by Anna Johansen | Mar 20, 2019 | Communication/Rhetoric, From Intermediate to Advanced, From Novice to Intermediate, Speaking
“Everybody here? Great. Anna, would you pray for us before we get started?” “Oh. Me? Oh. Yeah, sure! Um. Okay.” You know that moment when you’re handed something completely unexpected? When you’re strolling along a sunny lane and then a giant iguana shows up out of...
by Anthony Severin | Feb 12, 2019 | Coaching a Club, Communication/Rhetoric
No matter how you’re involved in the speech/debate scene, at some point you’ll probably be asked to give feedback to help other people improve. This post aims to make that feedback better. “Fix patterns, not problems.” – Tracy Wilk, former Google executive,...
by Anna Johansen | Jan 11, 2019 | Communication/Rhetoric, Speaking, Top Drills
Have you ever played Mousetrap? You know, the game with the epic contraption: you turn the crank, which pulls back a sign, that slams into a bucket, that sets loose a marble, that slides down a pipe, that jostles a pole, that drops a marble, that flips a diver, that...
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 Toby Rivas | Dec 4, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, From Intermediate to Advanced, From Novice to Intermediate, Strategy
If you’ve ever played volleyball, you know the terror of a spike. A player slams the ball over the net so hard you have no hope of returning it. In debate, a spike is a little different, but still a powerful offensive tactic. Referring broadly to preemption, a spike...
by Josh Arnold | Nov 29, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, Negative, Speaking, Technique
“I don’t understand. I had superior arguments, evidence, and refutation, but the judge voted for the other team.” I imagine every debater has felt this way at some point. Yet, even when we think we should win “on paper,” the judge is always right. Inevitably, you will...
