by Harrison Durland | Jan 16, 2019 | Soapbox
Imagine if legislation were made by policy debaters. I recognize that some readers may be imagining a dystopian world where almost nothing gets done due to a paranoid fear of starting a nuclear war, and even I realize that a congress composed of policy debaters could...
by Thaddeus Tague | Dec 26, 2018 | Apologetics, Communication/Rhetoric, Extemporaneous, Soapbox, Speaking, Speech Events
Speakers who surprise, educate, and impress their audiences (by definition) keep their audience’s attention. If you’ve ever listened to a cool story or listened to a speech about a favorite subject, it is harder than normal to distract you. Bad speeches tend to cause...
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 Joshua Anumolu | Oct 10, 2018 | Soapbox
Words matter. The way we describe things shapes the way we view them. As a debater, this is fairly obvious. Debate is based on the idea that words matter. But have you considered what words we — as a society, not just as debaters — use to describe intellectual...
by Anna Johansen | Sep 22, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, For Alumni, Soapbox
On Wednesday, I told you that we’re on the hunt for some new Ethos team members. Since then, I’ve gotten resumes, writing samples–and questions. Questions about Ethos, about the blog, about writing. And as I look over them, I keep coming back to one...
