SPEECH &
DEBATE
NYC
WHAT WE DO:
Speech & Debate NYC offers instruction and individualized guidance in debate, mock trial, and competitive speaking at the junior high, high school, and undergraduate levels.
-
Tutorials are personally conducted by its founder, Pascal O’Neill, and are conducted in-person or remotely. Out-of-state and international students are welcome.
-
Still learning the ropes? We can help you put an argument together.
-
Preparing for an elite tournament? We are happy to prep and train with you.
Speech & Debate NYC was founded by Pascal O’Neill after more than five years of helping students prepare for debate and mock trial tournaments.
We approach speech and debate with a strong emphasis on joy, ethics, and a commitment to excellence. Our instruction in reasoning, research, and the practicalities of argumentation include problem-solving in high-pressure situations, distinguishing a strong argument from a weak one, being a team player, and navigating an information landscape that is being transformed by AI.
Our approach to competitive speaking is rooted in the belief that thinking hard, and arguing hard, is a fun and fulfilling exercise for all.
WHO WE ARE:
"Pascal's cultivation of both critical thinking and empathy makes him a role-model and trusted resource for curious young thinkers. I cannot recommend him highly enough as a debate coach and mentor."
— Mother of two students
Pascal O’Neill is an internationally awarded competitive speaker. He attended Bard College, where he was named Bard Debate Union’s Captain of the Union. At the World Universities Debating Championship, O’Neill and debate partner Gwen Sterns became the first Bard team to ever reach the finals. They won against Harvard, Cambridge, Yale, Toronto University, and the London School of Economics, placing highest of any liberal arts institution.
O’Neill and Sterns were also named Champions of the Tournament in the the 2020 Empire Debates, defeating McGill,Vanderbilt, and Morehouse in the final. O’Neill also competed in 2024 Middlebury IV Grand Finals.
Prior to Bard, Pascal competed in city and state championships for the Bronx High School of Science speech and debate team.
Pascal lives on the Upper West Side with two cats and many skateboards.
ABOUT PASCAL:
TESTIMONIALS:
“Pascal O’Neill is an excellent debate coach and mentor. He helped two of my children grow from the sheer terror of first debate scrimmages to being well-prepared tournament debaters who love the thrill of competition.
Pascal’s approach is collaborative, first demonstrating what a structurally sound argument would look like, and then gradually removing the training wheels, so that within a very short time even a novice debater is independently researching, drafting their own cases and preparing a large document with responses for and against every argument and delivering their responses with confidence! Pascal’s high standards and incisive questions push debaters to analyze their ideas on their feet, improving their critical listening skills both inside and outside of debate, and forming the psychological endurance and mental agility that are foundational to winning at debate. No matter how dense the resolution, he teaches debaters how to compile a meticulously organized binder and be ready to dismantle every word of their opponent, developing durable self-confidence, and learning to trust their own intellect in the face of skepticism.
Always polite and professional, Pascal demonstrates to young debaters that they are ambassadors for their own ideas, and that being intensely smart is something to be celebrated. His cultivation of both critical thinking and empathy makes him a role-model and trusted resource for curious young thinkers, and I cannot recommend him highly enough as a debate coach and mentor.”
—Natalie Holme Elsberg