Debate:

I am looking for style: how well do you deliver your speech?

how is your pacing?

are you emphasizing your points?

are you adjusting your tone and speed?

are you making eye contact?

are you delivering your speech to your audience, or are you just reading your speech?

did you practice your delivery?

Do you have a claim and a solid line of reasoning?

are you incorporating your stats/facts or relying on them?

Facts/stats should enhance your argument, not be the center of it.

Are you brining in something new/unique or are you just repeating previous points?

Is your speech well researched?

Rebuttals

are you able to effectively challenge and counter opposing arguments?

are your rebuttals grounded in facts, or anecdotal in nature?

Understanding of legislation and how our political system works

did you do your research?

I am a parent judge. If you are going to talk fast, please enunciate and speak coherently so I can best understand. Be respectful and do not interrupt each other, debate is a learning experience and I do not want things to become heated in the round.

Things I look for:

good evidence, impacts, carrying your arguments throughout the round, being respectful, making best use of crossfire while being respectful, and a case around quantitative data and analysis tends to work best.

Please note: Your speaker scores will reflect your speech skills, in the sense of respect, voice enunciation, and quality of argument.

I have a strong preference for logical arguments based on facts, even if I personally disagree with your position. I expect debates to be civilized and speakers to be serious and courteous to each other. Relax and have fun.

Hello, I have been a PUFO judge since 2018 when our son was at Eastlake high school. I would like to see courtesy-respect . Good luck :)

Debate coach at Eastside Prep in WA since 2018

Speed is okay, but I much prefer well-explained arguments and claims that are delivered with eloquence and conviction. Too often, debaters seem to forget that debate involves giving a speech, so use elements like tone and pauses to get your points across. I have a particular distaste for spreading; if I cannot capture what you say in the flow, it does not register.

I teach political science, political philosophy, history and economics, and I have a degree in International Relations, so chances are, I have a greater than average starting understanding of nearly all PF topics. Therefore, use complex concepts and theory with caution - make sure you fully understand what it means, otherwise do not use it.

Cohesion, logic, organization, politeness... These are the traits I prefer to see in the debate.

Prefer sign-posting

No spreading

No outside time summaries.

Hello debaters! I am a parent judge, but I have some experience with PF judging. Keep in mind that I am not a tech judge, I don’t value spreading, don’t talk extremely fast. I will be flowing in every speech, so dropped points are going to weigh very high. Please signpost, it makes everything much cleaner. Terminology is not my strong suit and if you say something like “that’s wrong because Mendel 18 delinks” and move on, that’s not something which would effectively do much for your side. Reconstructions are also important!Logical constructive and rebuttals will be impactful to me, and in final focus tell me why your impacts outweigh but don’t read outrageous impacts just because no one’s going to respond to it. Good luck!

Bio:

Attended Seattle Academy (2010-14) and Lewis & Clark College (2014-18). Coached Lincoln HS (Portland), The Bear Creek School, Seattle Academy, Lewis & Clark, Lafayette College, Concordia University-Irvine. Mostly did speech stuff but I've been around a lot of debate(rs). Currently a law student at Seattle University (class of 2026).

Paradigm Proper:

I think I'll be judging some LD and PF in and around Seattle this year. Here are a few adaptations to make in front of me.

1. I prefer that we minimize nonsense during our time together. Examples include: wasting time, stealing prep, linking everything to extinction, frivolous procedurals, unnecessary rudeness. A good litmus test is if your coach, school principal, parents, and the authors of your arguments would approve of your conduct, I'll be fine with it.
2. I am a big picture judge. I want to be able to tell the losing team a coherent, several-sentence story of what I am endorsing and why I am endorsing that instead of what they want me to endorse. This means I value judge instruction! Tell me why I'm voting for you, why your arguments are more important than your opponents', what the central question of the round is and how I should go about evaluating it. You are unlikely to win on a bunch of dropped blips. You are more likely to win because one or two well-developed arguments convinced me that voting for your side is preferable.
3. I will flow the debate and determine a winner using my flow. Please signpost, stay organized, and respond to arguments in the order they were presented. Well-developed dropped arguments are true, but you still have to explain why they matter. I will only vote on arguments that you introduce in the first half of the round and appear in all of your speeches in the second half of the round.
4. I'm decently well-read. I majored in Econ, I'm in law school, and I read the news regularly. Assume I know about the world and topic but maybe not the specifics of your argument (especially acronyms).

Speaker points:

I totally give 30s. Be the kind of person I would recommend novice debaters go watch in elimination rounds. You start at a 26 and can gain (or lose) up to one point in each of the following areas:

1. High-quality research, and high-quality understanding of your (and your opponent's) research
2. Smart choices, critical thinking, and in-round strategy
3. Strong delivery, word economy, and rhetorical skills
4. Kindness, good attitude, vibes, and a sense of humor

Closing thoughts:

If I look or sound grumpy, it's been a long day. I promise I care a lot and I'm excited to watch your debate. I have enormous respect for the hard work and research you put in, and I can't wait to listen to what you have to say and try to give some helpful feedback. If you have any requests or need any accommodations, feel free to ask. I am also happy to answer any questions you have before or after the round.

Hi, I am Pallavi Patel. I am a parent judge. My student attends Interlake High School.

I am a lay judge. I will enforce the rules of debate including speaking during designated times. I like strategies grounded in literature about the topic, well explained arguments, and clear organization. Teams that have good consistency in their arguments is also important.

My competitive background is in PF, and while I have limited judging experience with LD I'm generally unfamiliar with the minutiae of the event. A couple of general tips:

Clarity is essential. If I can't understand what you're saying or you're jumping between points too rapidly, I can't put them on the flow. If nothing else, make sure to be clear on taglines and source citations.

I generally enjoy philosophical framing within LD rounds, just make sure you tie your value and value criterion to your main points consistently.

I won't pretend to be knowledgeable enough with LD to tell you what to run or what not to run. Anything offensive or discriminatory is obviously a nonstarter. Beyond that, run what you like to run, make sure to show me the clash between your and your opponents' points, and have fun! I will judge off the flow, so again CLARITY is a must.

I was a policy debateron the national circuit in the 1980's, before the internet and before Public Forum Debate. Four years of competitive policy debate has shaped my approach to the ballot, however I like the changes and variety that come with public forum. Evidence is like ammunition in a battle. You have to undertsand it and know how to use it, else it could backfire and create unintednded injury to yourself instead of your opponent. In the end, rhetorical flourish is not important as a demonstrated understanding of the topic, a solid ability to listen to your opponenet, undertand the premise of your case, and explain why your case and the supporting evidence justify a decsision in your favor.

At this point in the year, I would like to see eye contact made with either myself or the opposing team member(s). Speak slowly and succinctly. Get your ideas across thoughtfully. It is more important to get two points made well, then 5 points made in a run-on speech.

Most important, of course, is to respond to the opposing team's points.

1. Your arguments should have quantifiable impacts if you want to win; qualitative impacts will not be sufficient in most cases

2. I I cannot hear or compile your argument(s), I might not be able to judge it for correctness or completeness. Therefore, do not spread

3. Use logic to win your argument, pathos will not work with me

I am primarily a communications judge and vote based on the debater's overall argumentation and persuasiveness. Be aware that I have an auditory processing disorder that makes it difficult or impossible to understand speech that is significantly faster than conversational speed. If requested, I am happy to let the speaker know when they are going too fast through a hand gesture.