<![CDATA[This study explored the lived experiences of university debaters, who had represented their universities in regional and national competitions, in developing critical thinking, self-efficacy, and public speaking through competitive debate. Although previous research demonstrates the positive effects of debate on these competencies, little is known about how debaters themselves experience, interpret, and internalize these developmental processes. Employing a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design, six university debaters were selected through purposive criterion sampling, and data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed using Moustakas’ phenomenological procedure. Findings indicate that the three competencies developed gradually, non-linearly, and unevenly across their components rather than as a uniform outcome. Critical thinking developed through constructing evidence-based arguments and evaluating opposing claims, though its transfer to everyday reasoning remained limited to low-stakes situations. Self-efficacy developed through competitive achievement and thorough preparation, with confidence transferring to classroom presentations and thesis defenses. Public speaking competence developed unevenly, with organization and evidence use improving earliest while speaking anxiety decreased but was not fully eliminated. These findings suggest that competitive debate was experienced as a gradual, experiential, and reflective context for developing these competencies, offering theoretical insight into non-linear competency development and practical implications for process-oriented debate coaching.]]>
