Background

he/him

uw'23

add me to the chain if u want @ fageeriomar@gmail.com

Be Kind :)

First and foremost, debate is an activity where at the end of the day, you are debating topics that influence real living people so understanding the weight of what you're saying is something that should go without saying. This activity is meant to be a safe environment where you can grow as a debater but also be inclusive to those who do this activity with you. I will not tolerate anyone who discriminates, offends, or is abusive to their opponent regardless of whether it was to "prove a point". Anyone who does this will drop instantly with very very low speaks ❤️

Each and every one of you has something valuable to contribute and no one should have the opportunity to minimize those contributions :)

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TLDR:

take risks, have fun, and try your best!

all events //

larp >> th >> k & lit >>

weighing mech

impact calc

cp // remind me what the status of the cp is throughout the round

condo good

very high speaks if you make me laugh

signpost! :)

tricks are fine --> your burden to get it on my flow

theory --> reasonability > competing interps

drop arg > drop debater

preferences:

LD PARADIGM

speed// slow down on tags but be realistic with speed. I am not going to tell you to slow down, you should be able to assume that you need to if I am not flowing what you are saying. Also, online debate means dealing with mics so let's acknowledge that. Also, acknowledge who is in your judge panel. When you have parents, volunteer judges, and people with no experience judging and you decide to default to prog, that is horrible. Adjust to lay and win that way. This activity should be accessible to all judge ballots not just the ones you think are more experienced.

roadmap// off-times are dope after constructives if you are gonna collapse to any t's , da's, etc. —otherwise no need—. Usually I can navigate fine without em so they wont matter on my ballot but people with them can expect high speaks for organization :P Dont run what you think I want to hear because I dont really care as long as you make it digestible (again online means i need it to be understandable. Run whatever you are most comfortable with.

K// do it if you want but structure is pretty important here (ie. on my end your goal should be to concretely outline for me what is epistemologically / ont. wrong bad/violent/evil/idc about their case or how they are presenting their case / addressing the resolution) I guess this is usually done in peoples link and impact but I think the K's I vote on or find value are the ones that 1. clearly frame the round under their K (ie. what should the ROB be given the impact behind what your opp did that you see as inherently bad) and 2. outline for me the extent to which the ballot is an alt how it addresses some of your impacts there. Also, your tags best be very slow when introducing all of that (link,imp, alt, rob) lol.

TLDR: I don't resonate too much with K's because I feel like most people deviate from the actual abuse they are arguing on but if you do, just be really clear with what I said earlier I guess ( practical args on case will make it easier to sway me nevertheless!)

T// These annoy me sometimes bc they get messy at least where I have seen them. Similar standard as above, give me a comprehensive interp of the resolution, the stand. they violated I guess and in voters why I should care. Especially with everything being online, imma need this to be digestible when you're reading it as well! I usually default to reasonability unless opp offers a c.i in which case I will default to competing interps

another note: rvi's are cool and on t debate, 1ar's that collapse to them will more often than not pick up. i buy that winning a c.i is enough to win the round and rvi's are the only drop the debater arg i will probs ever buy.

tech > truth.

dont deviate entirely from case debate. if you read the tldr, you know i like larp debaters largely because thats what most people can do well and more comprehensively in a way that I can evaluate. Impact calc is still vital and the side that does the best job of winning on case flow will more often than not be the side that picks up a ballot (all of this include exceptions those being obv what I have talked about earlier).

voters!!!

