I am a second time lay judge.

I prefer clear and concise speaking, i'm okay with speed but prefer slow speaking.

Tell me what to vote on (weighing) in final focus and summary.

Clear and concise reasoning will get you higher points.

Just a regular Dad who loves to support school activities, like Speech & Debate. First time judging Worlds (3 time PF judge). I value clarity, teamwork and risk taking. Not a big fan of hyperbole. Don't waste my time. I could be skiing right now.

It's a wonderful learning of and investment in building debate skill which will benefit you for your life time!

As a judge, I look for clarity in your communication and thinking, and a projection of confidence, for example, articulate your thoughts without rush, speak clearly and loudly, and project your voice and confidence in what you are talking about, and remain humble and an attitude to learn and explore.

I look forward to learning your ideas and passion! Let's have some fun!

I’m a parent judge from Eastside Preparatory School . This is my first time judging a debate tournament. Because I’m new to judging and English is my second language, I might have difficulties in understanding your arguments if you speak too fast or use too many debate jargons. Therefore, I would appreciate if you speak slowly and clearly, with minimal jargon and lots of explaining. Thank you!

I am a parent judge and I do not have much experience in judging debates.

I look for effective reasoning (explain why your points matter more than the other side's!)

I reward effective communication, confidence, and organization

Speak at a medium pace so I can understand your arguments and avoid jargon.

Be respectful and Good luck

Hello, I am a lay parent judge with one year of judging experience in Public Forum. I am new in judging congressional debate. English is not my first language.

Truth > Tech. Please speak at a reasonable pace. I will be taking notes but not flowing. Please do not be rude. No debate jargon. Please do not post round me.

Make your arguments make sense to me. If I still do not understand the logic of your argument at the end of the round, I will not vote for it (or I'll have a hard time voting for it).

Please do not just say "drop their Contention One because..." I will not drop it unless you tell me very clearly WHY I should drop it or why it's important.

Speaking matters. Be clear and confident. Realize that I won't understand your argument if I can't hear your argument.

Tell me very clearly why I should vote for you.

At the end of the day, this is a high school activity. Try to have fun and don't give me or your opponents a hard time :)

I'm a 47-year old speech and debate parent who works at Amazon. As I flow, I look for thoughtful engagement with the other team's arguments, ideally reaching a Hegelian synthesis.

I am a parent judge. Please make sure to speak understandably and avoid using jargon.
I am looking for depth of understanding of the topic and clarity of presentation, as well as maintaining flow of the round (throughout cross, rebuttal, etc.).

Please be respectful to one another.

I am a Lay Judge, and this is my first season judging debate. Please do not "spread." What I am most interested in hearing are focused, original arguments that are relatively easy to follow. I want to see people responding directly to their opponent's arguments, asking clear questions in the cross, and summarizing well in the final speeches. Thank you.

Hello there,

My name is Hema Goyal (Patil) and I have judged middle school debates for the last two years. I began judging high school debates in 2023. At home, I participate in fierce debates with my high schooler and he wins most debates :). I am an immigrant from India and I have lived in Seattle since 1999 and worked for two software companies SAP and Microsoft for a total of 16 years. I have my husband, two kids and a cat in my family here in the US.

A few things to remember:

1. My preference is for debaters to speak at a conversational rate because a fast rate of delivery has made it difficult for me to understand arguments in the past.

2. I write down key arguments while focusing on your speaking, and I might appear serious when doing so, but please don't be worried about or read into my facial expressions.

3. Tell me a story. I can comprehend and retain information well if the message has a good flow, and I find arguments grounded in real-world impacts to be the most persuasive. I value good argumentation supported with relevant statistics and preferably recent or historical examples or good hypotheses. If there is good reasoning and delivery of the significance and impact of data you are presenting, I will more than likely find your arguments or contentions persuasive.

4. Please be kind, open and respectful towards your peers and opponents and everyone's time.

5. You can be assured of receiving stellar speaker points from me if you are able to speak clearly at a conversational rate and are able to establish a good flow and put good efforts in crossfires.

All the very best for your debates and speeches. You bringing yourself to this platform of healthy argumentation and speaking is commendable and this is going to help shape you for a bright future. So congratulations already.

I am new to judging. Please speak slowly and explain your arguments clearly in round.

