by Patrick McDonald | Jan 24, 2024 | Impromptu, Strategy
Courtesy — pixabay.com Everyone has their own template for structuring an impromptu speech. Some people use the tried and true “three examples” structure, while others have concocted more unique devices for reliably crafting interesting and impactful speeches with...
by Patrick McDonald | Nov 30, 2023 | Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy
Courtesy — pixabay.com Many skills are useful in debate. Among them are sounding confident, speaking smoothly, thinking well on the fly, and effectively researching a case. You can and should attempt to improve your capability in all of those areas—they are all...
by Patrick McDonald | Oct 26, 2023 | Moot Court
Courtesy — pixabay.com The first time you learned about argumentation in debate, you were likely forced to sit through a lecture on logical fallacies. In addition to ad hominem and non sequitur, you probably learned about appeals to authority. Appeals to authority are...
by Patrick McDonald | Sep 27, 2023 | Cross Examination, Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy
Source for cover image is Pixabay.com. When I competed in the NCFCA, my cross-examination style was fairly typical: I would try to ask targeted questions about aspects of my opponent’s case that I considered relatively weak. My thought process was simply that, so long...
by Patrick McDonald | May 9, 2023 | Lincoln-Douglas, Strategy, Theory
I will begin this article with a brief disclaimer: I have no definitive answer to this quandary. The purpose of this article is not to persuade you of a response to the question in the title but instead to raise the question. It is a topic of significant importance...
