I am a marketing and product development executive for a global technology company based in Charlotte, NC.

Please be prepared, follow the time rules, and stay on topic.

Make sure that all of your arguments, especially those containing definitions and statistics, come from a reliable sources.

A well prepared argument framework should be obvious.

Being courteous to your opponent is mandatory.

Dear all,

I am Ramanathan (Ram) working for an IT company in Greenville, SC. I was born and raised in India and immigrated to the US 14 years ago.

I enjoy judging speech and debate (especially your round) and it’s great to be part of this event which not only helps to shape the life and future of the students but also for myself with a greater understanding of current issues and topics.

I’m fluent in English but I would appreciate it if you (debaters) can avoid jargon as well as speaking too fast. I remain a judge/spectator for the entire part of the debate and step in if and only there is a need (exceeding time limit, inappropriate language, etc.). Also, I keep time for the entire round just to make sure the burden is not on the debaters.

It’s great to meet you all and look forward to judging your event. All the very best!!

Coach for 20 years- judged all events. Important- link of claims back to value structure, moderate speaking pace is very much appreciated. I flow rounds and use the flow to guide my decision but do not drop debaters just for not extending all arguments cleanly. I like to hear logical fallacies called out as much as I like to hear logic employed in a round.

I am generally a flow judge and can follow fast paced debate.

Framework should be established and followed throughout the round. Tell me why your framework is superior and back up your claim with evidence in contentions. If there is no framework debate, the round will rely on weighing evidence in contentions.

Contentions should be clearly stated with supporting evidence and analysis. Your evidence should be fully explained and analyzed as to its impact on the debate. I prefer evidence be referred to by subject/topic throughout the round rather than simply the author's name. Know your evidence well enough defend it in cross-examination.

Your case should be organized, focused and come to a reasonable conclusion that convinces me to vote in your favor. Failure to communicate the importance of evidence, weighing values and impacts, or extending key arguments may result in a loss.

Email Chain: megan.butt@charlottelatin.org

Charlotte Latin School (2022-), formerly at Providence (2014-22).

Trad debate coach -- I flow, but people read that sometimes and think they don't need to read actual warrants? And can just stand up and scream jargon like "they concede our delink on the innovation turn so vote for us" instead of actually explaining how the arguments interact? I can't do all that work for you.

GENERAL:

COMPARATIVELY weigh ("prefer our interp/evidence because...") and IMPLICATE your arguments ("this is important because...") so that I don't have to intervene and do it for you. Clear round narrative is key!

If you present a framework/ROB, I'll look for you to warrant your arguments to it. Convince me that the arguments you're winning are most important, not just that you're winning the "most" arguments.

Please be clean: signpost, extend the warrant (not just the card).

I vote off the flow, so cross is binding, but needs clean extension in a speech.

I do see debate as a "game," but a game is only fun if we all understand and play by the same rules. We have to acknowledge that this has tangible impacts for those of us in the debate space -- especially when the game harms competitors with fewer resources. You can win my ballot just as easily without having to talk down to a debater with less experience, run six off-case arguments against a trad debater, or spread on a novice debater who clearly isn't able to spread. The best (and most educational) rounds are inclusive and respectful. Adapt.

Not a fan of tricks.

LD:

Run what you want and I'll be open to it. I tend to be more traditional, but can judge "prog lite" LD -- willing to entertain theory, non-topical K's, phil, LARP, etc. Explanation/narrative/context is still key, since these are not regularly run in my regional circuit and I am for sure not as well-read as you. Please make extra clear what the role of the ballot is, and give me clear judge instruction in the round (the trad rounds I judge have much fewer win conditions, so explain to me why your arguments should trigger my ballot. If I can't understand what exactly your advocacy is, I can't vote on it.)

PF:

Please collapse the round!

I will consider theory, but it's risky to make it your all-in strategy -- I have a really high threshold in PF, and because of the time skew, it's pretty easy to get me to vote for an RVI. It's annoying when poorly constructed shells get used as a "cheat code" to avoid actually debating substance.

CONGRESS:

Argument quality and evidence are more important to me than pure speaking skills & polish.

Show me that you're multifaceted -- quality over quantity. I'll always rank someone who can pull off an early speech and mid-cycle ref or late-cycle crystal over someone who gives three first negations in a row.

I reward flexibility/leadership in chamber: be willing to preside, switch sides on an uneven bill, etc.

WORLDS:

Generally looking for you to follow the norms of the event: prop sets the framework for the round (unless abusive), clear intros in every speech, take 1-2 points each, keep content and rhetoric balanced.

House prop should be attentive to motion types -- offer clear framing on value/fact motions, and a clear model on policy motions.

On argument strategy: I'm looking for the classic principled & practical layers of analysis. I place more value on global evidence & examples.