As the assistant coach of the Eastside Prep debate team, I am new to judging Upper School/High School debates, but I have consistently been judging PF and Speech this winter. During the debates, I pay close attention to each speaker and team, taking notes on the contentions and refutations presented and supported with evidence. It is crucial to explain your contentions and their refutations in a way that anyone can understand. You should speak as though you are convincing someone else, not yourself. Speaking faster and louder does not necessarily make you more convincing. When judging debates, I appreciate it when debaters explain their points and how the evidence relates to the overall position. Off-time roadmaps are unnecessary if your statement is well-organized and presented clearly. It should be evident that you understand your side, the contentions, and the evidence, rather than just referencing sources or reading from cards. During the debates, it is essential to demonstrate consistent communication with your teammate and build off each other's arguments. Debaters should also be polite and respectful, yet firm, during crossfire. Public Forum debate is the time to explain the sides of the topic, engage in the arguments, and seek understanding through a clear explanation of the evidence and the significance of that evidence to their overall contention.

As a former competitor (from middle school to college), I am a flow judge and will decide winners based on evidence/arguments on the flow and how a debater wraps it all up in the last speech (e.g. voting issues). For LD, tying in the value and value criterion are essential parts of this.

For all debates:

I weigh dropped arguments pretty heavily on the flow (less for beginning competitors in middle school, novice, etc.).

I'm fine with creative stances on Con/Neg in PF & LD, but make sure they fall within the status quo. No brand new alternative solutions.

No new arguments or evidence in the final speeches (LD 2AR, PF final focuses). Wrap up the debate with voters and strongest arguments. It's unfair to bring up an entirely new point that your opponents cannot rebut.

Otherwise, let's all just be respectful of each other! And expect a full ballot of feedback from me, because I know we each get better with every round :).

Hello, my name is Wenzhong (Jack) Jiang. I am a parent judge from Eastside Preparatory School. This is my first time judging a debate tournament.

Since I am new, I would appreciate it if you could speak slowly and deliver the messages clearly.

please have fun and enjoy your debate tournament.

-Parent Judge

-First year as a Judge

-Have judged a few tournaments

-Appreciate conversational speaking pace and not too rushed

-If in doubt, please ask me, I am accommodating to your needs like timing, prep etc.. :)

Parent lay judge. Please talk slowly.

I am a parent judge. I have judged Public Forum debate for two years.

Please keep in mind a few things while debating:

• In Construction, I like well stated Contentions.
• In Rebuttal, I want you to highlight the weakness in the Contentions of the opposite side.
• In Summary, I judge how well you defend your own positions and how well you debate the opposite positions.
• In Focus, I want you to convince me why you win. Please do not bring in new evidence at this stage.
• Please talk slowly. I try to take notes, but if you talk too fast, I am not be able to keep up. No jargons please.
• I look for clear logic and reasoning, less on emotional appeals.
• Statistics is good as long as it is concrete to support your positions but not hard to follow.
• Any discriminatory, hateful, harmful and/or profane language will result in automatic minimum speaker points.
• I believe debate should be a fun and educational experience!

Hey debaters!

I am Fred Liu, a college student and lay judge.

Here is what you should do to make me vote for you:

Speak clarity, precision, and emphasis.

I care more about the quality of your reasoning than the quantity of evidence you can throw at me. I judge how convincingly you link pieces of evidence together.

Eye contact and proper presenting etiquette is also appreciated.

Notes:

Given agreement from both teams, I am willing to disclose ballots.

Remember, be civil, show respect, and have fun.

Let me know before rounds if you have any questions.

Greetings, debaters! I am a lay judge and a parent. My paradigm focuses on creating a fair, educational, and engaging debate environment for all participants.

The following is what I am looking for in a debate:

1. Clarity and Organization: I value clear and well organized arguments. Please structure your points logically for better comprehension and prioritize clarity in articulating your ideas.

2. Research and Evidence: Please provide well-researched arguments supported by credible evidence.

3. Crossfire Engagement: I acknowledge and reward effective engagement during crossfire. You are are encouraged to think on your feet, respond directly to opponents, and maintain a constructive tone.

4. Time Management: I value effective time management. You should use your allocated time wisely to cover key points and provide thorough analysis. Please keep track your own time. I will track time on my side as a backup.

5. Fairness and Respect: I appreciate a positive and inclusive atmosphere, where opposing views are challenged respectfully. You must treat each other with respect throughout the entire debate.

6. Adaptability: I acknowledge adaptability in debates. Debaters should be flexible in responding to unexpected arguments or shifts in the discussion, and reward creative thinking and adaptability to various debate scenarios.

The key to explaining your reasoning to me lies in precision and continuity.

1. When you state facts or provide evidence, ensure you have sufficient granularity to make your point. Eg. “Half the world is male. Therefore, half the students in computer science can be safely assumed to be male.” Insufficient granularity to make the assumption. I consider this a "leap of faith."