CX

Respect your opponent!! You don't have to pretend to love them but respect everything they have to say :) You can be aggressive but don't be abusive (... they are different!). Concessions in cross should be on top case in the 1NC and 1AR

PF PARADIGM

*first time judging this topic (12/11-12/12)

fw in pf is dope imo. otherwise just weigh and we'll be chillin

I will vote purely off the flow. stop trying to extend deadweight args and just collapse to the ones your winning on and weigh. that tends to be the best strat to get my ballot bc it saves you time and makes the debate a lot less messy on the flow. I rarely call for evidence because defaulting to cards on an rfd is wack but if it ends up being something thats carrying you on the flow prepare for that.

summary // make it clear what arguments still matter in this round, which ones you're winning, and which they're losing. i would much rather see you collapse to the ones your winning here as opposed to spend hella time defending the ones you know you're losing.

ff// spend these few minutes with an overview, why you solve for any weighing mech / fw, and which arguments I need to vote on to make my ballot.

I dont want to hear cards in your ff, at this pt you should be focusing on what links, straight / solv turns, etc you have already made and telling me what you're winning and why those are my cleanest voting issues in the round.

I feel like a lot of the time in PF, teams are really hung up on empirics with like zero internal links--> so have those.

Voters are really important here! (Only args fully extended through ff and summary will be considered)

^this doesnt mean you necessarily need defense on every arg to extend every arg to win a round. I vote on collapsed args a lot!

Give me a standard to vote on. This should be clearly established on top case in your first constructives and ff and tell me why you solve :)

I rarely see prog in PF but surprise me if you want!

CONGRESS PARADIGM

tldr: content 3/4 speaking 1/4 , rehash is dis cos tan, i hold authorships to a higher burden because they dont have an opportunity to refute (authorship cx is the most important cx on my ballot usually for every bill)

solid impact turns in congress are like an automatic top 3 for me

crystalization speeches are dope (overview --> flow --> weigh :))

Jokes are great!! if you make me laugh that makes it more tolerable for me and you will stand out :) Keep in mind we do have to sit there for 3 hours+

**This event is called congressional debate. As often as it appears that people who do get ranked are great speakers, I will weigh content more regardless of how pretty you sound. Clarity is obviously important, but it is more beneficial to have clarity AND a comprehensive case

po's // generally will get ranked top 6 unless you make tons of errors. best po's are the one's that make me as a parli feel as if I could leave the room and never come back and everything would still feel the same. own the room. cross check what rules (nsda , wsfa, etc.) you're using and make sure the statutes actually exist (ie. the "no three aff speeches in a row" is a tradition more than it is actually documented in any rule book).

rehash // will automatically place you in the bottom half of my ranks at best (w/ exception to crystalizing)

If you repeat an argument that was just run in the speech before you, I will flow everything you say under that speaker and assume you did not give that point. The reason congress is rarely seen as the debate is that a lot of competitors try to go the easy route without contributing to the debate. If you do not have a new point, crystalize, tell me the most important args, give me missing links, weigh, and clear up any messiness in the debate. That in my opinion can actually end up being a better speech than most constructive ones.

Unique arguments are preferable but don't give me bad efficacy arguments w/ no int. links. (in other words, I am not gonna believe your card if u dont have a warrant).

evidence //

This is your opportunity to pretend like your source is doper than it actually is. Look up who wrote it and how they came to their conclusion (that adds to your warrant and makes your case more substantive) . I should be able to fact check you with the citation I hear even though I probably will not lol. I don't just want to hear what your evidence is but also why it is important i hear it. If there is an area in your argument that can be quantified, I want to see empirics.

impact calc//

Just mentioning what someone says and reading a card after is not a refutation. If you cant explain why their argument is uniquely bad, that is not a refutation. Reference other senators in the room but also make sure you are giving me material reasons

cx//

WA circuit doesn't do direct cross but I still weigh it in my rankings. Also, tbh it seems like people suddenly lose their hearing when the round starts

ie. "I did not understand/hear your question"

I can tell when someone is trying to avoid the question and that doesn't reflect positively in your ranks. If you do not know the answer to the question, I would much rather see you try to explain why that question is irrelevant or how regardless of the answer your case wins bc ____. Also please don't answer with " I do not see how that is relevant to my speech". You are debating on the bill either in support / against, just because you didn't directly mention it in your speech does not mean you are not capable of answering the question (After-all you only get 3 minutes).

