by Hannah Cavanaugh | Dec 10, 2023 | Communication/Rhetoric, Cross Examination, From Advanced to National-Class, Lincoln-Douglas, Strategy, Team Policy, Technique, Thinking Strategically, Uncategorized
One thing I’ve noticed in my short time on the other side of competition is how useless cross-examination often becomes. In my experience, it is usually used as a short conversation to get to know your opponent, to have them repeat what they just spent the last 6-8...
by Noah McKay | Nov 16, 2023 | Cross Examination, Speaking, Technique
Image from Pixabay.com: : https://pixabay.com/photos/businessman-suit-button-up-classy-4914044/ Being cross-examined is stressful. Lots of debater let the pressure get to them – they ramble, bend over backwards to avoid answering questions, fidget, and talk twice as...
by D. J. Mendenhall | Oct 31, 2023 | Coaching, Cross Examination, Technique
https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/african-american-women-sitting-table-near-document-pen-figure-gavel_3741027.htm#query=cross%20examination%20court&position=5&from_view=search&track=ais It’s been said that many debate rounds are won and lost in...
by Patrick McDonald | Sep 27, 2023 | Cross Examination, Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy
Source for cover image is Pixabay.com. When I competed in the NCFCA, my cross-examination style was fairly typical: I would try to ask targeted questions about aspects of my opponent’s case that I considered relatively weak. My thought process was simply that, so long...
by Noah McKay | Nov 7, 2022 | Cross Examination, Lincoln-Douglas, Strategy, Uncategorized
Poly Languages, https://polylanguages.edu/bend-over-backwards/ Competitive debaters are trained to give good answers to difficult questions. So, we are profoundly uncomfortable when we don’t have an answer to a question. And, under most circumstances, we would...
by D. J. Mendenhall | Oct 20, 2021 | Cross Examination
Oftentimes Cross Ex is seen as the time to trap your opponent and get them to concede key information, but when I was first starting debate I struggled a lot with this because I was nowhere near aggressive enough to get my opponent to admit anything they didn’t want...
