    • Feedback tells you what to do next.
    Against

    A grade is the one thing employers and students can compare. Essays about essays can’t be.

    • Written feedback takes much more time to do well.
    • Without grades, reputation and personal connections may count for more.

    Go further: Find a college that doesn’t give grades. How do its graduates get compared?

    Phones should stay out of the lecture hall.

    For

    You can’t listen and scroll. And the people behind you can’t stop watching your screen.

    • Attention is hard to split.
    • A shared rule protects the whole room, not just the phone’s owner.
    Against

    These are adults. If a lecture can’t compete with a phone, the problem may be the lecture.

    • Phones are also notebooks, dictionaries and cameras for the board.
    • Adults should learn to manage distraction, not have it taken away.

    Go further: Try a class with and without your phone in reach. What changes?

    Homework shouldn’t count toward a college grade.

    For

    Anyone can get help at home. Only work done under your own name in the room proves anything.

    • Help from friends and AI makes homework a poor measure.
    • Removing it from the grade lets it be practice again.
    Against

    One big exam rewards a good day. Weekly work rewards the person who kept showing up.

    • Regular work spreads learning out, which helps it stick.
    • Without a mark, many people will skip it.

    Go further: What’s homework for: practice, proof or something else?

    Students should be allowed to use AI on every assignment.

    For

    Every job they’ll ever have will allow it. Ban it and you’re teaching a world that’s gone.

    • Banning it can’t be enforced fairly.
    • Learning to check and improve an AI’s work is a skill in itself.
    Against

    You don’t build strength by having a machine lift the weights. Thinking is the point of the work.

    • Writing is how many people work out what they think.
    • If AI does the first draft, the student may never learn to do one.

    Go further: Design an assignment AI can’t complete for you, or one where using it helps you learn.

    Standardized tests should be dropped from college admissions.

    For

    One Saturday morning shouldn’t outweigh years of work, and practice courses favor those who can pay.

    • Test scores can reflect preparation more than ability.
    • Other evidence shows what a student did over years.
    Against

    Grades mean different things at different schools. A shared test is the only same ruler.

    • A shared test can spot talent from schools nobody has heard of.
    • Essays and activities can also be coached, sometimes more easily.

    Go further: Look up a college that went test-optional. What did it find?

    Students should grade their professors in public.

    For

    Professors grade you for four years. They can take one honest review from the people in the room.

    • Public reviews give teachers a reason to care about teaching.
    • New students deserve to know what a class is like.
    Against

    Public scores reward the easy grader and the funny lecturer. The hard, good teacher pays for it.

    • Reviews can punish hard courses and reflect bias.
    • Fear of ratings can lead to easier grading.

    Go further: What would a fair review of a professor actually measure?

    Every college student should take a coding class.

    For

    You don’t need to be a programmer. You need to know how the machines around you think.

    • Code shapes nearly every field.
    • One class teaches logic and how to break down a problem.
    Against

    Everyone uses electricity and few study wiring. A required class takes time from what you came for.

    • AI is changing how much code people need to write.
    • One forced class teaches little that lasts.

    Go further: Which basic skill would you require of everyone instead, if not this one?

    All 24 in this set

    Every college degree should include a public speaking class.

    For

    A great idea you can’t explain goes nowhere, in every job there is.

    • Few skills transfer as widely.
    • Confidence in front of a room can be taught.
    Against

    Forcing a terrified student on stage teaches fear. Plenty of fine careers happen in writing.

    • Anxiety can make this class a barrier to a degree.
    • Clear writing may matter more in many careers.

    Go further: Which matters more in the job you want: speaking or writing?

    A gap year before college should be the norm.

    For

    You pick a degree better after a year of finding out what you can’t stand doing.

    • Work or travel can bring maturity and focus.
    • It can show you what you don’t want to study.
    Against

    Momentum is real. A year off becomes two, and study habits fade faster than you think.

    • Not everyone can afford a year without study or income.
    • Friends move ahead, and that can be hard to take.

    Go further: What would make a gap year useful instead of just a long break?

    Studying the arts is as useful as studying science.

    For

    Science tells you what you can build. The arts are how you work out what’s worth building.

    • Arts subjects teach interpretation, judgment and communication.
    • Many good products win through design and story.
    Against

    A bridge has to stand up. There’s a reason we check the engineer’s math and not the review.

    • Science produces results that can be tested and used.
    • Some arts degrees have a less direct route to work.

    Go further: Find a problem that needed both a scientist and an artist to solve.

    Learning history matters more than learning science.

    For

    Most disasters have happened before, and the warning signs are all written down.

    • History teaches you how to weigh evidence about people.
    • It’s how a society remembers its mistakes.
    Against

    History tells you what happened. Science tells you what will, and changes what’s possible.

    • Science has a way of correcting itself by experiment.
    • Everyday life depends more on science than most people notice.

    Go further: Pick one historical event and one scientific discovery. Which changed more lives?

    Printed textbooks beat tablets for studying.

    For

    A page has no notifications. You remember where on the page a thing was, and that helps.

    • Paper has fewer distractions.
    • Notes in the margin stay where you put them.
    Against

    A tablet searches, updates and fits a whole library in one bag. Paper can only sit there.

    • Digital text can be searched and read aloud.
    • A tablet is lighter than a bag of books.

    Go further: Read the same chapter on paper and on a screen. Which do you recall better?

    Online degrees are as good as campus degrees.

    For

    The material is the same and it reaches people with jobs, families or no college nearby.

    • Good online courses let you learn at your own pace.
    • Access matters as much as prestige.
    Against

    A degree is also the people you meet and the arguments you have in the hallway.

    • Labs, studios and hands-on work are hard to move online.
    • Finishing alone takes unusual discipline.

    Go further: Which subjects move online well, and which don’t?

    College should teach life skills before theory.

    For

    Graduates can explain supply curves and can’t read a lease. That’s the wrong way around.

    • People need to handle contracts, work and everyday decisions.
    • Practical knowledge is useful right away.
    Against

    You can look up how to read a lease. College is the one place that teaches you how to think.

    • Life skills can be picked up from family, friends and search.
    • Theory lasts longer than any one practical method.

    Go further: Write a list of three things you wish someone had taught you. Could a college teach them?

    Professors should be allowed to grade with AI.

    For

    A tired human on essay ninety isn’t fair either. A machine gives essay one and ninety the same read.

    • It could free teachers to spend time with students.
    • It’s consistent, and it can return work quickly.
    Against

    If a person wrote it, a person should read it. Feedback from a machine teaches you to write for one.

    • AI may not notice an original idea that breaks the pattern.
    • Students should know a real reader cared.

    Go further: Should students be told when a machine graded their work?

    Lectures should be recorded and optional.

    For

    A recording can be paused, replayed and watched by someone with a job. A lecture can’t.

    • Recordings help students who work, care for others or need a second listen.
    • They make better use of class time for discussion.
    Against

    People who can watch it later mostly don’t. A fixed time is the reason the learning happens at all.

    • Empty rooms kill the discussion that makes a course good.
    • Some people speak less freely if they’re recorded.

    Go further: What can only happen in a room together?

    Uniforms make an organization fairer.

    For

    When everyone’s dressed the same, clothes stop being a contest of who can afford what.

    • A uniform removes a daily decision.
    • It gives people a shared identity.
    Against

    People notice the watch and the shoes instead. All a uniform does is hide who you are.

    • Clothes are a form of self-expression.
    • A uniform can hide differences without removing them.

