From Advanced to National-Class
For The Debater Not Going to Nationals
With the month of May coming to a close, final competitions like NITOC and the NCFCA Championship are right around the corner. Regionals was an exciting time to see people make well-earned accomplishments and qualify to the national championships of various leagues....
Preparing for Nats? 3 Tips For Platform Practice
We’re in the home stretch of the season-- making sure that we’re fully prepared for Nationals/NITOC. While exciting, this stage also comes with some unique challenges. Most of us are feeling pretty burnt out, and even our favorite speeches have lost some of their...
Legislative Entrenchment: A Case Study in Fiat
As any TPer knows, one of the most satisfying parts of the preparation process is when one stumbles across a golden piece of evidence, thinks of a killshot argument, or anything similarly incredible that looks like it all but guarantees a win against a given case. ...
I Rest My Case: Your Guide to a Powerful Closing Speech
Have you ever witnessed a round where you can practically feel the mic-drop potential after the last speech? That’s what every single round should be like. You should be able to step away and say with a confident smile, “I rest my case.” The balance of defending...
The 85% Rule and Conversational Speaking
A few weeks ago, I was listening to an old episode of The Tim Ferris Show, in which Ferris was interviewing the actor Hugh Jackman. One of the most interesting concepts that was discussed was the "85% rule for optimal performance," as Jackman was discussing his...
Win Topicality Once or Twice Every Tournament Using This One Simple Trick
If you’re a veteran of speech and debate, you’ve probably heard of the exercise of “speaking to your grandmother” that your coach has taught you. Essentially, the idea is to practice speaking your argument from a debate or a concept from a speech in a way so that...
Conquering Stale Debating
Last weekend I made a beautiful chocolatey cake. Quite honestly it was fantastic, so my roommates and I ate most of it, then left the rest of it out on the counter. After a few days of the last bit sitting out, it got stale on the outside. What had once been...
Beneath the Surface: A Brief Look at the Kritik
I’ve found that a major downside of dedicating time to speech and debate instead of some other high school extracurricular is that it’s painful not being able to tell everyone about my amazing escapades in certain rounds. Sure, if I played basketball, anybody...
Running Counterplans Right
There has been no shortage of content covering counterplans over the years, but unfortunately there has been a lack of resources for those who already understand the theory. If you are one of those brave debaters who understands the risks and still wants to run a CP,...
Here’s How You Place At Nats Without High Speaks: Argument Construction
It’s halftime. You just got past the NEG block and the 1AR is about to start. You’re feeling pretty confident about your arguments and believe that there’s no way the other team can recover from your heavy onslaught. The rebuttals come around and you just solidify...
You Might Want To Start Thinking About Reducing or Recycling Prep Time… Here’s Why.
“Excuse me, sir, what’s your opinion on pineapple pizza?” You look down and see a child you don’t know talking to you. Confused at the initial question and needing to think about it for a bit, you pull out a pocket kitchen timer that you keep with you at all times...
Debate Is A Game. It’s Time To Adapt Accordingly
When it’s my opponent’s turn in chess, I don’t just look at the board. I look at my opponent’s eyes. His eyes betray him; through his eyes I can see everything. I can see which pieces he’s worried about, which pieces he might move next, and which pieces are going to...
Want To Run Theory On A “Hostile Judge”? Here’s How You Do It And Win.
“AWESOME!” you bellow out in your head. You just finished writing this epic counterplan, or an amazing T-press. Perhaps you’ve just written a fire procedure or a generic DA that will apply to more than 75% of all cases on a technical level. You’re super proud of...
What’s Your Catchphrase?
If I mentioned the book of Ecclesiastes, what's the first thing that would spring to your mind? For me, and I believe most others, your first thought would be Solomon's famous words: vanity, vanity, all is vanity. This famous phrase is memorable for a reason: it's...
Fact Check: Stock Issues Are Not A Required Burden. #DeleteStockIssues
Have you ever heard a negative team policy team come up in their first constructive speech and argue that “The affirmative has a couple of burdens. First, to prove that they are inherent, second to prove that they are significant, third to show that their plan solves...