Those who know their cards well in questioning and can respond with comprehensive answers are those who will get ranked high regardless of speeches. The #1 pref is making cx valuable. If your question doesn't move clash forward.. dont ask it :)

For all debates: Sign post your arguments and be polite to one another. Speed is fine as long as you are clear.

CX: I am a stock issues voter. I have a high threshold on topicality and kritiks. There must be a substantial disadvantage for a team that is impacted out if a team wants to win the round solely on topicality. If the aff is truly untopical, then run topicality. Otherwise, if it is for a time-suck I would avoid this. The weirder the kritik the more work needs to be done developing the argument. Also, please use a roadmap to cover what part of the flow you will be on before you start.

LD: The value / value criterion clash is critical. Please go over this throughout the debate and use it as a mechanism to weigh the round with, rather than trying to solely win on the value / value criterion debate. Make sure to clash on the relevant issues in the debate and weigh the impacts on both sides. I look for arguments that are not just evidence based but also have a good tie to philosophy. In your final speech, I prefer that you use some of the time going over voters.

PF: Clash is critical in public forum. You should be weighing all arguments in the debate and bring new evidence in the round to support your position. If you have a framework, make sure to use it throughout your speeches and don't wait until the final focus to use your framework. You need to spend time utilizing your framework throughout. In your final speech, I prefer some voters.

I was a PF debater in high school and will be flowing each round. Tell me how you want the round judged! I want voters at the end of the debate; I'm willing to vote on just about anything. If you provide a framework (or in LD, your value/value criterion), I will vote on that so long as you argue it throughout the debate. If the only time your framework (or value/value criterion) is mentioned is in your case reading, don't expect me to vote on it.

Policy: I'm a stock issues judge, though I am willing to vote on a K or T if it is argued well.

My name is Kaelyn and I did LD for 3 years in high school and have been judging and coaching for past 7 years. 

I will look at the round based first by the framework (value and criterion) that is set by the affirmative. The affirmative should be using this value and criterion as a way to prove that the resolution is true and support this with evidence. The negative must then either provide a counter framework to prove why the resolution is not true, or prove why the resolution is not true under the affirmative's framework. If the affirmative cannot prove the resolution to be true or the negative provides more persuasive evidence against the resolution then I will negate. I am open to other ways to weigh the round if both debaters agree on this during the round.

Other aspects to keep in mind:

I am basically going to be deciding who wins the round by looking at the key framework in the round (whichever is established as the most supported framework in the round) and looking at my flow to see which side has the most arguments on the flow that support that framework. 

I am in general looking to see the big picture at the end of the debate, I do not want to decide the round based on details of definitions or small semantics. I prefer have bigger impacts linked back to the framework. 

Delivery: I am fine with speed but like tags and important information to be read slower. I will say clear if I can't understand the speed. 

I do understand progressive debate arguments like topicality, theory, DAs, Ks.

I am open to vote for them if I feel it is warranted within the round. I do not like to see progressive arguments for no reason or to just be confusing. If it is going to be run I want it to be well explained and it is your job to tell me how this is going to function in the round and why I should vote for it. Similar to avoiding nitpicky issues, I expect to see a justification for theory to be run.

Overall, I am looking for clarity, politeness, and a debater to show me exactly how they win the round.

I’m the head coach of the Mount Vernon HS Debate Team (WA).

I did policy debate in HS very, very long ago - but I’m not a traditionalist. (Bring on the progressive LD arguments-- I will listen to them, unlike my daughter, Peri, who is such a traditional LD'er.)

Add me to the email chain: kkirkpatrick@mvsd320.org

Please don’t be racist, homophobic, etc. I like sassy, aggressive debaters who enjoy what they do but dislike sullen, mean students who don't really care-- an unpleasant attitude will damage your speaker points.

