by Ellie Harris | Mar 26, 2021 | Advocacy, Affirmatives, From Intermediate to Advanced
Carefully read a list of numbers, wait a minute or two, and then try to recall as many of those numbers as you can. It’ll probably be easiest to remember the first and last few numbers. That’s because your brain is wired to recall things in order of primacy and...
by Patrick McDonald | Jan 28, 2021 | Debate Blog, Strategy
In my novice year of debate, I had a time distribution problem. Perhaps this was because I enjoyed hearing myself ramble on about irrelevant points or demolishing the applicability of my opponent’s introduction. More likely, it was because my brain had yet to come to...
by Patrick McDonald | Dec 31, 2020 | Debate Blog, Speaking
“At the end of the day… Moving down the flow… The fact of the matter is…” What do all of these fragments have in common? For one, they operate as “crutch words,” phrases that serve no purpose apart from buying you time to think of what you are going to say...
by Patrick McDonald | Dec 17, 2020 | Debate Blog, Speaking
“In this rebuttal, I want to go down the flow and refute everything my opponent has said thus far and explain why, at the end of the day, you should vote for me.” This line, in all of its iterations, is useless. For one thing, it is outstanding only in its mediocrity....
by Anthony Severin | Nov 13, 2020 | Communication/Rhetoric, Cross Examination, From Intermediate to Advanced, Strategy, Technique
Let’s suppose I’m a prosecutor trying to convince a jury to convict the defendant in a murder case. Let’s call the defendant “Albert” and the victim “Buddy.” Albert is on the stand and I’m cross-examining him. You might...
