Top Drills
DEATH DRILLS: Also Known as 4-point Refutation Drills
DEATH DRILLS: Also Known as 4-point Refutation Drills https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/man-using-electronic-drill_2910767.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=0&uuid=8e03a54c-aad2-4745-a0ad-85f9e908b442 I’m not going to lie: the first time I heard of this...
Your Best Opponent: Yourself
One thing I found when I was debating is that I often wanted more practice going up against debaters similar to my level, but often didn’t have the forethought to actually schedule practice rounds. While this was annoying, and I have no doubt I would have been a...
Impromptu: How to Become a Champion – Part 4
Photo Credit: Bernado Lorena Ponte, https://unsplash.com/@pontebernardo Alright, enough said about strategy and prep work, “let's get down to the nitty gritty” (Nacho Libre). In this article, we are going to be examining basic techniques for how you can optimize your...
Flowing: Resources, Drills, and Approaches
Image Credits: congerdesign / Pixabay Quality flowing—debate vernacular for “notetaking”—is instrumental to competitive success, yet many intermediate and advanced debaters don’t enhance their flowing capabilities beyond the techniques they absorbed as novices....
Stress Testing Your Value Case: Five Strategies
Image Credit: RickJbrown / Pixabay You just pulled an all-nighter pounding out your LD case (or commandeered one from our widely acclaimed sourcebooks) and want to ensure it’s airtight before tomorrow’s tournament. Here are five strategies for your arsenal. Strategy...
Speed Tip Series: Evidence and Examples
For TPers in the throes of tournament season, evidence can seem like the be-all, end-all. They desperately scrounge for cards and trade for briefs, then head off to a round, gripping those pages like they’re Ben Gates making off with the Declaration of Independence....
Speed Tip Series: Use Fewer Words
Have you ever played Mousetrap? You know, the game with the epic contraption: you turn the crank, which pulls back a sign, that slams into a bucket, that sets loose a marble, that slides down a pipe, that jostles a pole, that drops a marble, that flips a diver, that...
Twenty (More) Practice Parli Resolutions
To improve in Parliamentary Debate, debaters must consistently break down a variety of resolutions across a wide range of subject areas and have high-quality practice rounds. Here are 20 resolutions to jumpstart your practice! This is the only the beginning—Ethos will...
Speed Tip Series: Reading Evidence (Without Putting Anyone To Sleep)
You remember Charlie Brown’s teacher from the old cartoons? In the animated adaptations, teacher Miss Othmar sounds exactly like a trombone honking (that might be because they actually used a trombone to make the noise). This is what it sounds like. And unfortunately,...
Speed Tip Series: Organization
Whenever you have a question about life’s crucial issues, there is only one place to go: Pinterest, the ultimate authority on contemporary culture, life, and philosophy. Its wisdom cannot be understated. When you need the latest fashion trends, Pinterest has you...
Speed Tip Series: Filler Words
Welcome to our Speed Tip Series—snapshots of common issues faced by debaters, paired with quick tips to remedy them. Let us know if there’s a particular topic you’d like to see covered in a Speed Tip! Everyone knows about filler words: the perfidious little invaders...
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...
How To Recover From Mistakes: Here’s A Simple Drill
Audiences dread public speaking because they think, from a whole pile of bad coaching on the subject, that public speaking is about being perfect. It’s not. Nobody likes a perfect person. Public speaking is about being likable, so your message shines through. Today...
Stop Wasting Time
Ever met one of those debaters that just seem to get it? You know, the ones that come in at twelve years old and within a year are winning tournaments along with the hearts and minds of their audiences? Well, believe it or not, it’s not always talent that sets these...
Mid-Season Madness: Four Team Policy Drills for Mid-Season Growth
I never thought Goethe and Bruce Lee would have too much in common. But apparently I was wrong. Despite their diverse origins—one hailing from 18th century Frankfurt; the other from 20th-century pop culture—somehow, they managed to agree on one key point: “Knowing is...