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 Noah Howard | Dec 30, 2016 | Coaching, Communication/Rhetoric, From Intermediate to Advanced, Technique
At my first debate camp, I learned to debate within a structure that made my nerves go away and my confidence appear. At my first practice tournament, I argued within a framework that allowed me to understand the complex ideas that I was discussing. And at my first...
by Anna Johansen | Dec 28, 2016 | Coaching, Strategy
“When I was told last year that I would be the lead prosecutor on a murder case involving an 8-year-old child witness, I knew a very important member of my team would be Rikki the therapy dog…The child barely noticed us; his attention was 100 percent focused on this...
by Isaiah McPeak | Nov 17, 2016 | Best Resources, Coaching, Coaching a Club, Thinking Strategically
What should you look for when reviewing a case? We want debaters to process for themselves and make intentional choices. If they know why they did it a certain way, then it’s probably defensible. But even if they did a good thing without knowing why, challenge them,...
by Isaiah McPeak | Nov 16, 2016 | Best Resources, Coaching, Coaching a Club
Note from a Coach: Here’s the state of the union: the year has gone extremely well so far—students are very positive about how things are going. However, I still feel totally unqualified to move them forward. [Student1] brought me her case the other day—so excited to...
by Joshua Anumolu | Nov 9, 2016 | Coaching, Strategy
One debate round last year, we weren’t doing so well. We were up against an AFF case that had responses to everything. We thought we were losing the round. That was until we found one argument that had potential – AFF was violating a Constitutional principle by...
