“Syringe”. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Did you know that debaters can inoculate their audiences against future persuasion? Not against arguments you know (that’s called spiking), but against arguments you’ve never heard of.
Please partake in a recent text conversation…
Isaiah Mcpeak:
So you guys should go find your neg mojo.
since you have extra time
Micah Bock:
Mk what do u suggest
Cause we rocked on Neg
And we won the arguments in octas
It was Chris’s last speech
Isaiah Mcpeak:
I suggest figuring out what your top themes were from this tournament on neg.
Micah Bock:
Kk
Isaiah Mcpeak:
In other words, make a list of your top 3-5 “bright spots” – things you want to repeat and maximize and do even better next time.
Then, add to them with: 1) Figures of speech (make some up), 2) Famous quotes, 3) Surprising stats.
Micah Bock:
Mk
Isaiah Mcpeak:
Do that, then you can “plant” ideas in judges minds. I told you about the theory of Inoculation Theory Meta Analysis, right?
Micah Bock:
Ya
Inception 😉
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If you find the Inoculation Theory paper challenging to understand, here’s a basic summary:
You can inoculate an audience against arguments you don’t know about that they will hear in the future (like in a fiery 2AR). To do so, you must:
1) Warn them it’s coming
2) Supply a strong example of the type of persuasion they will hear, and defeat it
As a result, your audience will be more suspicious of what they hear later, and even if they can’t think of a specific reason not to adopt the “most recent” arguments they are hearing from your opponent, the example will help them trust and believe that there would be more counter-refutation to outweigh, if only you were given the chance to speak.