by Patrick McDonald | Dec 31, 2020 | Speaking
“At the end of the day… Moving down the flow… The fact of the matter is…” What do all of these fragments have in common? For one, they operate as “crutch words,” phrases that serve no purpose apart from buying you time to think of what you are going to say...
by Harrison Durland | Dec 25, 2020 | Soapbox
In my previous article I discussed some of the “goals and anti-goals of debate.” It was partially a standalone topic, but it also served as a lead-in to this broader series on what I’ve decided to call Pragmatism Theory (or just “Pragmatism”). This article still won’t...
by Kyle Lee | Dec 22, 2020 | Cross Examination, From Intermediate to Advanced
What would you say is the ideal cross-examination? Ideas like “a cross-examination that makes your opponents admit their faults” or “asking questions that strengthen your case” may come to mind. However, there’s a unique feature of...
by Anthony Severin | Dec 21, 2020 | Judging/Judges, Speaking, Technique
We Ethos coaches frequently hear despair about how judges receive theory-heavy arguments. There’s a perception that judges despise topicality, counterplans never win rounds, and hardly anybody has even heard of a kritik… and those who have heard of a kritik just think...
by Nathan Wang | Dec 18, 2020 | From Intermediate to Advanced, Speaking, Technique
My family and I adore soy sauce. We have soy sauce with our rice, soy sauce with our stir-fry, soy sauce in our noodle soup, and even soy sauce on our desert. Chinese food, (like most food out there) is terribly bland without some form of seasoning to enhance the...