    Go further: Where do uniforms work best: hospitals, airlines, sports teams? What do those have in common?

    Participation trophies do more harm than good.

    For

    If everyone gets one, it means nothing, and everyone in the room knows it.

    • Real rewards mean more when they’re earned.
    • People need to learn how to lose.
    Against

    Showing up when you’re not the best is the hard part. That’s worth marking.

    • Recognition keeps beginners coming back.
    • Rewarding effort can be more useful than rewarding the result.

    Go further: What’s the best reward you ever received, and why did it matter?

    Memorizing facts is a waste of time now that we can search.

    For

    Your phone has every date ever. Teach people to judge what they find, not to store it.

    • Skills age better than facts.
    • Time is limited, and judgment matters more.
    Against

    You can’t question what you don’t already know. Search only helps a mind with something in it.

    • Memory is what thinking is built on.
    • You can’t spot a wrong answer if you know nothing about the subject.

    Go further: Which facts should every adult have in their head with no phone?

    Group study beats studying alone.

    For

    You never know a subject until you’ve had to explain it to someone who’s confused.

    • Explaining a thing tests whether you understand it.
    • Others can spot what you’ve missed.
    Against

    Groups drift to the pace of the chattiest person. Real understanding happens in a quiet room.

    • Groups go off topic easily.
    • Some subjects need long, quiet concentration.

    Go further: Which part of your studying goes better alone, and which goes better with others?

    Every exam should offer a second try.

    For

    The point is that you learn it. Why should it matter whether you learned it in May or June?

    • One bad day shouldn’t decide a result.
    • People learn from their mistakes when they get to fix them.
    Against

    Real deadlines don’t come twice. A second try teaches you the first one doesn’t matter.

    • It makes grades harder to compare fairly.
    • People may prepare less for the first try.

    Go further: Which professional exams allow a retake? Why those?

    Debate should be a required class in college.

    For

    Few classes make you argue the side you don’t believe, and every job needs that skill.

    • It teaches you to listen, reason and speak under pressure.
    • Arguing the other side builds empathy.
    Against

    Debate rewards the fastest talker, not the clearest thinker. Not everything should be a contest.

    • Some students learn better from writing.
    • Debate can reward confidence over accuracy.

    Go further: Hold a debate, then swap sides. What changed in your argument?

    Apprenticeships are as valuable as college degrees.

    For

    You learn from people doing the job, and you start with skills someone already wants.

    • Apprentices earn while they learn.
    • Practical skills are always needed.
    Against

    A trade teaches you one job. A degree should teach you how to move when that job disappears.

    • A degree can keep more doors open.
    • Some jobs legally require one.

    Go further: Compare one trade and one graduate job after ten years. What would you measure?

Serious debate topics: the big questions

Technology and AI, the planet, how we spend our lives and what we owe each other. Each is still a clean yes or no, and each opens to the full case on both sides, with a question to research.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over a rocket

    Art made by AI shouldn’t count as art.

    For

    Art is somebody meaning something. A prompt means you ordered it.

    • Art has usually been valued as a record of a person’s intent and effort.
    • A model is trained on other people’s work, often without their consent.
    Against

    A camera does most of the work too. People said photography wasn’t art either.

    • Tools have always changed what art looks like, from the printing press to the synthesizer.
    • Judge the work in front of you, not the process behind it.

    Go further: Would your answer change if the audience couldn’t tell who, or what, made a piece?

    If AI writes your book, your name shouldn’t go on the cover.

    For

    You don’t sign a painting because you picked out the frame.

    • A byline is a promise about who did the thinking.
    • Readers buy a voice, and they’re entitled to know whose it is.
    Against

    Editors, ghostwriters and spellcheck all helped too. The idea was still mine.

    • Authors have always had help, and only some of it gets credited.
    • Choosing, shaping and standing behind the words is authorship.

    Go further: How do publishers and writing prizes currently treat AI-assisted books?

    Driverless cars should be the only cars on the road.

    For

    Human drivers text, tire and get angry. A computer only has to be better than that.

    • Software doesn’t get tired, drunk or distracted.
    • Cars that talk to each other could cooperate in ways human drivers can’t.
    Against

    When a driverless car makes a bad call, who do you even get to blame?

    • Mixed roads are hard, and rare situations are where machines fail.
    • Removing the steering wheel removes a freedom many people value.

    Go further: Who should be legally responsible when a driverless car causes a crash?

    Zoos do more harm than good.

    For

    A big enclosure is still a cage, and the animal never asked to be an ambassador.

    • Large, roaming animals are hard to keep well in any enclosure.
    • Many zoos display animals that aren’t in any breeding or release program.
    • A visitor can learn about animals in other ways, including sanctuaries and film.
    Against

    Stand next to an elephant once and you’ll care about elephants for life.

    • Some species have only survived because of captive breeding. The Arabian oryx was hunted out of the wild, then returned from zoo herds.
    • Zoos fund field conservation and veterinary research.
    • For most people, it’s the only time they’ll stand near a wild animal.

    Go further: What separates a good zoo from a bad one, and who checks? Source: The Arabian oryx and captive breeding.

    Exploring space matters more than exploring the ocean.

    For

    The ocean will be here later. Space is where we go if everything here goes wrong.

    • Space exploration has produced satellites we now rely on every day.
    • Only space offers a long-term backup for life on Earth.
    Against

    We’ve mapped Mars in finer detail than most of our own sea floor. Start at home.

    • We live next to the ocean and depend on it directly, for food, weather and climate.
    • Much of the sea floor has never been mapped in fine detail, while Mars has been mapped at higher resolution.

    Go further: Which would you fund first, and what would you measure to know it worked? Source: How much of the ocean floor is mapped.

    A one-way ticket to Mars is worth taking.

    For

    Everyone who ever left home for good was told it was crazy.

    • Someone has to go first, and the first settlers will shape what comes next.
    • A life with a historic purpose may be worth more than a longer ordinary one.
    Against

    Everything you love is on this planet. Including air.

    • You’d be leaving everyone behind, with no way to change your mind.
    • Anyone born there wouldn’t have chosen it.

    Go further: What would you need to know before you signed, and who should be allowed to go?

    Lab-grown meat should replace farmed meat.

    For

    If it’s the same steak and no animal was harmed, what exactly are you defending?

    • It could reduce the land, water and animal suffering tied to farming.
    • People who love meat wouldn’t have to give anything up.
    Against

    Food is more than a product. I want to know a farm was involved.

    • Whole farming communities and traditions depend on animals.
    • It’s new, and long-term environmental costs are still being worked out.

    Go further: How does the energy used to grow meat in a lab compare to raising an animal?

    For

    A beautiful place stops being beautiful when you can’t see it for selfie sticks.

    • Crowds damage the places they come to see.
    • Local residents lose their streets and homes to visitors.
    Against

    Limits just mean the view goes to whoever booked first.

    • Tourism pays for many local jobs.
    • Limits and fees tend to favor people with money and spare time.

    Go further: Find a place that has limited visitors. What changed for the people who live there?

    All 43 in this set

    Social media companies should answer for what’s true on their apps.

    For

    Print it in a newspaper and you answer for it. A billion views should be no different.

    • Platforms choose what gets amplified, which makes them more than a neutral pipe.
    • A false claim can do real damage before anyone corrects it.
    Against

    Who do you want deciding what’s true: a company, or you?

    • Checking everything at that scale is impossible, so companies would remove too much.
    • A company deciding truth for billions is its own danger.

    Go further: What’s the difference between a publisher and a platform, and where does a social app sit?

