by Thaddeus Tague | Nov 26, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, Soapbox
This post talks about communication in the real world. As you read, though, think about how these principles apply to debate and speech. As you practice these concepts in competition, you’re actually strengthening your conversations with family, friends, and...
by Catherine Alles | Nov 16, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, Soapbox
As a competitive high school debater, one of my pet peeves was when people would say to me, “Oh, I’d be great at debate. I love arguing with people!” It frustrated me that they would reduce debate to mere argumentation, because there is so much more to it....
by Toby Rivas | Nov 5, 2018 | Negative, Technique
Last week, I introduced the Bad Precedent DA. It’s a great way to take a principle-based argument and turn it into a practical impact. We’ve already seen the big picture and one way to structure this kind of DA. Now, we’ll take a look at another type of...
by Catherine Alles | Nov 2, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, Extemporaneous, Speech Events
Extemporaneous is an intimidating speech category, but it is also one of the most rewarding. Competing in Extemp builds your critical thinking skills, makes you a more informed citizen, and is an incredible opportunity to share your opinion on important issues with...
by Toby Rivas | Oct 30, 2018 | Disadvantages, Negative, Strategy, Team Policy
There’s a common misconception that, in TP, moral arguments and pragmatic arguments don’t mix. That’s false. This article is about the Bad Precedent DA—one of the main ways you can couple your principle-based arguments with a pragmatic dimension. We’ll discuss it in...