Analysis and organization of speech

Citations and references

Time management

Verbal presentation and body language

Constructive argument and cross examination

Respect to others

Lay judge with limited experience.

Suggestions for contestants: Be respectful, stick to the facts, watch the timer.

I’m a lay judge, I mostly prioritize persuasiveness and delivery. Respectfulness is very important, I don’t like aggression in rounds. Just try to have fun and learn.

About Me

I have never done debate myself, so am basically a parent judge (so spreading and lots of jargon is probably not a great idea). But I have been attending and judging debate tournaments for 10 years; the last 4 of which have been parliamentary. I am a lawyer and coached a mock trial team for five years.

Debate Preferences and Judging Philosophy:

• I like passionate argument and lots of back and forth and POIs. Anything short of truly abusive works for me.

• I don't care if you stutter or have long pauses I will vote on the arguments that have been made. But mispronouncing words make me a bit crazy, especially if it's clear you don't really know what they mean.

• I am fine with any CP’s, K’s, and theory; note that I am also fine with arguments against any of these.

• Please make your cases relevant to the round, I dislike when it's obvious that you are trying to adapt the round to your case rather than the other way around.

• I'm more inclined to accept arguments about the probability of impacts than the magnitude. Unless there is a legitimate possibility of human extinction, I think trying to make that connection in a debate about immigration or fiscal policy makes you look a bit foolish.

• Please make your theory arguments logical, I don't vote on jargon, I vote on logical arguments.

• Don't just throw out jargon and expect me to understand it, I might, but there's a good chance I won't and if I don't it's your loss.If you have to use jargon, at least try to make it part of a full sentence so I can understand the context.

• If there is something you are wondering about that isn't in this please ask me in round.

I will like if you go slow . Rest I am fine with anything else.

Occupation: Director Technical Product Management/Marketing at VMware

School Affiliations: Dougherty Valley High School

Years of Judging/Event Types: First year, LD/Policy

How I will award speaker points to the debaters: Clarity, Eye-Contact, Don't speak too fast, Polite during Cross-ex.

What helps me make a decision at the end of the debate: Strong voters, best impacts, most organized structure, most logical rebuttals.

Notes/Flow: I will flow as much as I can.

Clothing/Appearance: An easy way to get speaker points is by dressing appropriately.

Use of Evidence: Please use logical evidence that corresponds to the main point that is being made. Also, please do not read cards that are not on the email chain.

Real World Impacts: I need to see the logic and the links to how a series of events lead to the impacts. In other words, the impacts should be well explained.

Cross Examination: Do not be rude during cross examination. I understand that sometimes we like to use strategy and come off as confident during these cross examination periods, but please do make sure you are polite.

Debate skill over truthful arguments: Both of these aspects matter, but I will mainly be looking for the overall debate skill.

I am a parent judge and I prefer competitors keeping a slow pace while speaking. I also prefer well-articulated arguments where candidates are getting across their point. The complexity of the arguments is not an issue, as I have a daughter that debates as well. However, I would prefer if they are easier to understand.

I end up weighing the rounds largely based upon the refutations. To get my ballot, refutations should be logical, well-reasoned, and well-presented.

Candidates should also be nice to each other. Not respecting your opponent is a big no-no for me.

Overall, just have fun when you debate!

Parent Judge.

I am a lay judge, no spreading. I prefer to judge Lincoln Douglas debates, but am fine with judging speech as well. In debate I look for clear arguments and strong supporting points. I am fine with controlled spreading but you must be clear. For speech I judge based how you approach character or position, and you must be presentable.

I have about 6 years of speech and debate judging experience as a parent judge.

I look at good presentation and persuasion skills. Speed is fine to a certain extent but should not be too fast.

In addition I decide based on how well you formulate policy and present the plan with advantages and disadvantages of your plan or counter plan.

Otherwise, I am open to all types of styles and arguments and fairly easy going.

Hey there!

Cross-ex: I judge cross-ex heavily and take into a big part when it comes to making my final decision. I look for you being able to successfully defend your case confidently along with pointing out flaws for your opponents case. Be confident but do not be rude as that really looks bad in my eyes. Be demanding but don't be aggressive. Keep your cool and do not ever put down your opponent.

Arguments: I should be able to understand the vast majority of arguments that you guys present to me. Please do not run theory or kritiks as those are hard to follow along with. I will listen to all disadvantages and counterplans and should be able to understand them easily. I love it when you weigh your arguments and it's how I determine a tie-breaker if a round is closer. Tell me why your argument's impact matters more than your opponents and why your opponents impact is less likely to occur. I also wish to see you actually explaining the arguments in your own words and using logic rather than you reading a bunch of evidence cards to prove your point. After each card give a little explanation of it so I am able to follow along easier. I also would prefer that you provide an overview in the beginning of your speeches since that is important to me. I do listen to the framework debate but I don't use it to make my decision as much as I would use the arguments itself.