    Everyone should take a year off social media once in their life.

    For

    You’d find out who your friends are, and who was just a feed.

    • A long break shows what you actually miss and what you don’t.
    • Attention is easier to reclaim when the habit is broken completely.
    Against

    My friends, my photos and half my town live on there. That’s not a break, it’s exile.

    • For many people, it’s how they keep in touch and find work.
    • Learning to use it well helps more than a year away from it.

    Go further: Try one week off and keep notes. What did you miss, and what didn’t you?

    City centers should be free of cars.

    For

    Streets are the biggest public space we have, and we gave them to parked cars.

    • Space for cars can become space for people, shops and trees.
    • Streets get quieter and safer.
    Against

    Try moving a couch or a week of groceries by bicycle.

    • Some people can’t walk or cycle far, and rely on a car.
    • Shops depend on deliveries and on customers who drive in.

    Go further: Pick a city that has closed streets to cars. Who gained, and who lost out?

    Fast fashion does more harm than good.

    For

    A T-shirt that lasts four washes isn’t cheap. Someone else just paid the difference.

    • Clothes bought cheaply are thrown away quickly.
    • Low prices often depend on low pay somewhere down the chain.
    Against

    It lets people dress well without a big budget. That used to be impossible.

    • Affordable clothes matter most to people on small budgets.
    • The industry provides jobs in the countries that make the clothes.

    Go further: Trace one T-shirt: who made it, from what, and where does it go after you?

    Recycling is mostly about making us feel better.

    For

    Buying less beats sorting more. The blue bin is a very clean way to feel finished.

    • Sorting your trash can feel like enough, so bigger habits never change.
    • Not everything put in a bin actually gets recycled.
    Against

    Small habits are how big ones start. Giving up is easier, not smarter.

    • Recycling keeps materials in use and out of landfill.
    • Shared habits build support for bigger change.

    Go further: What actually happens to the recycling collected in your town?

    Bringing back extinct animals is a bad idea.

    For

    The habitat is gone. Time spent reviving one mammoth is time not spent saving what’s alive.

    • A revived animal has no family, no habitat and no idea how to live.
    • It may make people care less about extinction, if it looks reversible.
    Against

    If we wiped them out, maybe we owe them a second chance.

    • Some lost animals played roles in their ecosystems that haven’t been replaced.
    • The research could help species that are still alive.

    Go further: Which extinct animal would make the strongest case, and where would it live?

    Being a good listener matters more than being a good speaker.

    For

    Every room has plenty of talkers. The person people trust is the one who heard them.

    • People open up to someone who hears them, and that’s how trust gets built.
    • You can’t answer what you didn’t hear.
    Against

    Great ideas die in quiet heads. If you can’t say it, it didn’t happen.

    • Listening alone changes nothing. Someone has to make the case.
    • People who speak well get heard, and so do the causes they speak for.

    Go further: Think of the person who most changed your mind. Did they talk or listen?

    Talent matters more than hard work.

    For

    You can’t practice your way to seven feet tall, and you can’t coach an ear.

    • Two people can train equally hard and end up in very different places.
    • Early ability gets attention, coaching and confidence, which compound.
    Against

    Talent that never shows up loses to average that shows up every day.

    • Talent is only a head start. Most fields reward years of steady work.
    • Believing in talent gives people a reason to quit early.

    Go further: Pick someone at the top of their field. What did they have, and what did they do?

    Failure teaches more than success.

    For

    You’ll remember the day it went wrong for the rest of your life.

    • Failure forces you to look at what you did.
    • It shows you which of your assumptions were wrong.
    Against

    Failure mostly teaches you to be scared. Winning shows you what works.

    • People can fail repeatedly and learn nothing.
    • Success shows you a method you can repeat.

    Go further: Tell a failure and a success. Which one changed what you do now?

    It’s better to be respected than liked.

    For

    Being liked lasts until you say no. Respect survives the no.

    • Being respected lets you say hard things and still be heard.
    • People chasing approval tend to avoid decisions.
    Against

    People will work hard for someone they like. For respect, they’ll just be careful.

    • People give more to someone they like, and tell them the truth.
    • Respect without warmth can slide into fear.

    Go further: Think of the best boss or teacher you’ve had. Which did they earn first?

    A perfect memory would be a curse.

    For

    You’d never forget a fight, a bad haircut or that thing you said at the wedding.

    • Forgetting helps people heal and forgive.
    • A mind that keeps everything has less room to notice what matters.
    Against

    You’d never lose your favorite day. Every laugh, every voice, exactly as it was.

    • You’d keep every lesson, name and kindness.
    • Many of our arguments and mistakes come from remembering things wrongly.

    Go further: Is forgiving possible if you can’t forget?

    Living forever would be a bad deal.

    For

    Nothing feels urgent if you have forever. Endings are what make days count.

    • Everyone you love might not choose it with you.
    • A world where no one leaves has a problem with room and change.
    Against

    People who say that have plenty of time left. Ask again when you run out.

    • Most people, on most days, want tomorrow.
    • Great work takes more than one lifetime.

    Go further: Would you still want it if you were the only one?

    Knowing your future would make life worse.

    For

    Every surprise, gone. You’d sit through your own life like a rerun.

    • Hope depends on not knowing.
    • You’d start grieving things long before they happened.
    Against

    I’d take a few spoilers to skip the worst mistakes.

    • You could prepare and say what needs to be said.
    • Knowing a hard thing is sometimes kinder than being surprised by it.

    Go further: Is there one fact about your future you’d want to know? Why that one?

    A few close friends beat a lot of casual ones.

    For

    Who’s helping you move at six in the morning? That’s the real number.

    • Close friendships take time, and time is limited.
    • A few people who know you beat a crowd who know of you.
    Against

    Every job, trip and great party I’ve had came from someone I barely knew.

    • Loose contacts bring new ideas and opportunities.
    • Different friends meet different needs.

    Go further: List who you could call at 3 a.m., then who introduced you to your last job or hobby.

    Your job should be something you love.

    For

    You’ll spend a third of your life there. A third is too much to waste.

    • Work you care about is easier to do well.
    • Spending your days on something that means nothing has a cost.
    Against

    Turn your favorite thing into a job and see how long it stays your favorite.

    • Plenty of people live full lives around a job that’s just a job.
    • Not everyone has the luxury of choosing.

    Go further: If your job paid the same whatever you did, what would you do?

    Old books should never be edited for modern readers.

    For

    If you don’t like what a dead author wrote, write your own book.

    • Old books are a record of their time, and changing them hides it.
    • If the words offend, add a note. Don’t rewrite the author.
    Against

    Editors have always updated books. A footnote isn’t a bonfire.

    • Books have long been revised between editions.
    • A new reader may never get through a page that hurts them.

    Go further: Find a book that’s been changed. Did the change alter the meaning?

    Every sport should use video review.

    For

    Everyone at home can see it was out. The one person who can’t shouldn’t decide.

    • Fans can already see the replay, and a wrong call decides seasons.
    • Fairness is the reason sports have rules.
    Against

    Sports are about the moment. You can’t celebrate while someone watches a monitor.

    • Stopping play breaks the flow and the joy of the moment.
    • Slow-motion replays can make a normal contact look worse than it was.

    Go further: Pick a sport with video review. Has it reduced arguments, or moved them?

    Esports are real sports.

    For

    Packed arenas, years of training, and a final that breaks hearts.

    • It takes skill, reflexes, teamwork and practice.
    • Many accepted sports involve little physical exertion.
    Against

    A sport tests the body as well as the mind. Chess has packed halls and years of training too.