I am a parent judge with two years judging LD. While I prefer that you don't talk too fast or spread, that's your decision, but keep in mind if I cannot track what you're saying, that won't be to your advantage. In fairness, I need to be able to understand what you're saying in order to judge its merits.

I take a lot of notes and will be heads down - but I will be very engaged. Please make it clear what's important to your case or detracts from your opponent's. Please don’t run progressive debate.

By your final focus or last speech, you should have made a convincing case why your impacts or value out-weigh your opponent's. And in keeping with the rules of debate, do not bring up any new arguments in the second half of a round, or they will be disregarded.

You can sit or stand, either are fine.

If time approaches, I usually let you finish your thought up to about :10 seconds. If you start a new thought after time has elapsed, I'll end that segment. I will not take points off for that.

If you ask for X minutes for prep time, I'll let you know when that time has elapsed. However, it's your time, so if you want to keep going that's perfectly fine.

Unless we're in higher levels of competition with multiple judges, I won't reveal my decision or give feedback after the round, but I do make every effort to leave notes in tabroom for the round and each individual.

I very much enjoy the competition of debate and look forward to judging your round. Good luck and have fun!

Concept Explanation

CREI ORGANIZATION STRATEGY: CREI is an acronym that stands for claim, reasoning, evidence, and impact. The claim should tell the judge what you are arguing. The reasoning should show why your claim is true in your own words. The evidence should show why your claim is true using the words of another. The impact should tell the judge why your argument matters.

RIOT METHOD: RIOT is an acronym that stands for reduce, indict, outweigh, and turn. Reducing your opponent’s arguments means to put the arguments into perspective. Putting your opponent’s arguments into perspective includes breaking the argument down into its core components to show the judge the ridiculousness of the argument, or you can take the weight of their argument and compare it to the other numbers that make the weight of their argument seem small. Indicting your opponent’s arguments is the most common form of refutation. You can indict your opponent based on flawed logic and bad evidence. Outweigh is when you look at the impacts of your arguments and your opponent’s and tell the judge why your impacts have a greater weight using IMPACT CALCULUS. Turning is taking your opponent’s argument and using it to benefit your side. If your opponent presents an argument and you notice it helps your side the same or more than your opponent’s point that out and explain why to the judge.

THREE-POINT REFUTATION STRATEGY:Three-point refutation breaks down the refutation process in an easy-to-manage way. The first step is to say, “my opponent said _______.” Then you follow up by saying “my opponent is wrong because _______.” Then you end by saying “this error is significant because _________.”

VOTER ISSUES:Voter issues give the judge criteria to vote on other than his own. Providing these voter issues will allow you to demonstrate to the judge why you have won the round. Common votes include better evidence, rhetoric, and greater impact weight.

WORLD COMPARISON:World comparisons are a persuasive way to demonstrate to the judge what is happening in the aff/neg (pro/con) worlds. World comparison tells the judge what the world would like if he voted for one side or the other and illustrates why one world is more/less desirable than the other.

IMPACT CALCULUS:Impact calculus is an easy way to illustrate to the judge why your arguments have more weight than your opponent’s. Impacts can have a greater weight depending on timeframe, scope, magnitude, and probability. Timeframe compares how soon the consequences of the impact will happen. Scope observes how many people the impact will affect. Magnitude explains how bad/good the consequences of the impact are (think getting sick vs. dying). Probability measures how likely the impact is to happen.

Lincoln Douglas

Judging Criterion:

I primarily judge on how the debaters engage with the values presented because LD boils down to the values. Focusing on the values requires great LD debaters to rely on mostly rhetoric, philosophy, theory, and history to support their arguments. Using studies and other academic journal works would prove insufficient in LD when they stand alone because the findings only serve to illustrate debaters’ reasoning. Because debaters’ main reliance comes from their own reasoning, they should maintain a conversational pace when speaking.

The next quality I look for in both debaters is accomplishing the goal of each speech for the debate.For constructive speeches, the debaters should focus on communicating their main arguments to the judge, except for negative using some time to refute the affirmative’s contentions of course.To communicate their constructive arguments clearly,debaters should use the CREI ORGANIZATION STRATEGY or a similar strategy (explanation above).

During cross-examination,debaters asking questions should make sure to only ask questions that let them gain information for their refutation, however,please do not only ask yes/no questions,give your opponent the chance to slip up when they are over-explaining an answer to one of your questions. The questions should be concise so the opponent cannot claim to “not understand” your question and waste your CX time, and the questioner should not let opponents waste their CX time by giving long answers. Therefore,questioners should let their opponent answer their question plus one sentence and then politely cut them off.The questions a debater asks should indict one of three elements in an opponent’s case: reasoning, evidence quality, and impact weight.Debaters answering questions should keep their answers concise and answer only what their opponents asked them, so they do not accidentally give their opponent more ammo for when they start their refutation speech. However, when answering questions,you should not only answer with a “yes” or “no.”You need to explain why the answer is “yes” or “no,” especially when a “yes” or “no” answer damages your argument in the eyes of the public.