2. Once you have established a fact, show me why it is relevant - without link it might look like "data salad" to me. I might not see what you feel is obvious. So state the obvious to make sure we are on the same page and path of reasoning.

3. Ensure your argument is closely reasoned. Well reasoned descriptions go a lot farther at convincing people than a tirade of random bits of evidence.

4. Cross & Grand: Your cross should cover all points raised in opponent's contentions. I have little choice but to favor contentions that are not refuted unless I believe them to be outright false. Listen to your opponents so you can surgically refute or challenge opponent's arguments. If you can’t cover all contentions due to time, then I will take that into consideration as well.

Remember, we are all here to learn. My goal is to be fair and give you feedback, not as criticism that cost you points - chances are it didn’t - but as a way to help you broaden your thinking, sharpen your focus, or help you articulate a position more effectively. Enjoy. This is a great journey you are on. I hope with my feedback you are able to discover how to better leverage that great factory in your brain.

I am lay judge and I would like people to give me off-time roadmap and sign-post clearly. I also prefer logical and clear arguments over fake sounding squirrelly arguments.

first time judging- VERY VERY LAY

no spreading that's sus

don't run prog/theory

truth>>>>>>>>>tech i will legit not understand what u r saying if u run smth like extinction and the other team runs economic recession ur cooked

no jargon

do off-time roadmaps

time urself

don't be rude

weigh- why am i voting for YOU and not them

Hi debaters. I've judged a few tournaments before, but I'm far from an expert judge. Try to keep things easy to follow and don't go too fast. I prefer clear well supported arguments over quantity.

Thanks,

Brian

I am a parent judge so please do not use too much complex debate jargon, do not spread and do not run theory. Some important things I look for...

1) Please try to organize your speeches so that it is easier for me to flow especially signposting and I am fine with off-time roadmaps.

2) Quality over Quantity. Solid arguments with solid evidence is more convincing than having 5 contentions with weak contentions.

2) Please weigh. Tell me exactly why I should vote for your side rather than the opposing side.

3) Have confidence in yourself and speak clearly rather than slurring your words. You got this!

4) Please do be polite and respectful.

Best wishes and have fun!

Hi, I am a parent judge.

Anticipate, prepare and manage; practical life is random.

Quick advice: track all contentions and attempt to address them all.

I will add more as I learn more.

Good luck!

I am a first time parent judge.

So, moderate speed is better.

I'll appreciate good evidence, knowledge of your sources and carefully crafted arguments.

Please do not talk too fast as it only means that I would not be able to judge you accurately. Please do not use any complicated debate jargon either. I will not be taking notes during cross, you rather have to use the information you gather from there and talk about it during your speeches.

Well-prepared contestants are always a breath of fresh air: you exude confidence effortlessly when you have solid understanding of your topic(s), have ample examples and relevant quotes to support your case.

Show your confidence through smooth speech delivery; do not speak too fast and risk the chance to emphasize your points clearly and strongly.

Try not to read directly from your notes and don't forget to every now and then acknowledge the room (judge(s)/opponent(s)). Your sessions get interesting and exciting when you try to engage your listeners!

Always be open to constructive criticism. It can help to make your case stronger for the next rounds.

Always be respectful to your opponents and judges.

Have fun!

I have recently started judging this year. My mentality is informed by my previous experience competing in speech events, Student Congress and Public Forum back in 2006, when we did not read judges' paradigms. We just made the best arguments we could and followed the rules of the event. Coming from this perspective, I may be the furthest from the "game theorist" sort of judge. That is not to say that I am completely tabula rasa, since I am relatively well-informed on world affairs, though I do judge based on actually debating prowess, as if you were debating in any other context.

I will judge you primarily on the strength of your arguments, which means the validity of your stated reasoning and the apparent accuracy of your premises. I also judge on decorum, primarily in the sense of how you deliver your arguments and engage with your opponents. I am looking for civility, as well as articulation. Show that you understand your opponents' arguments and explain how they are wrong.

Some debaters, particularly in policy rounds, will speak as quickly as possible. I ask you to speak no faster than Eminem. If you speak as if you were narrating a horse-race, then I will likely not understand what you are trying to say well enough to give you credit. Annunciate clearly and phrase succinctly. We can establish pacing before we begin the round in order to ensure that will not be a problem.

Marshall Wilcox

I am an experienced judge in a variety of events, with a particularly long history with Public Forum Debate. I have competed in PFD and other events throughout my education, coached and judged for a decade, and taught courses that consider questions of public policy.