    • Sports are usually defined by physical skill.
    • A game owned by a company can be changed or switched off.

    Go further: Write a definition of “sport” that includes everything you want it to and nothing else.

    Everyone should learn a second language.

    For

    You don’t really know your own language until you’ve struggled in another.

    • Another language opens another way of seeing things.
    • It’s also a sign of respect wherever you travel.
    Against

    My phone translates anything now. I’d rather learn to cook.

    • Years of study could go to something a person will really use.
    • Translation tools are getting better every year.

    Go further: What can’t a translation app do in a real conversation?

    Animal testing for cosmetics should end everywhere.

    For

    A new shade of lipstick isn’t worth an animal’s suffering. There are plenty of shades already.

    • Plenty of ingredients are already known to be safe, so new ones aren’t essential.
    • The EU has banned the sale of cosmetics tested on animals since 2013, and its market kept working.
    Against

    A global ban only moves the question. Someone still has to prove new ingredients are safe, somehow.

    • Alternatives can’t yet replace every test.
    • Some ingredients also have other uses that may still require testing by law.

    Go further: What are the alternatives to animal tests, and what can’t they do yet? Source: The EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics.

    Social media does more harm than good.

    For

    It’s built to keep you scrolling, not to leave you better off. The product is your attention.

    • Outrage spreads faster than care.
    • It replaces time we’d spend with people in person.
    Against

    It lets people find their community, wherever they live. Before it, many simply went without.

    • It has helped movements, small businesses and families stay connected.
    • How it’s used may matter more than the app.

    Go further: List what you got from your feed this week. Was it worth the time?

    AI will take more jobs than it creates.

    For

    This time the machine does thinking as well as lifting. What’s left to move on to?

    • AI can do many tasks at once, across many fields.
    • Those who lose work may not be those who get the new jobs.
    Against

    Every big technology has been predicted to end work. Each time, new kinds of work appeared.

    • New tools often create jobs that nobody predicted.
    • Lower costs can create demand for more work.

    Go further: Pick your dream job. Which parts could AI do, and which couldn’t it?

    Facial recognition should be banned in public places.

    For

    You can change your password. You can’t change your face, and you never agreed to be logged.

    • People behave differently when they’re watched.
    • Errors can land on innocent people.
    Against

    If it finds a missing person, it’s doing what we’d ask a thousand people to do by hand.

    • It can help find missing people and solve serious crimes.
    • With strict rules, it needn’t be misused.

    Go further: What rules would make you comfortable, if any?

    People should have to use their real names online.

    For

    People say things under a fake name they wouldn’t say to a face. A name brings a cost back.

    • Accountability improves how people behave.
    • It makes fake accounts harder to run.
    Against

    Plenty of people need a mask to speak at all. Real names silence them, not the bullies.

    • Anonymity protects people who are at risk.
    • Real names don’t stop people from being cruel.

    Go further: Who has the most to lose if real names were required?

    Internet access should be treated as a basic right.

    For

    Jobs, banks and forms have all moved online. No access now means no way in.

    • Services, work and study are moving online.
    • People without access fall further behind.
    Against

    Calling everything a right weakens the word. It’s a useful service, like a phone line.

    • Rights should be kept for what’s essential to life.
    • Someone has to pay for it, and that’s a real trade-off.

    Go further: What’s the difference between a right and a very useful service?

    Privacy matters more than convenience.

    For

    You give away a little each tap, and you can never take any of it back.

    • Data, once given, can’t be recalled.
    • What seems harmless now may not be later.
    Against

    Most people happily trade data for a map that works. That’s a real choice, not a mistake.

    • Free services are built on that trade.
    • Personal data can make products genuinely better.

    Go further: Check the permissions on three apps. Which would you turn off?

    Working from home beats working in an office.

    For

    No commute, fewer interruptions and your own kitchen. Good work doesn’t need a lanyard.

    • Time saved on travel goes to work or family.
    • Many people focus better at home.
    Against

    Junior people learn by overhearing. You can’t pick up how a job is done through a screen.

    • Trust and creativity often grow in person.
    • Not everyone has a good place to work at home.

    Go further: Which parts of your work need a room with other people in it?

    Single-use plastics should be banned.

    For

    We make something that lasts for centuries so it can be used for four minutes.

    • Much of it ends up in nature.
    • Reusable alternatives exist for many everyday things.
    Against

    The replacements can cost more to make and carry. A ban feels good; the sums may not.

    • Some disabled people rely on single-use items such as straws.
    • Some food packaging reduces waste by keeping food fresh longer.

    Go further: Pick one plastic item you use daily. What would replace it, and at what cost?

    A cashless society would be better.

    For

    Faster, harder to steal and no more digging for coins while a line builds behind you.

    • Digital payments are easy to track and quick to use.
    • Less cash means less to steal.
    Against

    Cash works without a bank, a battery or a record of every coffee you’ve ever bought.

    • Some people don’t have bank accounts or smartphones.
    • Systems go down, and cash still works.

    Go further: Who would be left out of a cashless shop, and how could they be included?

    Daylight saving time should end.

    For

    Twice a year everyone moves every clock to save nothing we can clearly name.

    • Changing the clocks twice a year disrupts schedules.
    • Most people can’t explain why we still do it.
    Against

    An extra hour of evening light in summer is one of the few free things a society can hand out.

    • Lighter evenings suit shops, sports and leisure.
    • Some places would get very dark mornings under a permanent time.

    Go further: Which would you keep: lighter mornings or lighter evenings?

    Wild animals shouldn’t perform in circuses.

    For

    A life on a truck learning tricks isn’t what a tiger is for.

    • Travel and training restrict animals’ natural lives.
    • A show can be as thrilling with human performers.
    Against

    If the animals are well treated, the crowd falls for them. People protect what they’ve seen.

    • Good handlers care for and bond with their animals.
    • Live contact can inspire care for wildlife.

    Go further: Where is the line between working animals and performing ones?

    Video games are a form of art.

    For

    Writing, music, acting and design, and you’re inside it. What’s missing?

    • Games can move people as books and films do.
    • The player’s choices are part of the meaning.
    Against

    Art says something to you. A game needs you to win, and that changes what it can say.

    • Many games are products built around rewards and repetition.
    • A game with no author’s fixed view is hard to read as a statement.

    Go further: Name one game you’d put in a museum, and explain why.

    Professional athletes are paid too much.

    For

    A nurse saves lives and a striker scores goals. Pay has come loose from what matters.

    • Pay is far above most jobs that society depends on.
    • Careers in many sports pay almost nothing outside the top level.
    Against

    They fill stadiums and the money’s going somewhere. Better them than the owners.

    • Careers are short and risky.
    • People choose to pay to watch.

    Go further: Should pay reflect value to society, or what the market will pay?

    Space tourism should wait until Earth’s problems are solved.

    For

    A joyride above the clouds is a strange use of a burning planet’s fuel.

    • Resources are limited, and it’s an elite activity.
    • Rocket launches have an environmental cost.
    Against

    Earth’s problems will never be finished. Early flights paid for the planes we all use now.

    • Commercial flights often pay for research.
    • Seeing Earth from above may change how people think about it.

    Go further: Is there a rule for what’s worth doing before all problems are solved?

    Libraries matter more now than they ever did.

    For

    It’s one of the last indoor places where you can stay all day without buying anything.

    • They offer free space, help and internet to all.
    • A librarian helps you judge what’s reliable.
    Against

    Every book is a search away now. Love the building, but the job has moved.