During refutation speeches, debaters need to focus on both attacking their opponent’s arguments and bolstering their own. For attacking,debaters should use the RIOT METHOD (explanation above). Along with this method,debaters can use the THREE-POINT REFUTATION STRATEGY(explanation above).For bolstering arguments, debaters should not just repeat their argument in different words; instead,debaters should try to focus on what their opponents said and counter the reasoning or evidence their opponents used during refutations.

Finally,debaters should end the round with a strong closing speech.Strong closing speeches NEVER summarize what each debater said during the round. Instead,strong closing speeches tell the judge why you won the round.The best methods to use to tell the judge how you won include VOTER ISSUES,WORLD COMPARISON, and IMPACT CALCULUS(explanations above). Debaters should also make sure to relate their concluding arguments back to their value and why their value should be preferred during the round.

During all these speeches,debaters should relate all that they say in support of their side back to their value. Remember this is a debate about VALUES. Therefore,the debater who convinces the judge to prefer their value wins the round.Without convincing the judge to prefer your value, you will miss the whole purpose of this format and probably lose.These are the strategies that will make you a great LD debater.

Breakdown:

CONTENT: 70%

Values – 30%

Logical Reasoning – 10%

Impacts – 20%

Supporting Materials – 10%

SPEAKING: 30%

Conversational Pace – 15%

Non-fluencies – 10%

Tone and Non-verbals – 5%

Hi! I am a parent judge for LD, but I have been judging tournaments for a while. I heavily prefer traditional cases (no theory, K's, etc.); counterplans are fine. No spreading, do not be condescending, racist, homophobic, sexist, or anything that attacks a debater's personal beliefs or identification, else I will drop you. I flow crossx, as it is binding. I do not appreciate post rounding, unless you are truly confused and want to understand the outcome better.

Tech>Truth

Good luck and have fun!

I am a parent volunteer and this is my first year judging LD debate.

I look for well-constructed arguments that are organized, focused, and effectively integrate value and criteria. Contentions should be clear stated, and supporting evidence clearly cited. I value quality over quantity.

Delivery is important to me. You will do well to speak clearly and at a conversational pace so that I can hear you, understand what you are saying, and digest the points/arguments you are making. Speaking excessively fast/spreading will not be helpful. Being clear, professional and courteous will.

I'm a first time volunteer and I've read over some information about this topic and watched a demo video, but I'm new to judging.

Please keep your delivery slow and clear. I appreciate clear analysis of why you should win in the final rebuttals. Good luck and have fun.

I'm a first time volunteer and I've read over some information about this topic and watched a demo video, but I'm new to judging.

Please keep your delivery slow and clear. I appreciate clear analysis of why you should win in the final rebuttals. Good luck and have fun.

I am a parent of a student at Asheville High School and this is my first time judging. Please speak clearly and not too fast. I look forward to participating in this event. 

I would prefer everybody to be respectful, and enjoy information driven arguments over being fast and overly persuasive

Venkata Gontla

Be respectful, talk at a reasonable pace (no spreading). I'll be flowing, but to make the round as clear as possible, extend and explain your arguments throughout the round. Make sure to explain more complex warrants or philosophy clearly.

Just signpost, make logical arguments, and respond to your opponents' arguments and you will get good speaker points.

Quality over quantity is most important.

Please speak clearly.

Show confidence in your argument.

Hi, my name is Shelley Holland. I am a parent judge and a teacher. I primarily judge LD.

Value: The value debate is very important and you should weave your value into your contentions and throughout the debate. Values are key voter issues for me.

Speed: If I can't understand you, I can't flow it. Be sure to speak clearly.

CX: I don't flow CX, but if you bring up CX in rebuttal - that is fine.

Time: I will also keep time. I will not evaluate anything that is said after the allotted time.

Make sure to have a clear link chain with clear impacts.

I prefer an analytical debate where you are interacting with your opponent's argument.

I am a lay judge. Convince me on why the world you create is better than your opponent's.

Being courteous to your opponent is a requirement. Have fun!

I am a citizen judge and a parent of a competitor. This is my 6th year as a judge for LD and PFD. I have judged local tournaments in South Carolina and a few National Circuit Tournaments.

The quality of your arguments is more important than the quantity of your arguments. I will reflect after the debate on who won the debate. Memorable examples relevant to your argument and insightful logic to explain the reasons behind your position can be decisive at this moment of reflection.

Explanation of your evidence and its relevance to your case is more important than the relative credibility of your sources versus the sources of your opponent’s evidence. I will ask myself if I “buy” your argument based on your explanation of the evidence and its relevance.

Enunciation is important so that I can understand your points. Brisk speaking is fine, but don’t sacrifice my ability to understand you, especially in a virtual environment.