_______________________________________________

FOR INTERPRETATION EVENTS:

I try to give a lot of feedback to help you bring your piece to that next level of performance. In judging, I try to evaluate the degree to which you, as the performer,

Here are some of the things I give the most frequent feedback on:

Effective use of all your 'tools' (inflection, emphasis, pacing, pauses, volume, nonverbals, 'tech,' strategic cutting, etc.) to help support and enhance meaning. Do the most important (funny, dramatic, etc.) moments really "land"? Is it easy to tell what a character is feeling, and is it relatable, interesting, and impactful? Are you able to take good advantage of 'opportunities' in the piece? (That is, places where your performance can or does 'wring out' as much humor/drama/etc. as possible from a moment)

The degree to which you use and showcase (and have set yourself up to use/showcase) variety and range in your performance. You're trying to both evoke emotions and enthrall the audience, and that is best supported by a delivery that transitions between various 'speeds' and tones. Additionally, I'm more likely to feel your performance deserves a high rank if you were able to effectively juggle a lot.

The clarity of the piece on a narrative level. Do I always have a clear sense of 'where' we are, and why? Am I lost on the major story beats, character evolution, or arguments? Do I understand where things started, where they wound up, and why that ending is significant?

(Speech events are similar, though the focus is shifted a bit to focus more on things like reasoning, organization of ideas, and use of evidence, as well as clarity, persuasiveness, and effective use of 'voice')

For Interp and Speech events in particular, please feel free to stop me if you see me after a round! I'm very happy to give you feedback on your performance, including suggestions for things you might add, tweak, emphasize, etc.!

_______________________________________________

FOR DEBATE EVENTS:

I prefer to judge from the perspective of a 'policymaker'; that is, while by-and-large limit my judging to what teams actively argued in the round, I prefer arguments that are plausible, well-substantiated, and of prime relevance to the topic at hand. Public Forum in particular was always intended to debate questions of policy in an accessible, sensible, and engaging way, and I encourage speakers to keep that in mind.

Arguments that are logically rigorous, built on evidence from credible sources, and clearly speak to the resolution’s demands are preferred.

Arguments that rest on technicality, are unsubstantiated, do not appear meaningfully relevant, or that are otherwise implausible on their face* will only hold if your opponents fail to address them. Even if unaddressed, particularly 'squirrelly' arguments may fail on their face against a reasonable observer's scrutiny.

Additionally, if you have strong evidentiary support it is in your best interest to helpshowcase that it is strong support.

Spoken APA-style citations (author, year) are fine for a lot of things, such as establishing context and laying a foundation (and other things that probably won't be questioned in the round).

However, if there is (or you expect) a key clash over the veracity, certainty, or magnitude of a claim/impact, that might be a good place to introduce a strong source in a way that shows it is strong.

I have no idea whether (Johnson, 22) is the leading expert in their field or some guy who posted an article on Medium; if it's the former, TELL ME, and don't be afraid to USE the authority of your source to bolster your claims, especially when your opponents are relying on "common sense." If you point out that your source is a relevant expert, your opponents will need to go further than "doesn't make sense to me because [unsubstantiated skepticism]" to undermine the claim.

Convince me that your side’s overall proposition is the best response to the resolution; don’t lose sight of that as you consider the clash between individual arguments, etc.

I do consider 'tech' elements in both wins and speaker points, and will favor teams that perform effectively as debaters. However, I see your ‘job’ as presenting (and defending) a persuasive, plausible answer to the question(s) posed by the resolution –remember that even a skilled, round-dominant, and strategically-minded performance can fail to accomplish that goal.

I expect you to debate the resolution; any time spent on meta-arguments (theory, kritiks, etc.) that neglect that core question will need to be very thorough, convincing, and meaningful, otherwise they likely amount to wasted time. I recommend focusing as much time as possible on the core issues at hand.

I can generally keep up with fast speaking, but I definitely still miss things in faster deliveries. It is your best interest tomake sure that the most important things are clear to your judge/audience.Additionally, I prefer speaking with focus, clarity, and word economy over covering that same ground with less efficiency, especially for the purposes of speaker points.

*To a reasonably educated person, not necessarily to an expert.

First time parent judge. Please speak slowly and concisely.

The main thing all of us want to experience in this debate forum is fun! :)

• Lay parent judge
• PLEASE DO NOT BE RUDE or you will receive a fat L.
• I evaluate cross heavily so pls leverage it.
• Don't talk fast and be clear, please give organized speeches (signpost and number responses)
• Truth matters > if you say something blatantly incorrect that I catch, that may influence my decision.
• HAVE FUN debate is a game!

LD SPEC:
- keep it trad and no prog