    • Much of the material is online.
    • Scarce public funds have other urgent uses.

    Go further: Visit a library and count what people are doing there. How many are reading?

Debate topics about technology

Small fights about the things in our pockets and on our screens.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over a phone

    Autocorrect does more harm than good.

    For

    It has ducking ruined more messages than it ever saved.

    Against

    You haven’t seen what your thumbs actually type.

    Robots should do all the chores before they do any art.

    For

    We wanted a robot to do the ironing so we could paint. Not the other way around.

    Against

    Folding a shirt turns out to be harder than a painting. Take the help you get.

    AI should write all the boring emails.

    For

    They were never really read anyway. Let the robots talk to each other.

    Against

    Then both ends are robots, and we’ve invented a very slow way of saying nothing.

    Headphones in public mean do not disturb.

    For

    They’re the only door you can close on a train.

    Against

    Headphones block sound, not people. You’re still in a shared space, and manners still apply.

    Emoji count as a real language.

    For

    One small thumbs-up can end a conversation colder than any word.

    Against

    Try asking the way to the station with a sad cat.

    Every group chat needs a leader.

    For

    Otherwise the plan stays at “yeah we should” for six months.

    Against

    Give someone power in a group chat and you’ll get a poll about the poll.

    Read receipts should always be on.

    For

    If you’ve read it, you’ve read it. Honesty is one small tick.

    Against

    A tick doesn’t mean I’ve read it. It means I owe you a reply by dinner.

    New series should come out one episode a week.

    For

    A week of guessing is half the show. You can’t argue about a finale you binged alone.

    Against

    I pay to watch, so I pick the pace. A story shouldn’t need a week’s wait to feel important.

    All 18 in this set

    A smart fridge solves a problem that doesn’t exist.

    For

    The fridge already had one job: cold.

    Against

    You’ve stood in the store wondering if you’ve got eggs. That’s the problem.

    Phones should go in a basket at dinner.

    For

    You came all this way to look at someone else’s vacation?

    Against

    And who’s going to settle what year that movie came out?

    Calling someone without texting first is rude.

    For

    An unplanned call is someone walking into your kitchen.

    Against

    It takes one minute. You’ve spent forty texting about it.

    Phones should be banned at concerts.

    For

    You went all that way to watch the stage on a very small screen.

    Against

    That shaky video is the only reason you’ll remember song four.

    The book is always better than the movie.

    For

    A movie gets two hours. A book gets all the room in your head.

    Against

    A movie has a score, a face and a car chase. A page has to do all that alone.

    Every movie is ten minutes too long.

    For

    Name one movie that needed that extra scene in the car.

    Against

    The scene you’d cut is someone’s favorite. A story that rushes never gets to breathe.

    You shouldn’t film strangers for the internet without asking.

    For

    Your bad day isn’t my content, and mine isn’t yours.

    Against

    If you do something wild in public, the public gets to see it.

    You should be able to unsend any message for a full day.

    For

    Everyone gets one bad idea at 1 a.m. It doesn’t have to be permanent.

    Against

    If you can take back anything, nothing anyone says means anything.

    Influencers should have to label every ad.

    For

    If you’re paid to love it, say so. The whole sale works because it looks like a friend’s advice.

    Against

    Viewers aren’t fools. Everyone knows a sponsored smile, and a label won’t stop anyone buying.

    An AI should always have to say it’s an AI.

    For

    You have a right to know who you’re talking to, especially if it’s trying to persuade you.

    Against

    If the answer is right, who cares? We don’t ask a calculator to introduce itself.

Debate topics about work

Everyone has sat in a meeting, so everyone has a view. They work well in workshops and team away days.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over a presentation slide

    Group projects should be banned.

    For

    Four names on the slide. One person did it. Everybody knows.

    • Shared grades reward the people who do the least and punish the people who care most.
    • Good collaboration can be taught on purpose, in pairs with clear roles, without one mark for four people.
    Against

    Every job is a group project. Better to meet the one who does nothing early.

    • Most real work is done with people you didn’t choose.
    • Learning to split a task, chase a colleague and settle a disagreement is the point of the exercise.

    Go further: How could a group project show who did what without turning into surveillance?

    Every exam should be open book.

    For

    At work, you’re allowed to look it up. Why train for a world that doesn’t exist?

    • Open-book exams test understanding, since nothing can simply be copied into the answer.
    • They reduce last-minute memorizing that fades within a week.
    Against

    If the book is open, the questions get harder. Careful what you wish for.

    • Some knowledge has to be in your head before you can think with it.
    • Students who rely on the book run out of time.

    Go further: Which subjects lose the most from an open-book exam, and which lose nothing?

    Typing matters more than handwriting.

    For

    The last thing anyone read in your handwriting was a birthday card.

    Against

    People keep handwritten notes for years. You’ll never frame an email.

    A four-day week should be normal.

    For

    Your best work doesn’t happen at four on a Friday.

    Against

    Customers don’t stop on Fridays. Squeeze five days of work into four and every day gets worse.

    Cameras should be optional on video calls.

    For

    Seeing my bookcase has never once helped anyone listen.

    Against

    Presenting to nine black squares is how you lose the will to present.

    Open-plan offices should be left in the past.

    For

    If you can hear someone’s lunch, you’re not at work. You’re at their lunch.

    Against

    Walls are how you go three years without learning who sits next door.

    Office birthday cake should be mandatory.

    For

    It’s the only meeting anyone has ever wanted to go to.

    Against

    Nothing kills a party like a calendar invite with the word “fun” in it.

    A long lunch beats leaving early.

    For

    It cuts the day in two. Two short halves beat one long afternoon.

    Against

    An hour at the end of the day is yours. The long lunch is still at work.

    All 17 in this set

    Work chats should go quiet at six.

    For

    If it can’t wait until morning, it’s a phone call. If it isn’t a phone call, it can wait.

    Against

    Some of us do our best thinking at nine at night, and we’d like to say so.

    Reply-all should need a second person’s approval.

    For

    Two hundred people did not need to see your “thanks!”

    Against

    Reply-all is how a whole team spots the mistake. Add an approval step and the fix arrives too late.

    Meetings should be held standing up.

    For

    Nothing shortens a meeting like sore feet.

    Against

    All you’ve done is make the long meeting tiring as well.

    Whoever calls a meeting brings the donuts.

    For

    There would be half as many meetings by next week.

    Against

    There’d be just as many, and they’d all be at ten past one, after lunch.

    Icebreakers should be illegal.

    For

    Your best self has never come out during two truths and a lie on a Monday.

    Against

    The alternative is an hour of silence with twelve strangers. Your call.

    No email should be longer than three sentences.

    For

    If you need a fourth sentence, you need a phone call.

    Against

    Cut it to three sentences and you’ll get five emails asking what you meant.

    Every boss should have to do your job for a day each year.

    For

    One morning with that printer and “it’s a simple request” would disappear forever.

    Against

    One day won’t teach the job. It teaches a boss they know the job, and that’s more dangerous.

    A meeting without an agenda should be canceled.

    For

    If you can’t say what it’s for, it’s a hostage situation with coffee.

    Against

    The best idea you ever heard at work came from a meeting that wandered.

    Companies should be able to read work email.

    For

    It’s their system, their name on it and their risk if something goes wrong.

    Against

    You can trust someone or you can read their mail. A workplace that reads everything gets neither.

Fun debate topics

Pure nonsense, argued with total commitment. These are the best ones to start with, because nobody’s pride is on the line, and that’s exactly when people argue hardest.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over a giant duck

    A dragon would make a better pet than a unicorn.