Debate the actual resolution. Tell me why it matters and what the stakes are.

Overall, don’t make me work too hard. If you and your opponent were attorneys, which one of you would I hire to defend me in court?

Hello, I’m Bella! I am a junior in college at Pitzer. I have never judged debate before, so please do not use any jargon and be as lay as possible. The message you deliver will be equally as important as how you deliver it. Use persuasive examples and rhetoric to your advantage and you will be on track to win.

I am now an experienced parent judge. You may debate any way that you prefer. I am impressed with debaters who really understand their research and can organize their positions in a coherent way. I am less impressed with debaters who use words they don't understand or appear to be reading off the page something that someone else wrote. However, I applaud the efforts of all debaters and think this activity is an admirable use of your time.

Amy Love Klett

I am the Speech and Debate Coach at Carolina Day School in Asheville, NC.

Our program at Carolina Day focuses on Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and some speech events. In competition, I primarily judge Lincoln-Douglas.

I will always be flowing debates and will be familiar with the topics. I hear a lot of debates and can handle speed, but speed cannot come at the expense of clarity. If I can’t understand what you are saying and get it down on the flow, I won’t be able to weigh it later in the round.

I value frameworks in PF. If you don’t have a framework in the constructive, I will assume we are employing a cost-benefit analysis.

I judge primarily on a traditional local circuit. I'm open to progressive argumentation, but it will need to be clearly explained and clearly connected to the topic.

Concept Explanation

CREI ORGANIZATION STRATEGY: CREI is an acronym that stands for claim, reasoning, evidence, and impact. The claim should tell the judge what you are arguing. The reasoning should show why your claim is true in your own words. The evidence should show why your claim is true using the words of another. The impact should tell the judge why your argument matters.

RIOT METHOD: RIOT is an acronym that stands for reduce, indict, outweigh, and turn. Reducing your opponent’s arguments means to put the arguments into perspective. Putting your opponent’s arguments into perspective includes breaking the argument down into its core components to show the judge the ridiculousness of the argument, or you can take the weight of their argument and compare it to the other numbers that make the weight of their argument seem small. Indicting your opponent’s arguments is the most common form of refutation. You can indict your opponent based on flawed logic and bad evidence. Outweigh is when you look at the impacts of your arguments and your opponent’s and tell the judge why your impacts have a greater weight using IMPACT CALCULUS. Turning is taking your opponent’s argument and using it to benefit your side. If your opponent presents an argument and you notice it helps your side the same or more than your opponent’s point that out and explain why to the judge.

THREE-POINT REFUTATION STRATEGY: Three-point refutation breaks down the refutation process in an easy-to-manage way. The first step is to say, “my opponent said _______.” Then you follow up by saying “my opponent is wrong because _______.” Then you end by saying “this error is significant because _________.”

VOTER ISSUES: Voter issues give the judge criteria to vote on other than his own. Providing these voter issues will allow you to demonstrate to the judge why you have won the round. Common votes include better evidence, rhetoric, and greater impact weight.

WORLD COMPARISON: World comparisons are a persuasive way to demonstrate to the judge what is happening in the aff/neg (pro/con) worlds. World comparison tells the judge what the world would like if he voted for one side or the other and illustrates why one world is more/less desirable than the other.

IMPACT CALCULUS: Impact calculus is an easy way to illustrate to the judge why your arguments have more weight than your opponent’s. Impacts can have a greater weight depending on timeframe, scope, magnitude, and probability. Timeframe compares how soon the consequences of the impact will happen. Scope observes how many people the impact will affect. Magnitude explains how bad/good the consequences of the impact are (think getting sick vs. dying). Probability measures how likely the impact is to happen.

CLASH: Clash illustrates to the judge where each side differs from the other. If both sides have different arguments, but two deal with healthcare in some fashion, one of the clashes for that debate would be “healthcare.”

Lincoln Douglas

Judging Criterion:

I primarily judge on how the debaters engage with the values presented because LD boils down to the values. Focusing on the values requires great LD debaters to rely on mostly rhetoric, philosophy, theory, and history to support their arguments. Using studies and other academic journal works would prove insufficient in LD when they stand alone because the findings only serve to illustrate debaters’ reasoning. Because debaters’ main reliance comes from their own reasoning, they should maintain a conversational pace when speaking.

The next quality I look for in both debaters is accomplishing the goal of each speech for the debate. For constructive speeches, the debaters should focus on communicating their main arguments to the judge, except for negative using some time to refute the affirmative’s contentions of course. To communicate their constructive arguments clearly, debaters should use the CREI ORGANIZATION STRATEGY or a similar strategy (explanation above).