Generally,

Speed: Speed hasn't been a problem but I don't tell you if I need you to be more clear-- I feel it's your job to adapt. If you don't see me typing, you probably want to slow down. I work in tabroom in WA state an awful lot, so my flowing has slowed. Please take that into consideration.

Tech = Truth: I’ll probably end up leaning more tech, but I won’t vote for weak arguments that are just blatantly untrue in the round whether or not your opponents call it out.

Arguments:

I prefer a strong, developed NEG strategy instead of running a myriad of random positions.

I love it when debaters run unique arguments that they truly believe and offer really high speaker points for this. (I'm not inclined to give high speaks, though.)

Any arguments that aren’t on here, assume neutrality.

Do like and will vote on:

T - I love a well-developed T battle but rarely hear one. I don't like reasonability as a standard-- it's lazy, do the work.

Ks - I like debaters who truly believe in the positions they’re running. I like critical argumentation but if you choose to run an alt of "embrace poetry" or "reject all written text", you had better fully embrace it. I’m in touch with most literature, but I need a lot of explanation from either side as to why you should win it in the final rebuttals.

Don’t like but will vote on if won:

“Debate Bad” - I DO NOT LIKE "Debate is Futile" arguments. Please don't tell me what we are doing has no point. I will listen to your analysis. I may even have to vote for it once in a while. But, it is not my preference. Want a happy judge? Don't tell me that how we are spending another weekend of our lives is wasting our time.

Very, very, very... VERY traditional LD - if you are reading an essay case, I am not the judge for you.

Not a huge fan of disclosure theory-- best to skip this.

Don’t like and won’t vote on:

Tricks.

Hello! I'm Peri (she/her) and I debated for Mount Vernon HS in Washington doing LD for 3 years in high school. I am also a part-time, de-facto assistant coach for the Mount Vernon team, and I'm starting my own at the school I currently teach at-- I've never really left the debate community, so I know a bit of the norms and I know what's going on. I have my Bachelor's in International Studies focused on Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East and North Africa, and my Master's in International Relations (meaning I know more about the Middle East than the average person) Here is my email if you need it... periannakb@gmail.com

Congress:

A huge pet peeve of mine is 3...2..1 and my time starts on my first word. I wont start your timer until you start speaking. I promise.

Substance > Style

Don't rehash, bring up new points prevalent to the debate. I love to see refutation particularly after the first two speeches. Please, lets move on if we are just going to say the same thing over and over.

Every time you speak in a session, it gives me more reasons to rank you at the end of the round. Fight to give those speeches and use questions! Don't let any of that direct questioning time go to waste!!!

LD:

A huge pet peeve of mine is 3...2..1 and my time starts on my first word. I wont start your timer until you start speaking. I promise.

I did traditional LD in high school. I am a traditional LD judge. You can run some arguments but disguise them as more traditional and focus on that style to keep me a happy judge. Take that into account. Don't spread I won't understand. Explain your arguments clearly and you'll be fine. No Meta-Ethics or trix.

Side note: Please make sure you are educated on the 2024 Jan/Feb LD topic... I don't want to hear arguments that are factually untrue, and I'm excited for well-informed debates that get into the depths of this subject! I've written articles on this topic that you could use as a card-- I know it well.

PF:

A huge pet peeve of mine is 3...2..1 and my time starts on my first word. I wont start your timer until you start speaking. I promise.

I'm judging more and more pufo these days. I like clear, well organized constructives. Don't just read everything one note. I appreciate that public forum is supposed to be different than LD and Policy. Keep it that way.

Random framework arguments about the intent of the topic aren't going to work for me. If things change in the status quo, you need to be prepared to discuss them.

Hello Debaters!

I competed in both LD and Policy while I was in high school; two years of both at open level. Ever since then, I've been judging both formats when available for quite a while, and as of late have begun picking up Policy, LD, and Public Forum ballots.

Due to my history, my judging style is still heavily based upon how I acted in round as a competitor. I rely predominantly on the flow, but I still strongly look to any well-constructed policy/case arguments in round.