    For

    A dragon guards your house, heats it and gets you to work. A unicorn offers a nice mane.

    Against

    A pet you can’t feed, house or keep indoors isn’t a pet. A unicorn you can actually live with.

    Traveling to the past beats traveling to the future.

    For

    The past has dinosaurs, lost music and every argument you wish you’d won.

    Against

    The past has no plumbing and no idea who you are. The future has answers.

    Pirates would beat ninjas.

    For

    Pirates have cannons, a ship and a crew that’s already angry.

    Against

    A ninja wins before the pirate knows there was a fight.

    Robots would run a better restaurant than people.

    For

    A robot never forgets the sauce and never asks how it is while you’re chewing.

    Against

    A robot can bring your food. It can’t see it’s your birthday or that you’re having a bad night.

    In a zombie movie, the smart move is to stay put.

    For

    Every disaster in those movies starts with someone saying “let’s split up.”

    Against

    Staying put is how you end up in a basement in the last ten minutes, out of cans.

    Aliens have already visited, and they weren’t impressed.

    For

    It explains the silence. You don’t text back after a first date like that.

    Against

    Every traveler in history has left a trace. Crossing a galaxy and leaving none is the harder story.

    A hero with gadgets beats a hero with powers.

    For

    Gadgets can be fixed, upgraded and lent to a friend. Powers just happen to you.

    Against

    Gadgets run out of battery. Flying doesn’t need a charger.

    A haunted house is a fair price for an ocean view.

    For

    Ghosts are quiet, they keep to the attic and they’ll never borrow your ladder.

    Against

    A view is for relaxing. You can’t relax in a house where something upstairs knows your name.

    All 22 in this set

    Second breakfast should be a recognized meal.

    For

    Eleven o’clock already has the hunger. All it needs is a name.

    Against

    Give it a name and someone will book you a second-breakfast meeting.

    Mermaids have it better than centaurs.

    For

    A mermaid has a whole ocean. A centaur has to find a very wide door.

    Against

    A centaur can go to a party. A mermaid has to be carried in a bathtub.

    One horse-sized duck would be easier to fight than a hundred duck-sized horses.

    For

    One enemy, one direction. A hundred tiny horses is a hundred tiny problems.

    Against

    That duck is as tall as a horse and it has a beak. Tiny horses you can step over.

    A hundred people would beat one gorilla.

    For

    It can only hold on to about four of you. The other ninety-six are free.

    Against

    Somebody has to go first. In a crowd of a hundred, you’ll all wait for somebody.

    Life would be better with a soundtrack.

    For

    A walk to the trash cans would become a scene. You’d stand up straighter.

    Against

    Everyone in the room would hear the sad piano start when you check your phone.

    Invisibility beats flying.

    For

    Flying gets you somewhere. Invisibility gets you the truth.

    Against

    Invisibility only works when you sneak. Flying is the one power you’d use in front of everyone.

    The villain usually has a point.

    For

    The villain is the only one in the movie with a plan, a staff and a five-year vision.

    Against

    A good point stops being one when your plan needs a shark tank. How you win is the point.

    Vampires have it worse than werewolves.

    For

    No sunrise, no garlic bread, and everyone you know gets old without you.

    Against

    A vampire chooses to bite. A werewolf loses control once a month and wakes up not knowing why.

    Talking to animals beats speaking every language.

    For

    You already know what people think. Imagine knowing what the pigeons are planning.

    Against

    Your cat would only use it to complain. Every language gets you fed anywhere on Earth.

    Pausing time beats rewinding it.

    For

    Pause means a nap in the middle of every meeting you’ll ever have.

    Against

    Rewind means you never say that thing at the wedding.

    If dogs could talk, we’d like them less.

    For

    Right now he adores you. One sentence and you’d learn he’s been judging your singing.

    Against

    You’d finally know where it hurts, what scares him and why he barks at that one fence.

    The sidekick deserves half the credit.

    For

    Someone drove the van, did the research and took the second punch.

    Against

    Anyone can hold the flashlight. Only one of them walked in first.

    Three wishes would ruin your life.

    For

    Every story with a genie ends with someone wishing it had never started.

    Against

    Those people wished carelessly. You’ve been planning this for years.

    A time machine should require a license.

    For

    You need a test to drive to the store. This thing can delete your grandfather.

    Against

    The person who’d wait in line for that license isn’t who should be saving history.

Debate topics about food

Everyone eats, so everyone is an expert. These aren’t about what tastes best: they’re about the rules of the table, like who pays, who cleans up and who gets the last slice.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over a slice of pizza

    Whoever cooks should never do the dishes.

    For

    You’ve done the hard part. You don’t ask the painter to sweep the gallery.

    Against

    Free dishes is how one bowl of pasta ends up using every pan in the house.

    Taking the last slice without asking is theft.

    For

    Everyone was looking at it. That polite silence was a contract.

    Against

    It’s been sitting there for forty minutes. Hesitation has a price.

    Splitting the check evenly is fair, whatever you ordered.

    For

    Friends don’t bring calculators to dinner. It evens out over a lifetime.

    Against

    I had a side salad. You had the lobster and three opinions about wine.

    Soup is not a meal.

    For

    If you can finish it with a straw, it’s a drink with ambitions.

    Against

    It has a bowl, a spoon and bread. That’s more meal than a sandwich.

    If you ask for a bite, you owe a bite.

    For

    A taste is a loan. I’d like to see some of your fries now.

    Against

    Keeping score over a fry turns a friendly dinner into a ledger. Friends share without invoices.

    Sharing plates ruin a good meal.

    For

    I chose this, I want all of it, and I don’t want your fork anywhere near it.

    Against

    Order one dish and one wrong choice ruins dinner. Order four and the table can’t lose.

    Whoever picks the restaurant can’t complain about it.

    For

    You had the whole internet and you brought us here. Eat your choice.

    Against

    Picking the place doesn’t mean I run the kitchen. This soup is still cold.

    Double-dipping at a party is a crime.

    For

    That chip has been in your mouth. The dip did not agree to this.

    Against

    You’ve shared drinks with these people. A chip is where you draw the line?

    All 16 in this set

    Ketchup belongs in the fridge.

    For

    Read the bottle. “Refrigerate after opening” isn’t a suggestion.

    Against

    Diners leave it on the table all day and nothing happens. It’s vinegar, sugar and salt.

    Dessert should come first.

    For

    You only say you’re full because they always serve it last.

    Against

    Dessert is the reward. Eat it first and what did you do to deserve it?

    It can’t be your signature dish if it comes from a box.

    For

    You added water. The box did the rest and it deserves the credit.

    Against

    I chose the box, I added the secret ingredient, and you came back for seconds.

    Brunch is a scam.

    For

    It’s breakfast, late, with a line, and you’ve been hungry since nine.

    Against

    It’s the only meal where cake and eggs can share a table without a word said.

    Spicy food is mostly showing off.

    For

    Crying into a curry isn’t flavor. It’s a performance.

    Against

    Heat is a flavor you learn, like coffee or olives. Whole cuisines aren’t built on showing off.

    Tip screens at the counter have gone too far.

    For

    You handed me a muffin. That screen wants me to reward a handoff.

    Against

    One tap is a small kindness to someone on their feet all day.

    A potluck guest who brings store-bought should confess.

    For

    That’s a grocery store pie in your grandmother’s dish, and we all know it.

    Against

    You wanted a pie and you got a pie. This isn’t a courtroom.

