It was 10:30 pm at NITOC 2016, and I was about to give the last speech of the last out round of the day. I had almost everything prepared. Almost. The problem was, Neg had run an argument that I just couldn’t come up with a response to. But it was okay, I had two minutes of prep time and a wealth of knowledge to pull from. Everything would be fine.
Seven minutes later I stepped down from the podium knowing I had just dropped the argument and lost the round. I just wasn’t able to think of a response quick enough.
Ever been in that situation?
If you’re anything like the average debater, chances are you come up with responses using the exact technique I did in that round: you simply “brainstorm”. The problem is, typical brainstorming relies on pure intellectual power and random inspiration, and oftentimes gets us nowhere.
So how can you brainstorm smarter? Well, you can start by using this list of all the different types of responses a debater could possibly have. Simply go down this list anytime you need a response, and you’re bound to find something to say no matter the situation.
1. Destroy Links
The first type of response is the one most of us instinctively turn to first. It’s the most straightforward, understandable-for-your-audience way to respond, and it’s usually what people think of when they imagine what a response is in the first place. Destroying the links simply means you respond to the “why” behind the argument.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “The forests are safe, so the sloths are safe.”
2. Argument Turn
The argument turn is one of the most useful responses, because your opponent does all the work proving the facts for you; all you’ve gotta do is change the impact to work in your favor. That being said, it’s also one of the least intuitive, so make sure you don’t overlook a chance to use it.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “Actually, mass deforestation is a good thing, because the lack of trees will instead cause baby sloths to assume their final form as a humanoid species, causing a massive uptick in medical advances and overall cuteness levels.”
3. Impact Turn
Impact turn is like the argument turn in that it takes an argument against you and makes it into an argument for you. Unlike the argument turn, however, instead of changing the impact here you simply accept it and argue that it’s actually a pro instead of a con. Note: DO NOT run this together with the argument turn. It will make you sound very confused.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “Yes we will be killing baby sloths, but that’s actually a really good thing because baby sloths turn into adult sloths and adult sloths are actually evil.”
4. No Impact
This one is pretty self explanatory. You accept the initial argument, but point out that it has no real impact on anything.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “Yes, we will cause mass deforestation, but sloths are adaptable and will be fine.”
5. Outweigh
This response is one of the most underused, but also one of the easiest to run as it can work against almost any argument. Outweighing means what it sounds like: you accept the argument but still advocate your case based on the overall benefits still being worth it. A good phrase to use here is “even if”.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “Even if that is the case, our plan is still worth it because it saves 200 human lives annually. And humans > than sloths.”
6. Non-Unique
Definitely the least intuitive, the Non-Unique response usually makes your opponents look like they didn’t do their research. This response simply says that whether the judge votes AFF or NEG, OPP or GOV, the argument will still occur. Thus it is irrelevant and should be ignored.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “Mass deforestation will happen whether or not you vote for me. So vote for me because obviously my opponents didn’t do their research.”
7. Bite It
As the least effective response, biting it holds a surprisingly important place on our list. Is it technically a response? Yes. Is it a good one? No. Is it better than ignoring the argument altogether? YES. Too many times debaters can’t find a good enough response to an argument and resort to dropping it. Here’s my advice: NEVER drop an argument. It needlessly makes your credibility go down and your opponents’ go up. Everyone understands that there’s no such thing as a perfect case, so recognize that there’s a problem with your case, and move on. It will make you look much better than the negative team will in the 2AR. (Hint: usually outweighing will work in these situations.)
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die.”
You: “Yes. Moving on…”
8. No Brink
Here you agree to the core of your opponent’s argument, but you argue that it’s not quite as pressing as they say. This usually works best against foreign policy arguments that have to do with relationships between countries.
Example:
Opponent: “The affirmative team is causing mass deforestation, which will cause a lot of baby sloths to die, and baby sloths are on the path to extinction so it’s kind of a big deal.”
You: “Yes, we will cause some to die, but baby sloths are actually not even endangered, so the world can afford it.”
Annnnnnnnnd that’s the list. Every type of response you could have all in one place. Next time you’re sitting at a table during prep time, don’t panic. Instead, think creatively. Those baby sloths won’t know what hit them.