Philosophy-wise, I am first and foremost a Tabula Rasa judge. Playing against a clean slate with your opponent (and with your partners) creates the most pure form of debate; it is in my mind that entering the round attempting to meta-game the debate by over-analyzing what your judge is biased towards butchers the debate itself. I will try my hardest in round to be as impartial and accepting as possible to begin with; however, I am human, and all humans have biases. If you can glean these (hopefully small) edges in round, then all the better for you!

The only other major factor of debate that I feel necessary highlighting is my perspective on K's/ Theory arguments. To put it bluntly, I will be having a much harder time accepting these arguments as compared to my judging peers. I've seen K's used almost exclusively as a method to steer the round toward a certain argument, regardless of resolution, as a form which are designed to be a lot less preparable than anything actually topical. I've had far too many negative experiences as a judge to accept any of these as a strategical decision; Anything short of a K being used for in-round insults is strongly discouraged.

1AC K's are right out.

As far as speed is concerned... It probably won't be much of an issue? I wasn't the fastest debater in the world, and I am a touch rusty, but I should be able to keep up with the speed of most standard debate rounds that I'm operating in. What may be an issue, however, is clarity. I will try my best to warn any and all debaters who are not speaking clearly in round, and if said warnings are ignored, your speeches will simply not be flowed.

One final note - I'm a judge, and judges like things easy for them. Concise, clear, and signposted speeches (especially towards the end of a round!) make it a lot easier for me to follow arguments without having to apply too much mental horsepower after the round, and it makes my life easier to make yours better. Please don't just blindly signpost covered arguments as dropped, however - I'm not quite that lazy!

-Eric McCormick

Hi Friends,

I am Nagu, a parent judge from Interlake High school, WA. I am very passionate about public speaking. From my elementary school to all the way till my Masters, I participated in competitive Oratorical events in India.

I judge Speech events and enjoy the experience of judging students' speech performance for the two reasons 1) it is a reliving moment of my speech event days, and 2)an opportunity to learn from and share constructive feedback.

As a judge, I will be impartial and be objective in my decision. Please note that I am a parent judge and therefore do not know debate or topic terminologies. If I don't understand what you are saying, I will not be able to take it into account for my final decision. To win my ballot, speak slowly, clearly, concisely, and confidently, and support your arguments with evidence and thoughtful analysis.

Prepare, Present and Persuade!

nraju@uw.edu

Debate is as much about learning as it is about winning.

•Speed: I’m comfortable with faster than conversational speed and if you’re too fast, I’ll hold up my pen high to indicate that I’ve stopped flowing.

•Organization: Clarity and structure are important and it helps me to flow your arguments. Tags are helpful. I’m good with off-time roadmaps.

•Extend your arguments: Please no surprises late in the debate. .

•Policy style arguments: I’m not a Policy judge. Make sure you explain your terms if you choose to go this route. I will not vote for arguments I don’t understand.

•Common decency:

Respect your judge. Respect your partner. Respect your opponent.

Avoid name-calling (EX: saying your opponent or an argument is stupid). That’s rude and also lazy debating.

Avoid yelling matches in crossfire.

Note: This is a paradigm for my local circuit. For nationals, i still judge similarly.

Background: I competed for a couple years with no particular accolades. I judge Congress a lot. If you see me as a judge in a debate event other than Congress, consider me a smart lay judge with little to no understanding of conventions of your event.

Frankly, Congress is not as complicated as other debate events. You only get three minutes, and there aren't a ton of different ways to argue compared to other debate events. That said, this is how I will judge you in Congress:

Preferences:

-Content matters a lot to me. Lots of judges say they don't like rehash, but I really mean it. If you are the 5th speaker you should probably reference what other speakers are saying. If you are the 15th speaker, please don't pretend your points are new. Flow the round, weigh the values of both sides and argue why the values of your side are the most important of the round. If you have evidence that suggests that your side should win a value that the other side has tried to claim, explain why your side should get that claim over the other, rather than just stating that you do and expecting that to be undisputed. If your speech would work as an authorship and you are not the author, you're not debating. You're giving a 3-minute oratory. If you don't understand how to do that, go watch any PF round and you'll probably see a higher amount of debating than I see in Congress.

