Hello!

I have been doing PF debate for about 4 years. I have participated in LD and in multiple speech tournaments. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!! Otherwise, here's a rundown of my expectations :D

1. Clarity and Organization:
- Clear communication is key. Speak at a moderate pace, emphasize well, and avoid excessive repetition.
- Clearly signpost your arguments and maintain a logical and organized structure throughout the round.

2. Content and Argumentation:
- Construct well-developed arguments with logical reasoning and evidence.
- Support your contentions with quality evidence from credible sources.
(Do not make credibility your entire argumentation in rebuttal)
- Be responsive to your opponents' arguments and provide direct refutation.

3. Crossfire:
- Utilize crossfire effectively. This is an opportunity to directly engage with your opponents and clarify key issues.
- Stay respectful during crossfire, and avoid interrupting your opponents.
- do not forfeit your chance of asking questions to the opposing side, you can always ask a question!

4. Framework and Weighing:
- Establish a clear framework early in the round to guide the judge (me) in evaluating the most important issues.
- Articulate clear criteria for weighing impacts and show why your impacts should be prioritized.
- (please don't make frameworks your main points of attack during rebuttal either)

5. Rebuttal and Summary Speeches:
- Use the rebuttal to bring up the main issues in the round and to begin framing the debate in your favor.
- In summary speeches, prioritize the most important arguments and impacts. Provide a clear path as to why you have won (do not bring up new evidence or arguments. I won't count them.)

6. Respect and Sportsmanship:
- Maintain a high level of respect for your opponents and the judge. Avoid personal attacks.
- Be mindful of time limits and follow the established rules and norms of debate.

Hi - I've judged several tournaments over the last year and I love hearing different points of view.

First -- make sure I can understand you. If you go fast and mumble, I won't hear your points and will have a hard time following your arguments. Ideally, enumerate your points so I can follow them and keep track of them throughout the argument. If you go fast, make sure I can get your points! Otherwise, focus on what's most important and share that with me.

Second -- use your time! If you have 4 minutes, make the most of it.

Third -- Cite your sources. It is important that you do this so I can compare evidence. Then tell me why those points are important.

Fourth -- (but probably most important) Be respectful. Good sportsmanship and being kind is important to me. If you insult or talk down to the other team, I will not be impressed.

Lastly, listen to the other team.

Good luck!

I like it when you speak clearly and at a reasonable voice level.

I'm a freshman at Staten Island Tech and I have been doing PF for three-ish years.

Extend EVERYTHING please, especially defense. I will be flowing the round, but I don't flow cross so bring up anything in the next speech. Please weigh, preferably starting in summary. I prefer a very clear linkchain over a bunch of cards.

I don't mind heated debate, especially in cross (I myself am guilty of being a bit hot headed), but if you are blatantly disrespectful it will be reflected in your speaks. Don't waste your time in speech introducing yourself and telling me your side and the resolution. I already know.

Weighing will play a big part in the decision, so please weigh during your summary speech and your final focus. Remember to extend all your arguments to your final speech. If you don't restate the arguments again I will consider it dropped and it will be crossed off the flow.

Remember to frontline in your speech. No new evidence should be brought up after the second summary and ff.

Hello all! I am a current PF debater, and generally value Tech > Truth.

My email: dianehe@hunterschools.org

If you’re a novice or in middle school, I wouldn’t stress out over techy stuff. I will likely approach your round as more of a lay judge. The important thing is to just have fun!

For everyone more experienced, here are some techy reminders:

Please(!!!!!) signpost throughout your speeches.

You should collapse wherever you can. While this isn’t necessary, it will definitely help you save time.

You should clearly extend through summary and final. If you plan on extending an argument, you must respond to everything your opponent has said against it and/or explain why your argument still stands despite their responses.

Weighing is essential to debate, and will most likely make or break a close round. You should be weighing wherever you can. If you can’t think of anything else to say, just start weighing.

If you make a US military joke, I will give you +0.5 speaker points.

