Communication and Rhetoric
Dealing with Conspiracy Theorists, Propaganda, and Extremism
“Surely, surely you can’t be serious; that’s absurd—borderline conspiracy theorist!” Yet, sure enough, he was being serious. And as we got into a heated conversation, I soon regretted not taking him seriously. In this age of rapid information and opinion sharing,...
Concede & Outweigh
In 2010, Domino’s Pizza company was unquestionably on the decline; beset by complaints that their pizza crusts tasted like cardboard, the company’s stock lowered to the same price as a pizza. Today, Domino’s is the second-largest pizza chain in the world, with more...
Crafting Common Ground
If you've ever been to an Ethos camp, you know how much we stress the importance of finding common ground in debate. Our passion is to foster healthy communication in all aspects of life and we've found that identifying common ground and shared assumptions while...
Manners Maketh the Man
This post shouldn’t exist. Or at least, it shouldn’t have to. It’s about something every debater should know. Each round should exemplify it. It should be as natural as breathing. But it’s not. Although the point of debate is to communicate and persuade winsomely,...
How and Why You Should Only Argue for What You Believe
Here’s a question I sent to Isaiah: I'm trying to discern how we can stick true to our principles as truth-seekers and only argue for positions we believe in and still debate resolutions we inherently disagree with. Like in the 'USFG should guarantee a right to...
How to Improve Fluency and Clarity in Speaking
Although I’ve had success in debate, I’ve never been a fluent nor eloquent speaker. Unfortunately, I never committed to improving my extemporaneous delivery until my senior year. This post is lengthy, but if you read through and put into practice what I’m...
Hearts over Minds #1: How to win the moral high ground
“May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.” - Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy. Sometimes I wish that humans were all like Spock, but it’s not true. In reality, a heart is what makes...
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...
A Manifesto for Debate Training: Not What, But Why
Editor's Note: As Isaiah steps down as CEO, Head Coach, and Leader of Ethos, it seems rather prudent to publish this post, which embodies everything Isaiah taught and will continue to teach. This idea of teaching with a lens of "But why?" continues to be the spirit of...
The Pen is Mightier Than the Argument
It was nationals 2016. Going into the tournament, I knew my partner and I had a relatively good chance at breaking. We had been here before, and this time we had strategies against almost every case out there. Almost every case. The only case we didn’t prep at all was...
Principled Policy
“Drew, this is TP. This isn’t LD. Morals don’t matter here." I actually had a debater say this to me while discussing a neg strategy. My approach was to focus on how the US as a world leader has an obligation to act lawfully and obey international norms. This was...
My Story: How Debate Prepared Me for a Marketing Career
When I was fourteen, I was a computer nerd. I would grab 1,000-page behemoth books about programming and shred through them. My computery world went upside down when my mom met a fellow homeschool, Christian family at the YMCA: they had recently started up a speech...
Debate Has No Rules Part 2: Do you REALLY need to speak like that?
At my first debate camp, I learned to debate within a structure that made my nerves go away and my confidence appear. At my first practice tournament, I argued within a framework that allowed me to understand the complex ideas that I was discussing. And at my first...
Dr. Tallmon – Art vs. Intuition and The Art of Rhetoric (Part 1)
Dr. Tallmon, rhetoric professor, former Patrick Henry College director of debate, and curator of the amazing Rhetoric Ring, visited Lone Star CC the other day. We recorded his talk to debaters. You should definitely watch this one! It frames what debaters are doing...
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...