    Tipping should be replaced by better wages.

    For

    A person’s rent shouldn’t depend on the mood of table six.

    Against

    A tip is how you say thanks directly, and it’s why good service still gets noticed.

Debate topics about everyday life

The ones already going on in your kitchen. Good for families, roommates and anyone who has ever reloaded a dishwasher in silence.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over a dishwasher

    The front seat belongs to the tallest, not the fastest.

    For

    Legs are a fact. Calling shotgun is just being loud near a car.

    Against

    Calling it is the only fair system we have. You could have said it first.

    A dog is a better roommate than a person.

    For

    A dog will never eat your labeled cheese or leave one square of toilet paper.

    Against

    A dog also won’t take itself out at six in the morning.

    A vacation should be planned hour by hour.

    For

    You get seven days somewhere new. “See what happens” means a sandwich in a parking lot.

    Against

    The best vacation story ever told didn’t start with “at 2:15, as scheduled.”

    One alarm is all anyone needs.

    For

    Set five alarms and you’ve taught yourself that four of them don’t count.

    Against

    The first alarm isn’t there to wake you. It opens the negotiations.

    Only one person in a home should load the dishwasher.

    For

    There’s a right way, and everyone who has seen a bowl face the wall knows who it isn’t.

    Against

    Name one expert and you’ve just found who does that chore for the rest of their life.

    A seating plan makes every dinner better.

    For

    Without one, couples sit together and the two funny people end up miles apart.

    Against

    Guests relax when they choose. Put a card on a chair and dinner starts to feel like a test.

    The thermostat should have one owner.

    For

    A democracy of the thermostat is a war fought one degree at a time.

    Against

    One owner means everyone else wears a coat on the couch.

    Self-checkouts should go.

    For

    They turned every shopper into an unpaid cashier, and the job still needs a person to fix it.

    Against

    Five items, no line, no small talk. Everyone who uses them is choosing them.

    All 21 in this set

    Rules should be read before the game starts.

    For

    Otherwise one person “remembers” a rule exactly when it helps them.

    Against

    Forty minutes of someone reading a booklet aloud has ended more game nights than cheating.

    Every present should come with a gift receipt.

    For

    It says: I tried, and I know I might be wrong.

    Against

    It says: I expect you to hate this.

    You should make your bed every morning.

    For

    It takes a minute, and it may be the only thing today that goes exactly right.

    Against

    You’re getting back in it tonight. It’s the one chore that undoes itself on schedule.

    Shoes come off at the door, in every house.

    For

    You’ve walked through a public restroom in those.

    Against

    You don’t dress up for a dinner party to stand around in mismatched socks.

    Morning people should keep it to themselves.

    For

    Being cheerful at someone who’s still waking up isn’t kindness. It’s noise with a smile on it.

    Against

    Night owls never get told to hide. If a good mood annoys you, the problem isn’t the mood.

    Soaking a pan overnight counts as washing it.

    For

    Burned-on food needs water and time. A night of soaking does what an hour of scrubbing can’t.

    Against

    A pan in dirty water isn’t clean. It’s a wet promise, and someone else has to finish it.

    The chair with clothes on it is a closet.

    For

    There’s a system. I know exactly which layer that sweater is in.

    Against

    If there were a system, you wouldn’t be smelling the sweater.

    If you borrow a car, you return it with a full tank.

    For

    You got a free car for a day. The least you can do is buy it a drink.

    Against

    I’ll return it exactly how I got it. That’s what “borrow” means.

    Whoever finishes the milk buys the milk.

    For

    You saw it was empty and put the carton back in the fridge. We all know.

    Against

    I had the last sip. You had the other nine tenths. Let’s talk.

    Your roommate can eat your food if it’s about to expire.

    For

    That yogurt had hours to live. I gave it a purpose.

    Against

    You don’t get to eat my things and call it a rescue mission.

    Neighbors should ask before getting a drum kit.

    For

    Your hobby stops at my bedroom wall at seven on a Saturday.

    Against

    You moved next to a world with noise in it. Buy earplugs.

    You must wave thanks when someone lets you merge.

    For

    One hand, one second. It’s the last bit of manners left on the road.

    Against

    They let me in because the lane ended, not because they’re a saint.

    Saving a pool chair with a towel shouldn’t count.

    For

    If you’re asleep upstairs, you are not using the pool chair.

    Against

    I got up at seven for this towel. That’s called planning.

Debate topics about friends and manners

The unwritten rules, written down. Nearly everyone thinks their version is the obvious one, which is what makes these so good.

  • Two hand-drawn creatures arguing over an airplane seat

    The middle seat gets both armrests.

    For

    The window has the view. The aisle has the legroom. The middle gets the elbows.

    Against

    Two armrests for one person means two people flying with their arms in their laps.

    It’s fine to recline your seat on a plane.

    For

    The button is on the seat. The seat is mine. The button is part of the seat.

    Against

    Your comfort is now my knees’ problem for the next five hours.

    Arriving early is as rude as arriving late.

    For

    I’m still in a towel. You’ve turned my last ten minutes into your problem.

    Against

    Ask anyone waiting alone at a restaurant if they wish their friend were later.

    Voice messages should have a one-minute limit.

    For

    If it takes four minutes, it’s a phone call you’ve forced me to attend alone.

    Against

    Some stories need the pauses. You can’t type that impression.

    Saying “we should catch up” without a date is lying.

    For

    If you meant it, there’d be a date.

    Against

    It means “I like you and I’m tired.” Everyone knows what it means.

    Spoilers stop counting after a year.

    For

    You’ve had a whole year. At some point that’s on you.

    Against

    Someone is always watching it for the first time. It costs you nothing to keep quiet.

    “I don’t mind” is the worst answer to “where should we eat?”

    For

    You do mind. You’ll prove it by turning down the third suggestion.

    Against

    It’s a gift. You get to choose, and I get to be surprised.

    Sidewalks need a fast lane.

    For

    Everyone has been stuck behind four friends walking in a slow, wide wall.

    Against

    It’s a walk, not a freeway. Go around.

    All 18 in this set

    Surprise parties are a bad idea.

    For

    You want to be ambushed in your work clothes by everyone you know?

    Against

    A dozen people kept a secret just to make you happy. Name a nicer thing.

    You can leave a party without saying goodbye.

    For

    The goodbye takes forty minutes and you’ve already said everything. Just go.

    Against

    Thirty seconds of “see you” beats a week of “when did you leave?”

    It’s better to be the funniest person in the room than the smartest.

    For

    Smart people get asked for help. Funny people get asked to stay.

    Against

    Being funny fills the silence. Being smart means you know when to leave it.

    White lies keep friendships alive.

    For

    “I love it” has saved more friendships than honesty ever has.

    Against

    If I can’t trust your “I love it,” what’s it worth?

    Everyone should have to work in a restaurant once.

    For

    You would never snap your fingers at a waiter again.

    Against

    Serving is a skilled job, not a lesson for the rest of us, and real customers pay for your practice.

    Bad karaoke beats good karaoke.

    For

    The loudest cheer in the room goes to someone losing to the high note.

    Against

    A real singer hitting that note in a bar will stop the whole room.

    Speakerphone in public should get you removed.

    For

    I did not agree to join this call about your sister’s landlord.

    Against

    Trains and buses were never silent. One voice on speaker is no louder than two people talking.

    You can’t ask for a favor in your first text in a year.

    For

    “Hey!! Long time!! Can you help me move?” We all see what you did there.

    Against

    Be honest: the small talk is worse. Ask me the thing.