-How good of a speaker you are will matter. I probably value your speaking ability less than most Congress judges in Washington, but it still will play a factor in how high you score and rank. Even though we are (supposedly) debating legislation, you're doing it in the form of a persuasive speech, and so all speech conventions apply here.

-Ask good questions. It's by far the easiest way to recognize who is paying attention and understands what's going on in the room. Any question that will be really obviously answered with either a yes or no answer is probably not contributing much to the debate. Ask lots of why questions, especially when speakers should be answering them in their speeches and failed to do so.

-Don't just read off a piece of paper. At least try to make eye contact. I understand why novices do this. I don't understand why open competitors do. It doesn't really feel like you're paying attention if your "contribution" to the round is reading a prepared statement. If speaking from bullet points makes you stutter or lose your train of thought a lot, practice your speeches until it doesn't. I would rather you be a little less polished but be more adaptive and open to your chamber, as long as I can still understand what you're arguing.

-Don't try to be too smart. I see lots of debaters try to be smarter than everyone with their "unique" points that have minimal impacts and/or don't make any sense at all. There's plenty of room for imagination in Congress, especially considering how interesting flaws in legislation can be, but run your point by someone smarter than you before you give it in round.

-Don't be a jerk. I'm a pretty informal judge because that's who I am as a person. I think there's value in making your participation in this event reflect who you are and what you believe. But don't be so loose that you insult people, make racist/sexist/ableist/homophobic/transphobic/any kind of hateful or derogatory comments. I do believe there is room for debate to be fun and also to not be insulting. Don't attack people, attack arguments.

Hi,

I am Sara Sprague, I go by she/her pronouns, and I am a sophomore at the University of Washington double majoring in Political Science and Law, Society, and Justice, with a minor in Environmental studies. I debated all through High School and did speech as well, attending nationals and nietoc as well as a couple national circuit tournaments. My main event was public forum, but I have competed in Duo, Oratory, DI, and POI as well.

FOR PF:

Evidence: Include author and year. I will believe anything your opponent says unless you call for it. If evidence seems fake, ask to see it.

Speed: I am fine with it as long as I can understand you.

Framework: If you really think it's important, fine. You must justify its importance

No new evidence 2nd Summary and later. No new arguments in Final Focus.

If you are rude or degrade your opponents or partner in anyway, it won't just affect your speaking points, it will influence your ability to win the round.

Former high school speech/debate competitor. Fifth year coaching speech/debate. It’s really important for me that you are clear, enunciate carefully and don’t speak so fast I can’t track your points. Sign posting is essential. Show me why you won your case. Focusing on impacts is also important to me.

This is my fourth year as a parent judge(speech mainly). I have judged in some national speech and debate events: NSDA national, TOC, NIETOC, etc. I emphasize on clarity and confidence in delivery. Do not spread. I need to understand you to rank you high.

LD Paradigm

LD Coach 10 years.

If I am your judge, please put me on your email chain. My email is, lwpco480193@outlook.com, prefer Aff to be topical. I prefer a traditional Value/Criterion debate. I like clear signposting, that opponents refer to when refuting each other. I also require evidence to uphold your warrants and link to your personal analysis. All affirmatives should have some kind of standard that they try to win, value/criterion. The negative is not necessarily tied to the same obligation. The affirmative generally has the obligation to state a case construction that generally affirms the truth of the resolution, and the negative can take whatever route they want to show how the affirmative is not doing that sufficiently.

