by Amanda McPhetridge | Sep 15, 2021 | From Novice to Intermediate, Speaking
What to Do when Your Rankings are Consistently the Highest or Lowest in the Room (Pixabay, athree23) Imagine coming out of a tournament, eagerly waiting for ballots, opening your envelope and seeing the cursed rankings… 1-8-8 in every single room. Your soul is...
by Patrick McDonald | Jun 12, 2021 | Speaking, Technique
For most of my life, I have been an avid baseball player. The primary reason I have stuck with the sport thus far is that I find it incredibly fun to partake in, at least when my team isn’t getting pulverized. (Side-note: When you are getting pulverized, it is...
by Jeremiah Mosbey | May 25, 2021 | Speaking, Speech Events
https://pixabay.com/photos/clock-alarm-clock-watch-time-old-1274699/ It’s a simple truth that oftentimes, if we choose to make life a little bit harder for ourselves in the short term, it becomes a lot easier in the long term. In my opinion, the impromptu speech...
by Patrick McDonald | Apr 22, 2021 | Speaking, Technique
If you have been around forensics for any substantial length of time, you have likely, at some point, watched a truly fascinating speech, only to be left asking a single question. “Why?” Whenever this happens, the speech’s entertainment value is typically off the...
by Patrick McDonald | Mar 13, 2021 | Communication/Rhetoric, Speaking
Earlier this season, I received a ballot from a judge who was thoroughly and absolutely confused. At the base of her puzzlement was the solitary word: inherency. My partner and I had argued that the affirmative plan had essentially already been passed, and thus...
by Patrick McDonald | Feb 25, 2021 | Speaking, Strategy
Dear friends, not unfriendly acquaintances, others, I have a confession to make. Several days ago, I unearthed the script of the first full-length speech I ever wrote. On a hunch, I opened up the search function via Ctrl + F and punched in a solitary question mark....