During cross-examination, debaters asking questions should make sure to only ask questions that let them gain information for their refutation, however, please do not only ask yes/no questions, give your opponent the chance to slip up when they are over explainingan answer to one of your questions. The questions should be concise so the opponent cannot claim to “not understand” your question and waste your CX time, and the questioner should not let opponents waste their CX time by giving long answers. Therefore, questioners should let their opponent answer their question plus one sentence and then politely cut them off. The questions a debater asks should indict one of three elements in an opponent’s case: reasoning, evidence quality, and impact weight. Debaters answering questions should keep their answers concise and answer only what their opponents asked them, so they do not accidentally give their opponent more ammo for when they start their refutation speech. However, when answering questions, you should not only answer with a “yes” or “no.” You need to explain why the answer is “yes” or “no,” especially when a “yes” or “no” answer damages your argument in the eyes of the public.

During refutation speeches, debaters need to focus on both attacking their opponent’s arguments and bolstering their own. For attacking, debaters should use the RIOT METHOD (explanation above). Along with this method, debaters can use the THREE-POINT REFUTATION STRATEGY (explanation above). For bolstering arguments, debaters should not just repeat their argument in different words; instead, debaters should try to focus on what their opponents said and counter the reasoning or evidence their opponents used during refutations.

Finally, debaters should end the round with a strong closing speech. Strong closing speeches NEVER summarize what each debater said during the round. Instead, strong closing speeches tell the judge why you won the round. The best methods to use to tell the judge how you won include VOTER ISSUES, WORLD COMPARISON, and IMPACT CALCULUS (explanations above). Debaters should also make sure to relate their concluding arguments back to their value and why their value should be preferred during the round.

During all these speeches, debaters should relate all that they say in support of their side back to their value. Remember this is a debate about VALUES. Therefore, the debater who convinces the judge to prefer their value wins the round. Without convincing the judge to prefer your value, you will miss the whole purpose of this format and probably lose. These are the strategies that will make you a great LD debater.

Breakdown:

· Content: 70%

o Values – 30%

o Logical Reasoning – 10%

o Impacts – 20%

o Supporting Materials – 10%

· Speaking: 30%

o Conversational Pace – 15%

o Non-fluencies – 10%

o Tone and Nonverbals – 5%

Public Forum

Judging Criterion:

The primary quality I look for in a public forum is great teamwork and support. One of the primary aspects of PF is learning how to deliver a cohesive argument with another person. If PF debaters don’t acquire this skill, the whole educational experience in PF becomes lost. The secondary qualities I look for in a great PF team are accomplishing the goal of each section of the debate and using proper argumentation strategies.

The easiest way to show great teamwork in PF debate is to watch how members of the same party support each other in the British parliament. When party members representing the same party give a great speech in parliament, their fellow party members will knock or smack the table to applaud their efforts. Using this same model, I encourage all PF debaters to knock or smack the table loud enough for me to hear to demonstrate public support for their partner. Some judges may not like the noise though, so for other judges, I suggest nodding your head instead.

The more difficult way to illustrate teamwork in PF debate is to make sure you and your partner are on the same page when speaking. I cannot tell you how many times PF partners have contradicted each other in later speeches all because they were not on the same page. Therefore, PF debaters need to make sure all the arguments they make are cohesive. The best way to maintain cohesive arguments is to take notes on what your partner said during their speech(es). If you tune out your partner’s speeches, contradictions become more likely because you cannot remember what your partner said.

Now, let’s move on to discussing how to accomplish the goal of each speech. Constructive speeches carry a lot of weight because the constructive speech introduces your side’s arguments. During this time, the first speakers should solely focus on introducing their main arguments and not refuting or producing counterarguments against their opponents.

I know crossfire comes next, but I’ll get into it later because it deserves its own section at the end. For now, let’s move on to the rebuttal speeches. The rebuttal speech is the time when one of my pet peeves for PF gets triggered. Sometimes the second speaker for either side will start introducing completely new arguments. You should NOT introduce new arguments in the rebuttal speech. What you should do for the rebuttal speech is refute the opposing side's arguments, and the team B second speakers should defend their side. This is one of the speeches other than the final focus where you can put into practice your table knocking and smacking skills.

The summary speech is the trickiest speech to understand for a PF novice. Though this speech is titled “summary speech,” the speech itself should not just summarize everything that both sides have said during the debate. Instead, the summary speech should boil down the debate to the main CLASHES (explanation above). Identifying the clashes will help your partner with the final focus speech as well because identifying the clashes sets up and outline for what the final speech from your team will cover.

Between the summary speech and final focus speech, a PF team can show off just how well they work together. The final focus is not meant to rehash any old arguments or continue your side’s refutations. The final focus speech needs to tell the judge why your team won the round based on the identified clashes. The best way to demonstrate how your team won is by identifying how your team’s side either solves or has a greater weight on each of the clashes using IMPACT CALCULUS.