Presentation: Please do not spread! If you think you are speaking to fast, then you probably are. Talk clearly and fluently and confidently. There's nothing that upsets me more than a debater who I can not understand.

Other than that, debate fairly and don't try to be sketchy. Don't bring up new arguments in the last speeches as I will not actually put them on my flow and use them to weigh the round. Good luck!

I usually take notes during the round and I use it at the end of the round to make my decision.

The key things I look for are as follows:

Fluency

Relevancy

Eye Contact during the presentation

Clarity while making the argument and logical flow

Extent of research and facts

Impact analysis

Effectiveness during cross examination

I am mom of 2 kids one in college and another one in high school doing debate and speeches for 4 years

I will look for content of the subjects regarding your topic, how confident you are and expressions and body language.

I like civility in the room. Be respectful and gain respect.

You don't need to change your style of speaking for me, I can follow fast speech, if I miss something, I do ask for cards mentioned.

Don't use too much technical stuff, if you do - explain it in short. Otherwise the argument will be lost on me.

I give a lot of weight to impacts and mostly award points based on that.

Do not bring in a controversial topic in the debate unless it is absolutely necessary (eg: terrorism, 9/11, etc)

I do take notes so don't try to pull fast ones, chances are I will catch it (Not all the time though)

I like off time roadmap. Helps me be organized.

Judging style: Individual Speaker:

I award points based on how you speak, and how you conduct yourself in cross. If you are blatantly rude, offensive, racist, sexist, etc, you will be marked down to the lowest.

I am a parent judge. Please be sure to make logical arguments and extensions as well as make clear impacts and voters. (I take extremely detailed notes). Also, speaking ability/lay appeal is a very important factor in my decision.

Things that I dislike:

-Poor enunciation and/or a monotone voice

-Any form of discriminatory or hurtful language/argument/action

-Debaters who speak too quietly or spread too quickly

-Any form of circuit debate arguments

Speaker Points:

25 or lower: (Reserved for bad or unprofessional conduct)

26: Below Average

27: Average

28: Above Average

29: Great

30: WOW(not many given)

NOTE: Please smile and have fun! Debate is a fun activity, so please treat it as such.

I am very new to the circuit and as such will not be as progressive as some other judges. I will only vote off of what I flow and can not understand spreading well, so keep that in mind when debating in front of me. I have judged JV LD many times and am relatively traditional. Make your arguments clear and fleshed out and be polite in round. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I most likely will not understand complex Ks or other progressive arguments and as a result will not vote on them. If you do read anything not traditional make sure it is well explained and said slowly so I can flow and evaluate it. I will give my decision only if explicitly asked and will not disclose speaker points. 

I competed in LD for James Logan from 2010-2014 then coached from 2014-2016. I've been gone from the activity for five years so I'm sure a lot has changed, but I'll try my best to keep up. If you have specific questions, I'm happy to answer them.

A general overview:

I can probably handle some degree of speed but it's been close to six years since I've judged a circuit tournament so take that as you will. Also take into account that since everything is virtual, it will be much harder for me to hear you.

Regardless of how fast you choose to speak, signpost clearly.

If you want something to matter at the end of the round, clearly extend it all the way to your last speech. Even if your opponent dropped it, extend the full argument.

Framework doesn't necessarily need to be a traditional V/VC, but needs to exist in some form for me to evaluate the rest of the round.

I like when debaters tell me exactly how and why I should be voting. Crystallize the debate clearly at the end of the round and tell me exactly why you won.

Weigh your arguments. I hate sitting at the end of the round with a bunch of floating impacts. It will be so much easier for me to vote for you if I don't have to do any of that work for you.

I've never been a huge fan of theory. If you do choose to run it, you better have a very good reason.

I am a parent judge and I have been judging primarily LD for about one year. I like a moderate speaking pace, but if you prefer to go fast or spread, please share your case with me before your speech so I can keep up. I do not care about appearance, but I do care about your arguments. Make sure to respond to ALL of your opponent's arguments, links, and impacts. Off-time roadmaps help me a lot when judging the round and it will definitely help your speaker points as well.

Cross-examination : I will not flow cross-examination, but you can utilize it to win the round. If your opponent concedes to something in cross-examination, emphasize it in your speeches.

Speaker points : I care about clear and concise arguments. If you are not able to articulate your arguments analytically and solely read evidence off of your computer, that may have a negative effect on your speaker points. Most importantly, do not be overtly rude (explicitly racist, sexist etc.) to your opponent!

Arguments : Do not read any Kritiks, Theory or other progressive arguments during round. I am a parent judge and do not have the philosophical or necessary background to comprehend these to the extent that you may want. While your arguments may be inherently true in the real world, if you do not back them up with sufficient analysis or evidence and your opponent uses their skill to refute your arguments, I will vote them up.

Remember, you are here to have fun, so enjoy your round! If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask me before round.