From Advanced to National-Class
Crash Course Guide To Better Rebuttals: Part 1
There is no one right way to structure rebuttals, no special formula your speeches should follow so that the judge must vote for you. However, there are certain fundamental elements of great rebuttals. When well-developed, these elements will tremendously increase...
Lessons learned from XL 2.0
A second-year team went from never advancing to qualifying to NITOC. A second-year LD student qualified to NCFCA Nationals and received second at a National Open. A third-year debater consistently placed first at their tournament. A novice LD debater became second in...
Becoming a Better Listener
The cornerstone of communication. The one ubiquitous activity of which mastery is essential for everyone. The life-skill that is paramount to “Win Friends and Influence People.” What is it? Listening. Just like listening is crucial in life and day-to-day...
Midseason Preparation: Accelerate Your Debating
I’m never going to forget my eagle scout project. My team and I repaired antique fire ladders for the City of Chesapeake’s Fire Department - but we did it using the classical style: scraping the old varnish off of the ladders with shards of glass. The hardest part of...
Community Judges #3 – Persuade Them
Be Orators, Not Debaters “All right,” you may be thinking, “Community judges may be a necessity. I recognize they approach debate with a mindset of hesitancy and self-doubt. And I may very well be able to mitigate this mindset by somewhat adapting to this mindset. But...
Never Lose The Same Way Twice
“I will never lose the same way twice.” Earlier in my speech and debate career, when I would receive that horrible fifth and below circle on my speech ballots or when I’d lose a round, I would blame it on some judge being ridiculous or my opponent sliming me in a...
Community Judges #2 – Adapt To Their Mindset
As expected, the transition from competitor to alumnus was a bit jarring. I managed to control the overpowering nostalgia, to overcome the sensation that I was trespassing into unauthorized areas (such as the much-vaunted judges’ hospitality), and to quell the...
Value Debate Theory – Destination vs. Journey #1 – A Change in Perspective
It is an age-old (cliche) question: Is the journey more important than the destination? This question plays out in many different areas of debate. For example, one of the largest arguments in ethics is the divide between deontology (focus on means, rights, and duties)...
A Brave New Word
The crowd roared. The phrase whips up images of excited football fans. Of theater-goers as the curtain falls. Of Wrigley Field during Game 7. Or, perhaps, of a supportive audience at a campaign rally. The crowd roared. During the 1996 presidential race, it wasn’t just...
The Tale of Two Cases: Why You Should Debate Thematically
The season wasn’t going so well. We had been almost undefeated debating neg, but our affs had been losing rounds we felt like we should have been winning. Something was not working. We had changed cases, changed speaker positions, rewritten cases, expanded our...
10 Debate National Champions Offer Their Single Best Debate Insight – Isaac Kim
Awesome guest post by Isaac Kim, ethos debater, alumni, and brand strategist. 10 debate national champions offer their single best debate insight As a high school debater without a debate coach, I immediately learned that the most effective way to become better was to...
Isaiah on Winning Outrounds
In this post, Isaiah addresses winning outrounds. He takes a look at a couple techniques to utilize to increase your chances of winning those tough rounds. This post is especially beneficial for debaters who consistently break, but can't manage to get past that first...
The Ideal National Champion
Someone sent me an email asking: “What are the qualities found in national champions?” I was unable to write a direct reply. It’s the wrong question. Why? Because it assumes that being a national champion is the goal. So if you’re not, what? Chopped liver? The best...
Five Areas to Improve in Your Debating
Traditional Japanese schoolmasters have an incredibly hands-off method of instruction. Students often find it frustrating. Penmanship class involves the student painstakingly copying their characters, presenting them to their schoolmaster, and receiving cryptic grunts...
7 Habits I’ve Noticed of Highly Effective Debaters
"Effective debaters" are these elusive creatures, hunted by students year-round, at constant risk of being consumed by the masses. The hunt for debate-senpais is real. Everybody wants to be, or at least know, an effective debater. I won't judge if you admit to wanting...