The last section of the PF format I will explain is the crossfire. Teams should share the crossfire time as equally as they can, so each person has the chance to ask and answer questions. If the teams do not share the crossfire time equally, it will appear as if one team is badgering the other or one team will appear less competent. For the first crossfire, the questions should focus on gathering answers your partner can use during the rebuttal speech. These questions should indict one of three elements of your opponents’ arguments: logical reasoning, evidence quality, and impact weight. The second crossfire should focus on figuring out where both sides differ so the debater giving the summary speech has an easier time identifying the clashes. The grand crossfire needs to focus on asking questions that get your opponents to concede to your identified clashes. Questions would include challenging the other team’s chosen clashes by making them admit that their clashes do not relate to the topic or are too narrow in scope for the topic.

Now, I’ll briefly explain my preferred method of argumentation. Every argument a debater makes should follow the CREI ORGANIZATION STRATEGY (explanation above) or a similar strategy. For this format, your support should come from reasoning, studies, theory, and history. Using philosophy is not worth it in this format, because there is not enough time to cover the depth of the principles. As for speaking rate, debaters should use conversational or slightly faster to ensure the judge understands their arguments. For refutation, debaters should use the RIOT METHOD (explanation above) and the THREE-POINT REFUTATION STRATEGY. These are the methods you can use to become a great PF team.

Breakdown:

· Content: 70%

o Impacts – 30%

o Logical Reasoning – 10%

o Clashes – 20%

o Supporting Materials – 10%

· Speaking: 30%

o Conversational Pace – 15%

o Non-fluencies – 10%

o Tone and Nonverbals – 5%

I am a parent volunteer judge. I prefer that you do not talk too fast or spread, so that I am able to fully understand what you are saying. Thank you and good luck!

I've been judging LD debate since the fall of 2000. I prefer more conversation delivery as opposed to spread. I still put a lot of weight into framework arguments vs my card is better than your card arguments. Speaking of that it is possible to persuade without a card if using a common sense argument it then falls upon the opponent to use common sense to rebut the argument rather than just: "My opponent doesn't have a card for that." This does not apply to specific amounts. For example, if you were to claim that Mossism has 50,000 adherents, I'd need a card. Common sense arguments follow lines of basic logic. Also, please please please please Signpost as you go down the flow.

I am an ex-traditional policy debate coach (Stock issues judge) who has been coaching LD since 1990. I usually administrate tournaments rather than judge except when I have been at Catholic Nat's and NSDA Nat's.

Speed: Adapt to the judge who prefers a few well-developed arguments to spreading. I will flow as fast as I can, but it is up to you to communicate to me the compelling/persuasive reasons why you should earn the ballot. Speak clearly and articulate your words and you'll do fine.

Flex Prep. No. Speak within the time constraints and use prep time to see Evidence.

Evidence Challenge: If you doubt the veracity of evidence, then challenge it at the next available opportunity. Remember evidence challenges are all or none. If the evidence has been proven to be altered or conjured, then your opponent loses. If the evidence is verifiable and has NOT been materially altered, then you lose for the specious challenge.

Arguments: A few well-reasoned claims, warrants, and impacts are very persuasive as opposed to a laundry list of underdeveloped assertions/arguments.

Theory Arguments: Not a big fan of sitting in judgment of the topic and/or its framers with critiques. But I do weigh the issue of topicality as germane if made during the constructives.

Philosophy: It's been labeled Value debate for a reason. I encourage the discussion of scholarly philosophies.

Framework: There is a Value that each side is pursuing as their goal. There is a value criterion that is used to measure the accrual of the VP. The last steps include why the Value is superior and why the VC is the best way to measure that value.

Decision-Rule. While repetition often aids learning, I prefer that you tell me what the established standard for judging the round has been and why your arguments have met/exceeded the threshold. Write the ballot for me.

PFD: I have coached and judged PFD since the event started.

I prefer a framework and a few well-developed arguments to the spread. Point keywords as you read your case. Be polite in C-X and ask closed-ended questions. Tell me why your arguments are better by weighing impacts.

Ryan Parimi - Lincoln-Douglas Paradigm

Email: ryan.parimi@gmail.com

About me:

• UGA law student
• I coach/teach college, high school, and middle school debate (LD, PF, WS, Parli)
• I did congressional debate and moot court in college
• I coach college moot court and high school and middle school mock trial
• I started my university's debate program
• I've taught summer debate camps at Yale, Drew, U. of Washington, and even one way out in Jakarta, Indonesia

General Debate Stuff:

• A coach once called me a debate "hipster"; though I enjoy a lot of the more progressive arguments, my philosophy of debate still centers on clear argumentation and conversational, persuasive speech. After all, you’re trying to win me—not just win arguments in a vacuum. I want to be convinced. Talk to me, don't just talk at me.
• I like aspects of both traditional and circuit debate. I wish the traditional community wouldn't let its fear of everything turning into policy keep it from adopting some helpful circuit norms, and I wish the circuit community would stop trying to convince itself that a total departure from traditional debate turns the activity into anything but an esoteric game with no real-life application.
• Examples of cases that would be great for my taste: a Cap K that links reasonably to the resolution, argued in a more traditional style; a traditional case that demonstrates a deep understanding of the philosophy behind its framework; a tech case that restores my faith in humanity by making semi-reasonable arguments and doesn't force me to flow 10 subpoints of copy-paste garbage from the debate wiki.
• Tech over truth (within reason). You should probably run your tech case for me if you're torn between tech and lay.
• I actually know all of the NSDA's evidence rules.

