Hello,

I am a student at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to college, I competed in speech and debate events for 8 years. My main events were LD, PF, DEX (a little FEX), PO, PR, SO and I went to nationals for world schools debate.

What I look for in debate rounds:

Civility. If you can not be civil in the round, you are not truly debating. It is okay to be passionate, but it is not okay to be rude.

Clarity. I do not want to struggle to understand you, your point, or what you are referring to.

What I look for in speech events:

Emotion. I want to feel something. If it's a humorous piece, I want to laugh. If it is dramatic, I want to feel the sorrow.

Quality selection. If you are doing a piece or a topic I have heard a million times, chances are you are not the best rendition I've ever heard. If you are doing a piece and someone else in the room is doing a similar one you will automatically be pitted against each other, so be wary of using common pieces/authors.

Overall, have fun. If you care about what you are doing, I promise it will show.

Best of luck.

Tab rasa etc

Lost brain cells are exchanged with speaks

This will be my 2nd ear judging. Being relatively new to judging, I really appreciate when the flow of the debate or forum is clearly called out (i.e. contentions, subpoints, voting issues). If I have to guess whether or not a competitor clearly rebutted a contention, or is stating a voting issue, I often assume it was not addressed.