Persuasion, Communication and Debate.
We exist to build people up as mature and powerful communicators. Communication is a discipline, not just a skill. Our training teaches students the discipline it takes to master communication. Ethos combines natural persuasion habits and methods, statistical data on communication techniques, and modern psychology. Join us in the timeless journey of rhetoric. We also teach collegiate and high school debate.
Latest posts
Over-Practice: A Real Threat
In my novice year of Speech & Debate, I had an After-Dinner speech in NCFCA. After-Dinner was a comedic platform event that was sadly removed the year after I competed in it. I loved that speech. Well, at the beginning at least. When I first gave it, it was clear...
An Ode to the Question Mark
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....
Debate: Not Just a Mental Activity
Debate is not a sport. Debate is not a physical competition where the strength and stamina of your body is tested against that of someone else's body, rather, it is a test of your mind and communication skills. But with that being said, we need to remember that the...
Learning from Yourself: Using Outrounds as a Template for All Rounds
Looking back on my freshman year of highschool, I imagine that I and my partner were one of the most obnoxious teams in the region, perhaps the nation. We partner would run topicality almost every single negative round, not to mention starting virtually every single...
The Foundation of Impromptu
Every so often, I'm asked if there's any speech event that's a necessity to compete in. My answer is always the same: "Impromptu". Impromptu is an event that pushes your speaking style and thinking to the maximum. Learning the event is one of the most effective ways...
Purposes of Debate Part 4: Using Pragmatism as an Argument
This post is part of a series:See part 1 hereSee part 2 hereSee part 3 here Throughout this series, I’ve been setting the stage for and summarizing Pragmatism as an expansive paradigm/weighing mechanism for a judge to make decisions in debate (among other things, such...
Retaining Attention: A Prerequisite to Success
He’s asleep. He’s literally asleep. When that thought pierced into my mind, my initial reaction was one of astonishment. I was roughly halfway through my Persuasive speech, and five feet in front of me was the head judge, his head peacefully at rest on his chair,...
The Fallacious Fiat
If you’ve been in debate for any length of time, you’re probably well aware of the principle of fiat power. You’ve read about it in debate manuals, learned about it in camp, and probably even argued it in actual rounds. In fact, it’s even addressed in other Ethos...
How to Make Your Plan Text Fool-Proof (Literally)
Resolved: The United States Federal Government should add more seats to the supreme court. What are your first thoughts from reading this resolution? Well, if you think like me, you’re thinking about all the reasons why the supreme court needs more justices. My...
Revisiting the Burden of Proof, Part 2
In part 1, we looked at the argument for net benefits being the superior framing as compared to the burden of proof in Team Policy. The short version is that 9 times out of 10, the burden of proof boils down to net benefits anyway. That is, first, if there’s a net...
Learning New Events: A Four-Step Process
As I've spent more time in the speech and debate community, I've realized just how important experience is. Experience builds the background necessary to win rounds and persuade judges. I remember back in my novice year, everything in speech and debate seemed so...
Time Equals Importance
In my novice year of debate, I had a time distribution problem. Perhaps this was because I enjoyed hearing myself ramble on about irrelevant points or demolishing the applicability of my opponent’s introduction. More likely, it was because my brain had yet to come to...
Revisiting The Burden of Proof, Part 1
Fact: during at least one of your affirmative rounds at every tournament you go to, the Negative team starts the 1NC by going over the burden of proof, if they didn’t already cover it during the preceding cross-ex. I myself went through this phase, giving the...
Your Reading Speed is Holding You Back; Here’s Why
I’ve always believed that my childhood love for reading was a foundational building block for my debate career. As I became increasingly engrossed in debate, I began to realize that my ability to read quickly was invaluable. Recently I became curious to see if I was...
Applications to Illustrate Principles
One of the first logical fallacies I ever learned about was the “Part to Whole” fallacy, arguing that one part of a larger category represents the whole category. For instance: “This tire is made of rubber. Therefore the vehicle of which the tire is a part is also...
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