Speed:

• Prioritize clarity. Spreading is lame, but I can flow it and won't vote you down solely because you chose to spread. If you spread, please be good at it: your articulation better not go down the drain, you better stay organized, etc. Bad spreading will tank your speaker points. Email me your case or give me a printed copy before the round if you plan on spreading.

Framework:

• I’m fine with traditional and more modern frameworks. Just make whatever you’re using clear. Be aware that I have a very good understanding of the philosophy behind most frameworks...don't try to BS me on Kant or Rawls or something. I will know. That being said, I believe it's on the debaters to call each other out on stuff like that. I'm going to flow it unless it's crazy.

• Please don't throw the framework debate away. It makes LD unique.

Kritiks and Theory:

• I come from a pretty traditional circuit, but a well-developed K could certainly convince me. Similar to the philosophy behind traditional frameworks, I'm familiar with the critical theories behind most Ks.

• Theory arguments are fine when there's actual abuse--just explain clearly. Save RVIs for egregious things.
• I hate disclo and will not vote on it with one exception. Look: disclo sucks, and I'm not even sure why we still let people get away with trying to win on disclo in 2024. Part of debate is learning how to analyze and respond to arguments on the fly. Yes, it's hard. No, I'm not going to give you a win for whining about it being hard. Here's the one exception: if you didn't share your case and you're spreading so fast that flowing is nearly impossible, I will give you the L if your opponent runs disclo.

Other random stuff:

• I like reading Alexander Pope, collecting shoes, listening to Chinese rap, and exploring Marxist criticism.

• I will follow the NSDA rules for LD whenever questions that the rules address come up. I follow tradition for pretty much anything else. If you have questions about specific preferences, just ask before the round.

Hello Debaters,

My name is Yogesh Patil, I'm from Charlotte and I work in Information Tech. This is my second time judging Lincoln Douglas debate. I am from Ardrey Kell High school. Im very much of what you guys may call a "lay judge" and i prefer if you explain link chains thoroughly and slowly. In general, the easier you make it to understand, the more i can make sense. Please speak slowly and don't use rude or offensive language.

Thanks!

I am the Director of Forensics and head LD coach at Cary Academy. I would describe myself as a neo-traditionalist. I follow a traditional approach to LD with some notable exceptions. I am a typical traditionalist in that I prefer a debate centered on a common sense, reasonable, good faith interpretation of the resolution; and I believe speakers should emphasize effective communication and practice the habits of fine public speaking during the debate. I differ from many traditionalists in that I am not a fan of the value premise and criterion, and that I do not believe that LD arguments have to be based on broad philosophical concepts, but rather should be as specific to the particular resolution as possible. If you want to win my ballot you should focus on developing a clear position and showing how it is superior to the position put forth by your opponent. You should not attempt to make more arguments than your opponent can respond to so that you can extend them in rebuttal. In my opinion most rounds are not resolved by appeals to authority. The original analysis and synthesis of the debater is vastly more important to me than cards. For further insight on my views please consult these following articles I have written for the Rostrum:

http://debate.uvm.edu/NFL/rostrumlib/ld%20Pellicciotta0202.pdf,

https://debate.uvm.edu/NFL/rostrumlib/Luong%20RJ%20PresumptionNov'00.pdf

I am in my first year of judging speech and debate.

I appreciate when speakers talk at a normal rate and tone and are easy to hear and understand. I appreciate fewer points that are thoughtful and well articulated, rather than a wide variety of comments that are difficult to follow and track. I appreciate when speakers stay within the chosen framework and topic, and treat other debaters with respect and kindness. I hope each speaker is enjoying themselves and this opportunity. Good luck!

Sincerely, Liz Schall

Please speak at a slower pace so I can fully understand what is being said.

I am a parent judge volunteer and this is my first time judging LD. I prefer that you don't talk too fast or spread - I need to be able to understand what you're saying in order to judge its merits.

I will take notes and try to judge on the flow. For PF, please clearly articulate your contentions, back them up with warrants and support with strong evidence. I don't fully flow Crossfire or Cross-Ex, so anything important that you want noted, please extend in your next speech, and make it clear why it's important to your case or detracts from your opponent's. Please don’t run progressive debate unless something extreme has happened in the round, I will not know how to evaluate it.

