by Noah Howard | Feb 21, 2017 | Coaching, From Intermediate to Advanced, Soapbox
This is it. This is what you’ve been waiting for. The stage is set. You’ve been wanting to debate in finals for two years, and now you finally get your chance. As you walk up the steps to take your place, you can’t help feeling like a champion already. Even though you...
by Giovanni Segar | Feb 19, 2017 | Communication/Rhetoric, Featured, Guest Posts, Soapbox
When I was fourteen, I was a computer nerd. I would grab 1,000-page behemoth books about programming and shred through them. My computery world went upside down when my mom met a fellow homeschool, Christian family at the YMCA: they had recently started up a speech...
by Joshua Anumolu | Jan 23, 2017 | Coaching, Soapbox, Technique
The ancient Greek philosopher and rhetorician Gorgias was a very talented orator. He was so persuasive that he said he could persuade people into believing him through charlatanry, which led to the term “sophistry.” Socrates labeled sophistry as a manipulative form of...
by emilyerose | Jan 16, 2017 | From Advanced to National-Class, Soapbox
“I will never lose the same way twice.” Earlier in my speech and debate career, when I would receive that horrible fifth and below circle on my speech ballots or when I’d lose a round, I would blame it on some judge being ridiculous or my opponent sliming me in a...
by Isaiah McPeak | Dec 1, 2016 | Soapbox, Stoa
Have you ever quoted a philosopher in a debate round? Like Aristotle, Rawls, or John Locke? These people tried to make sense of the world by discussing the deep things. Some in the sub-culture of homeschool Christian debate seem perfectly okay with quoting...
by Abbey Lovett | Nov 3, 2016 | Soapbox
About 4 months ago, I had the opportunity to speak in front of 1,500 people on a massive stage. I had only 2 minutes to prep (the prep had to be done up on the stage) and I had to speak for 5 minutes. Not to mention, the pressure of just winning the national...
