by Harrison Durland | Dec 31, 2019 | Debate, Soapbox, Speaking, Technique
When you are trying to teach or argue for something—whether in a debate, speech, lecture, or blog article—you should present the points as uncontroversial, perhaps even intuitive (so long as you aren’t being misleading); after all, you want the audience to believe... 
by Harrison Durland | Nov 24, 2019 | Soapbox, Uncategorized
‘Tis the season for turkey, family, and all the conversations that come from families getting together to eat turkey. At least for me Thanksgiving tends to be a fun holiday and I enjoy visiting with family, but I also have seen how discussions can sometimes get a bit... 
by Harrison Durland | Nov 6, 2019 | Debate, Soapbox, TP
My old high school partner and I would often live or die with the block—specifically, the negative block in team policy—when we were affirmative: if the negative delivered most of their strongest arguments in the 2NC speech (as opposed to in the 1NC), then we were in... 
by Harrison Durland | Sep 9, 2019 | For Alumni, Judging/Judges, Soapbox, TP
In the previous article in this series, I broadly described hybrid and purist judging approaches, but I didn’t dive into comparing the approaches’ pros and cons. Thus, I will devote this article to outlining some of the main arguments I see for and against each... 
by Harrison Durland | Aug 16, 2019 | For Alumni, Judging/Judges, Soapbox
Yes, I absolutely used to sneer at community judging—as well as anything else that I didn’t see as very flow-heavy and “objective.” Thus, in high school I resolved that when I returned to judge policy debate I would be a righteous and noble flow monk, steadfast in... 
by Thaddeus Tague | Jul 31, 2019 | Best Resources, Coaching, Coaching a Club, Communication/Rhetoric, Debate, From Advanced to National-Class, Soapbox, Speaking, Thinking Strategically, Uncategorized
Endless searching and continuing education are a part of any good debater’s appetite. Learning new things, for data is a really healthy mental diet to exercise. One way to do this is through podcasts. Podcasts are unique because you can Listen – and do other...