By your final focus or last speech, you should have made a convincing case why your impacts or value out-weigh your opponent's. And in keeping with the rules of debate, do not bring up any new arguments in the second half of a round, or they will be disregarded. Good luck and have fun!”

Mostly a LD judge, have judged PF . Not a fan of spread debate, will not discredit anyone who does though.. No biased in my judging, who ever holds there value & case with the resolution wins the round.

This paradigm is written mostly for LD debates, which I frequently judge. Towards the end, I have specifics for PF debates, which I also judge, though less frequently.

What preferences do you have, as a judge?

Any progressive arguments, tricks, theories, I can't evaluate. Substantive arguments only, please.

Keep in mind that I am a lay judge. Most lay judges don't have knowledge of or even interest of knowing the nitty-gritty of public debates, and I am certainly one of that kind. You can think of lay judges as ordinary Americans watching politicians debating on TV, or as jurors sitting in a civil court and watching lawyers presenting their cases.

Generally speaking, if you defend your contentions well and put serious dents on your opponent's, you would have a good chance of winning the debate.

In a neck-and-neck round where AFF is winning this argument but NEG is winning the other, I would weigh the importance of each argument. If that still cannot break the tie, it may boil down to tiny things here and there that I won't elaborate here. Fortunately, I rarely had to do a coin flip for tie-breaker.

Logistics

I prefer normal conversational speed because English is not my native language.

If you plan to spread during the debate, it's imperative that you send your scripts/docs in advance, with clear highlighting. Tabroom's doc share feature is good enough, but if you'd like to include me in the email chain, here it is: michael.zhou@gmail.com.

Along the same line, please reduce the usage of jargons to get the most credit out of your claims and arguments.

It's my habit to take notes during the debate and write comments while debaters use their prep time. The purpose is to give instant and candid feedback to both debaters from a judge's perspective and lay out my reasoning for win/lose decision. I hope that helps debaters improve their cases, sharpen their skills and prep for next rounds.

How should debaters approach constructive speeches?

A few well-developed arguments prove more persuasive than a larger quantity of arguments. I am an engineer and practice the principle of reducing complex concepts to the simplest meaningful terms. You may often hear Alert Einstein being quoted "if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." Sometimes, less is more.

Arguments should each be addressed individually in a concise manner, with a clear pause before moving to the next argument.

Now, the most important thing! Arguments should be coherent. Let me give an example. If you claim US military presence is the main factor of regional instability and next second you suggest US forces be redeployed from Middle East to Indo-Pacific region, that creates a self-inconsistence. These types of logical mistakes are extremely detrimental to your case's credibility. It's like shooting yourself in the foot. Let me stress this: logics and coherency.

How should debaters approach rebuttal speeches?

I prefer each rebuttal making a brief reference to the specific issue advanced in constructive speeches.

Same as constructive speeches, rebuttals should be delivered succinctly, with emphasis on the key issues.

How should debaters approach evidence?

Citations after article introduction.

How should debaters use values, criteria and arguments to support a value position?

Build the value that is not overly complicated, relatable, and criterion should not be over technical.

What arguments (such as philosophical, theoretical or empirical) do you prefer to support a value position?

Empirical.

Here are the reasons.

I am genuinely interested in many disciplines but I rarely read philosophy books, so I can't judge if you approach the resolution from a philosophical angle.

An ideal world exists only in a utopian ideology but we are living in a real world, and an imperfect one. Countless things theoretically ideal or with wonderful intentions have led to total disasters in human history.

So I prefer empirical arguments ONLY.

Please explain your views on critical arguments.

Critical arguments should provide substantial evidence for their support.

How should debaters run on case arguments?

Make sure all claims are supported with specific, defined examples, no paraphrasing.

How should debaters run off case arguments?

Make sure they have a purpose or illustration for the case at hand.

For PF

While most of content above is still generally relevant for PF, I am adding a couple of points specific to public forum debates that help you understand my preferences.

• Have a clearly outlined constructive speech. It would be a huge plus if you start with each of your critical points in an emphasized one-liner, because that saves me time to summarize it for you.
• I generally don't question or ask for evidence, unless your statements are outrageously contradicting with common sense or my knowledge. That does not mean the opponents won't poke holes and challenge you. Which brings my next point.
• I value quality rebuttals and that counts heavily toward decision making of who wins/loses. Meaning if you cannot refute your opponent's critical points effectively, those points will stand. You can think of this process as point reduction. Both you and your opponents start at a perfect 30-point. Every time you have a strong rebuttal, you are reducing points from your opponents. Every time you defend your constructive points well, you are reserving/keeping points for yourself.
• Last but not least, substance is more important than presentation. It's even okay to stutter during debates, and it won't count against you unless your arguments are not cohesive, which shows you are less prepared.