Hello,

I currently go to Hewitt and have been debating since 7th grade, throughout the debate I will be flowing every speech with an exception of crossfire which I will not be flowing but listening very carefully to. If there is something important from cross it is extremely important that gets brought up again in the round, it's also super important that your speeches are well organized and clear. I don't mind if you speak fast just don't be obnoxious and please be respectful of your opponent while being confident. Please be well-versed in the rules of pf before the round begins and if you want to pre-flow try and do that as quickly as possible. I will give feedback at the end of the round if it's requested, and lastly don't stress! This is supposed to be fun, and if you have any questions feel free to ask before the round starts or after. 

Thank You!!

Hello, I'm Sophia (any pronouns) - I'm a former middle school/high school Public Forum debater with some Parli experience.

A few things to keep in mind during the round:

1. If you say something in crossfire that you would like me to weigh, make sure to bring it up in speeches.

2. In that vein, please try to extend your arguments through summary and FF.

3. Please signpost and give a roadmap of your speech.

4. Please be respectful of each other and the opposing team.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me before the round. If you have questions about my feedback, feel free to email me atsophia.a.freitas@gmail.com.

:)

Hello! I currently go to Beacon Highschool and have been debating for 5 years. 

I am a very technical judge, I will be flowing every speech. Crossfire will not count towards my ultimate decision. I expect teams to preflow prior to the round, once every team is in the room the round should start as soon as possible. Since I have been debating for so long I don’t mind fast speakers. Do not bring up new evidence after 2nd summary, it will not count on my flow. I will give feedback at the end of the round if it is requested. 

This goes without saying but rude/offensive behavior will not be tolerated under any circumstances. 

The most important part of debate is learning something from every round so do not stress about this and just have fun. If you have any questions feel free to ask me before the round begins. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this & I will see u soon! 

Hello, my name is Ayrah and I am a sophomore student in high school. I have debated public forum for three and a half years, and this is my second year of judging debates. That being said, here are a few of my preferences/tips for when it comes to a round:

1) I don't take crossfire into consideration unless you bring up what was said in your speeches. So, if you managed to get your opponent to slip up during a crossfire or perhaps you answered/rebutted their questions/points cleverly and really want to showcase that to me, you should include it in your summaries, final focuses or rebuttals. Be weary not to drop any arguments.

2) I don't mind if you talk fast, just don't spread. I will time you but I also recommend you time yourself to be able to know when and how to pace yourself.

3) Weighing is very important to me, because your weighing is pretty much selling your arguments to me. I would like to see weighing in the summary and especially final focus, and I wouldn't mind seeing it in rebuttal speeches as well. But don't make your weighing just one sentence such as "We win on scope because we affect more people because [insert basic response]" etc. I'd like to see you elaborate on your weighing because again, that is a big part of what sells your arguments to me. In addition, when you state your contentions during your first speech, I need to know why your reason for or against an argument matters because again, you want to emphasize that your contentions matter (impact) and aren't just a list of pros or cons. Also, make sure you don't have any defensive arguments or else you have little to no impact.

4) I prefer the use of a framework but make sure it isn't anything like "If we prove to you that the pros outweigh the cons we win" because that's rather obvious and so it ends up being a waste of a few crucial seconds.

5) I recommend you use your prep time wisely and not let it go to waste because it is given to you for a reason. Writing on the spot can be very stressful (trust me, I'd know), but if you learn to maximize your prep time, it will gradually make things easier for you.

I hope this doesn't come off as intimidating! I am no perfect debater and I've definitely had my moments both in the spotlight and in moments I wish I could forget when it comes to debate. Just because I might be older or have debated longer doesn't necessarily mean that I am much better than you. I am just using my debate experience over the course of the past few years to try and provide any insight I can to help you improve, and of course, to try to be a fair judge. With all that said, I wish you good luck!

HI! I am a former public forum debater, so I flow my rounds. Make sure to be polite and respectful to your opponents during the round. I will be able to understand you as long as you speak at a tolerable pace and articulate your speeches. If I can't hear an argument properly I don’t include it in my flow, and it won't be counted towards my vote. I also don’t flow cross, so make sure that you bring up any of those points later in the round. Lastly, I award speaker points based on debaters who articulate their points clearly.

Hi, I am a current debater for my own school. I focus less on time management and emotional appeal and more on evidence and how well you speak. Weighing will also be a big deciding factor in my final decision!

That being said, I understand how nerve-wracking debates can be especially for new debaters so I will not judge too harshly!