Last changed on
Fri June 30, 2023 at 5:50 AM CDT
hey there y’all! im sophie (they/them) and this is my paradigm yeehaw
i did public forum debate all through high school, along with interp, and i know diddly squat about policy or ld.
in terms of debate there’s a few things i look for in a round.
CLARITY:
if i cannot understand you, i cannot flow your arguments. yes, i am a flow judge, but i cannot catch everything. if something isn’t clearly said, or repeatedly said, it isn’t as important in the round to me. when it comes to speed, i can understand fairly well but DONT SPREAD. I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS HOLY. please don’t spread. i grew up on the iowa circuit with slower speed, don’t make my brain mush.
ARGUMENTS:
if you run anything discriminatory, it will be very hard for you to win that part of the flow for me.
i am tech > truth to an extent
you must clearly weigh, in summary and final focus especially. how do i know where to vote if you don’t tell me where you want me to vote? explain your weighing in your impacts, why your impacts outweigh your opponents, and why you have any offense at all.
it’s never too early to start weighing
make sure i *know* the story you’re trying to tell in your case. what’s your link chain? where’s the warranting? if i don’t see any clear link i don’t know how you access your impact.
i like cards, i really do. but if you don’t offer any analysis to explain why that card relates to the round, or the argument you’re making then yikes. on the other side of that coin, when it comes to analytical args those are swell and cool and what i used to do most of the time but make sure you have warranting on it.
i don’t flow cross. if there’s anything important from cross you want to bring onto the flow, make sure you explicitly say so, and say where on the flow it should go.
signpost or i scream.
first speaker NEEDS TO FRONT LINE NO MATTER WHAT!! second rebuttal should too.
collapse. please. make my flow look like a pretty pretty christmas tree. did you know triangles are the strongest shape? TRIANGLES ARE THE STRONGEST SHAPE FOR A FLOW!!
DECORUM:
if you are rich/white/male, make sure you check your privilege.
dont look down on your opponents, be respectful and courteous or i drop your speaks.
don’t be discriminatory, or i drop your speaks.
let your opponent finish talking in cross before you interrupt them. if they’re taking a bunch of time to answer, feel free to cut them off, but do so respectfully.
if you are dominating the round and you’re just being mean to your opponent or you’re not taking the round seriously, i’m going to drop your speaks.
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it’s very hard to get a perfect 30 in speaks, because everyone has room for growth. i wont score you lower than a 24 unless you say some completely out of pocket, heinous stuff. i’ll average most around 28-27.
MISC:
pf is supposed to be accessible to anyone, keep it that way
i love analogies, they make me giggle. if you can use an appropriate analogy for what you’re talking about, ur swag. but don’t be niche
pls use your word economy, i don’t wanna hear the same word round after round man, especially if it’s used incorrectly.
if ive judged you before on a topic and left notes of critique, i expect you to have followed it at least a little bit. debate is all about taking what judges give you feedback wise, and choosing what to work on for that. don’t stay in a stasis
heinous is a funny word.
don’t forget to BREAAATHHHEEEE. deeeeeep breathe in, deeeeeeeeeep breath out
use ur prep time
do not shake my hand. ever.
the most important thing (kind of) is to HAVE FUN. i know debate is stressful, but find the fun parts of it, and stick with it cause some times will be rough. you got it, and i believe in you