When I see a traditional debate that clashes on fundamental issues involving framework, impacts, and what either side thinks, really matters in my weighing of the round, it makes deciding on who was the better debater during the round an easier process. I like debate that gets to the substantive heart of whatever the issue is. There are very few arguments I would actually consider apriori. My favorite debates are the kind where one side clearly wins the framework, whichever one they decide to go for. Voters are crucial in rebuttals, and a clear topicality link with warrents and weighted impacts, which are the best route for my ballot.

I will listen to a Kritik but you must link it to the debate in the room, related to the resolution in some way, for me to more likely to vote for it. I am biased toward topicality.

I hold theory to higher bar. I will most likely vote reasonability instead of competing interpretations. However, if I am given a clearly phrased justification for why I should accept a competing interpretation and it is insufficiently contested, there is a better chance that I will vote for a competing interpretation. You will need to emphasize this by slowing down, if you are spreading, slow down, speak a little louder, or tell me “this is paramount, flow this”.

Reasonability. I believe that theory is intervention and my threshold for voting on theory is high. I prefer engagement and clash with your opponent. If I feel like negative has spoken too quickly for an Affirmative to adequately respond during the round, or a Neg runs 2+ independent disadvantages that are likely impossible for a "think tank" to answer in a 4 minute 1AR, and the Affirmative runs abuse theory, and gives direct examples from Neg, I'll probably vote Affirmative. Common sense counts. You do not need a card to tell me that the Enola Gay was the plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.

Progressive Debates: I default Affirmative framework for establishing ground, I default Kritiks if there are clear pre-fiat/post-fiat justifications for a K debate instead of on-case debate.

Cross Examination

I do not flow cross examination. If there are any concessions in CX, you need to point them out in your next speech, for me to weigh them.

I'm fine with flex prep. I think debaters should be respectful and polite, and not look at each other. Cross examination concessions are binding, if your opponent calls them out in their next speech.

Speaker Points

If I do not understand what you are saying, don’t expect to receive anything higher than a 28. You will lose speaker points if your actions are disrespectful to either myself or to your opponent. I believe in decorum and will vote you down if you are rude or condescending toward your opponent. I do not flow “super spreading”. I need to understand what you are saying, so that I can flow it. I will say “slow” and “clear” once. If there is no discernable change, I will not bother to repeat myself. If you respond, slow down, then speed up again, I will say “slow” and/or “clear” again. For my ballot, clarity over quantity. Word economy over quantity. I reward debaters who try to focus on persuasive styles of speaking over debaters who speak at the same tone, pitch, cadence, the entire debate.

If something is factually untrue, and your opponent points it out, do not expect to win it as an argument.

Please give me articulate voters at the end of the NR and 2AR.

I disclose if it is the tournament norm.

If you are unclear about my paradigm, please ask before the round begins.

Public Forum Paradigm

RESPECT and DECORUM

1. Show respect to your opponent. No shouting down. Just a "thank you" to stop their answer. When finished with answer, ask your opponent "Do you have a question?" Please ask direct questions. Also, advocate for yourself, do not let your opponent "walk all over you in Crossfire".

2. Do not be sexist/racist/transphobic/homophobic/etc.... in round. Respect all humans.

I expect PF to be a contention level debate. There may be a weighing mechanism like "cost-benefit analysis" that will help show why your side has won the debate on magnitude. (Some call this a framework)

I like signposting of all of your contentions. Please use short taglines for your contentions. If you have long contentions, I really like them broken down into segments, A, B, C, etc. I appreciate you signposting your direct refutations of your opponents contentions.

I like direct clash.

All evidence used in your constructed cases should be readily available to your opponent, upon request. If you slow down the debate looking for evidence that is in your constructed case, that will weigh against you when I am deciding my ballot.

I do not give automatic losses for dropped contentions or not extending every argument. I let the debaters decide the important contentions by what they decide to debate.

In your summary speech, please let me know specifically why your opponents are loosing the debate.

In your final focus speech, please let me know specifically why you are winning the debate.