I have been a member of the National Speech and Debate Association for 18 years. I grew up doing speech, and as a teacher, moved more into the direction of coaching debate. I love this activity, and I am genuinely rooting for every team that I judge.

I currently coach a large, successful middle school debate team in Harlem, where we do mostly Parli.

1. I appreciate cases that convey a sense of originality of analysis, clarity, and authenticity.

2. When it comes to any data-based evidence, I am going to be more swayed by the narrative you create around the numbers than the numbers themselves.

3. I appreciate thoughtful research, but when it comes down to it -- perhaps it is all the time I spend coaching Parli -- I am easily pulled into the world of ideas and logic. I will have a longer leash for more philosophical reasoning than many PF judges.

4. Whenever I experience PF debate, I am so impressed by the way the best teams are able to manage their time-- because you have so little to work with. Do not be afraid to let things fade from the round in order to focus the round into the real voting issues.

5. In crossfires, get underneath the premise of your opponent's argument rather than the splitting hairs or (in most cases) getting into the nuances of the validity of the evidences. Force concessions from your opponent.

6. Create legitimate clash. Show me the contrast between the worlds of yours and your opponents. Make the contrast obvious to me.

5. As you speak, engage me naturally on a human-to-human level, and read my reactions. (I'm told I am fairly easy to read)

To begin with my background, I am a long time debate alumni, founder and president of my high school team as well as the last president of the CUNY Debate Society. I've been teaching debate for years. I've judged nearly everything under the sun in my near decade of experience, including PF, Parli (Parli in several forms), LD, Speech, Congress, Policy, and probably more. That being said, my "judging preferences" are rooted in my first and true love, parliamentary debate. For those of you who have done parliamentary, world's debate, and/or APDA/BP, you'll know parli debate emphasizes logical linkages far more than I'd argue it's more popular counterpart, PF, does. Accordingly, as do I. If you'd like that winning ballot from me, I cannot stress this enough: reason out your warrants and your impacts, and for the love of all that is good in this world, please please please weigh your arguments. This does NOT mean forego all else things, especially as they are emphasized in whichever format I am judging your round for (e.g. if this is a public forum round, of course you should use good, solid, well-cited evidence and it will dock you points if you don't have them). But the logic behind your arguments should also be sound and well developed (as in you should be able to explain them and how they clash with your opponents' arguments at length without citing more sources unnecessarily) and you are almost guaranteed to win your round if you are the only team weighing in the round. More likely that not, I will NOT drop your speaks for how you speak or your presentation (your content will always be 10000% more important to me than the presentation and I know a lot of us come from different backgrounds which means there is no "one-way" to be a good presenter. Make the effort though; I'll know if you're not making the effort). Also, on a lighter and semi-joking note, please don't spread unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary. I can keep up, but I definitely will not want to.

E.j.chen256@gmail.com

prefer no long "off time" roadmaps

please stick to your time

looking for clear weighing of your impacts vs your opponents' impacts

avoid reading very long passages/quotes

I am a Bronx Science parent judging PF rounds, a lay judge. Please speak slowly and clearly, and use minimal jargon. I keep up on news and foreign affairs a decent amount, but try to explain obscure things. I appreciate when you keep time honestly and diligently. Please be prepared to quickly access your evidence and make it available. I like a vigorous crossfire.

Signpost clearly and weigh. Good luck!