    Clapping when the plane lands should stop.

    For

    The pilot can’t hear you. You’re applauding someone for parking.

    Against

    You just flew through the sky in a metal tube. A little gratitude is fine.

    You should never tell someone they look tired.

    For

    “You look tired” is “you look bad” in a nicer coat.

    Against

    Sometimes a friend should notice. That’s what friends are for.

What makes a good debate topic?

A good debate topic can be argued from both sides by someone who doesn’t need to win. It’s short enough to remember, specific enough to disagree with, and small enough that nobody leaves the table upset. If everyone already agrees, it isn’t a debate. If it’s about how people should vote or pray, it’s a different evening, so none of those are here.

Taste doesn’t make a debate either. “Tea beats coffee” is a preference, and one sentence won’t change it. “The thermostat should have one owner” is a judgment call. The test for every line on this page: could it make a reasonable person stop and think again?

Interesting debate topics

If you want a motion that makes people stop and think rather than just shout, start with these. Each one hides a bigger question.

Easy debate topics

For a first debate. Nobody needs any facts, and anyone can think of a reason in ten seconds.

Funny controversial questions

Controversial doesn’t have to mean serious. The funniest arguments are about things that don’t matter at all, and those are the ones people get properly heated about. For more of these, Settle It has a run of silly single debates, starting with whether a hot dog is a sandwich.

The most divisive debate topics, by real votes

Every first vote in the game is counted anonymously, so this page can show which motions truly split people.

  • The division lobby

    The house is still voting. This board opens once 5 motions have 10 votes each, and it will only ever show real first votes from this page’s game.

A free printable for debate night

For a classroom wall, a club or a family table.

  • Preview of the one-page debate night sheet, with a scoring grid and ten motions

    One letter-size page: the seven steps, a before and after vote tally, a judge’s scoring grid and ten motions to cut out. Free to copy, print and adapt for teaching. Each audience set above also prints with both sides.

    Download the printable (PDF)

How to run a debate at a table

You need two sides, a chair and about ten minutes. It works with four people or fourteen. Run it from the tool below, or follow the steps.

  • Run it from this page

    Put a phone in the middle of the table. It deals a motion, keeps the clock and works out the swing. Nothing is stored.

    1. Pick a motion and take a vote: hands up, for or against. Write the numbers down.
    2. Split into two sides. Toss a coin, because arguing for something you don’t believe is half the fun.
    3. Choose a chair. The chair keeps time, stays neutral and can’t vote.
    4. Give each side one minute to make its case, starting with the side for the motion.
    5. Let each side ask the other one question.
    6. Give each side thirty seconds to sum up.
    7. Vote again. The side that moved the most people wins, whatever the totals say.

How to argue a side you don’t believe

This is where a debate gets good. Find the strongest honest reason someone could hold the view, not the silliest one. Say it in one short sentence, then give one example anyone in the room has lived through. Don’t pile up five weak points when one strong one will do. And listen to the other side, because your best moment is answering what they actually said. Going after the person, or changing the subject, may get a laugh, but it doesn’t answer the point. The game tests you on exactly that.

How the game works

  • Read the motion: the sentence up for debate. Pick a side, and the other side fires back its best line.
  • Read it, then hold the line or cross the floor. Reading earns standing, and the first time you truly change your mind earns the most.
  • Act faster than you could read and the chair takes standing away. Run out and you’re thrown out of the house.
  • Answer back once a round: pick the reply that answers the point, not the person. The other side also reads your own votes back to you.
  • At the end, two lines you stood against come back. Concede one or concede nothing, and get your verdict.
  • Today’s motion is a one-card round with its own result. Or pass the phone to a friend, or send a dare: the higher standing takes the floor.

Debate words, in plain English

You don’t need any of these to have a good argument, but it’s fun to sound official.

  • Motion: the statement up for debate.
  • This house believes, this house would: the traditional way to open a motion. The first states a belief, the second proposes an action.
  • Proposition and opposition: the side for the motion and the side against it.
  • Rebuttal: answering what the other side just argued.
  • Steelman: the strongest version of a view you disagree with. It’s the opposite of a straw man.
  • Crossing the floor: a parliamentary phrase for changing sides. At Westminster it means leaving one party for another. In our game it just means someone made a better point.
  • Oxford-style debate: the audience votes before and after. At Intelligence Squared debates, the side that shifts the most votes wins, which is the idea behind the last step above.
  • Division: a counted vote. In the UK House of Commons, members vote by walking through the Aye lobby or the No lobby.

Who wrote this, and how to use it

  • Written by the independent developer behind Talk Deep, a card game for good conversations.

    How it’s made: every motion is original, tested against one question: could its line make a reasonable person think again? Lines are reasons, not statistics. Where a case states a fact, it links its source.

    What’s left out: politics, religion, health, and anything about children.

    For teachers: copy, print and adapt the motions and cases for teaching, free, with a credit to talkdeep.me.

    Corrections: hello@talkdeep.me. Last checked November 6, 2026.

Questions people ask

What are some good debate topics?

The best ones are small, specific and arguable from both sides. Try whether every exam should be open book, whether art made by AI should count as art, or whether autocorrect does more harm than good.

What are good debate topics for students?

Pick motions that need no research to start, like whether group projects should be banned, whether phones belong in the lecture hall or whether talent matters more than hard work. For older students, add a real trade-off, such as whether zoos do more harm than good.

Are these debate topics suitable for school?

There’s no politics, religion or health here, and nothing about children. The classroom set is written for college and adult classes, so read it first if you teach younger students.

What are some fun debate topics for friends?

Anything with nothing at stake: pirates against ninjas, one horse-sized duck against a hundred duck-sized horses, or whether a haunted house is a fair price for an ocean view. The sillier the topic, the harder people argue.

What are funny controversial questions?

Questions that split a room over something that doesn’t matter, like who should load the dishwasher or who gets the middle armrests. They give you the fun of a fight without the fight.

What’s the difference between a debate topic and a motion?

None, really. A motion is a debate topic written as one clear statement that a side can be for or against, such as “The thermostat should have one owner.”

How do you run a debate with friends?

Pick a motion, vote, split into two sides and choose a chair to keep time. Each side gets a minute to argue and thirty seconds to sum up. Then vote again: the side that moved the most people wins.

What does crossing the floor mean in the game?

After you pick a side, the game shows the other side’s best line. If it gets you, you cross the floor. The first honest crossing earns the most standing, and the house’s patience for more runs out quickly.

What is standing in the game?

Your score, and the thing you can lose. Reading and holding earns it, a good reply earns more, and acting without reading costs it. Lose all of it and the chair throws you out.

Can I play with a friend?

Yes. Pass one phone between you, or send a dare after a round. A dare opens on your hill with the same motions, and the higher standing takes the floor. Your first name is optional.

Do you keep my answers?

Your first vote on each motion is counted anonymously: we keep the totals, not who voted. Your crossings, verdict and record stay on this phone. If you send a dare, your first name if you gave one and your answers are kept for 30 days so your friend can compare, or they travel inside the link itself.

More games

Settle ItYou’re the judge. Rule on the hot dog, and the sub is next. The court keeps your file, and it will read it back.Hot TakesTakes that start warm and end scorching. Agree or disagree, and find out what kind of menace you are.Unpopular OpinionsPlead on your worst opinions. Guilty means you think it. Some cards are traps, and the court reads them back.Would You RatherTwo bad options on every card. Ten cards, a goose keeping score, and a last card that can overturn your verdict.