• Judging experience : 2 years

• Judging preferences: speak slowly so I can understand you

Hello all, I am a parent judge and I have been judging LD, PF, and other individual events for the last 3-4 years.

DECISION:My decision evaluates all scopes of the debate: framework, arguments, reasoning, evidence, links, etc. However, telling me why your IMPACTS are important and how you better achieve them than your opponent is key for you to win this debate. I do not care about what kind of impacts you give me, but it would be good if you start out with specifics and then at the end you summarize with broad ones so I know where you are deriving your impacts from.

FLOWING: I will flow a line-by-line analysis, however, I prefer OVERVIEWS (not only in your 2ars or 2nrs) because they clear things up for me and make the ballot easier too.

OTHER PREFERENCES: For speaking, please speak clearly and speak to the point. In terms of speed, please do NOT SPREAD . If you speak marginally fast or faster than conversational, it is okay as long as you slow down at the impactful parts, tags, numbers you want me to flow, etc. Do NOT RUN THEORY because I will probably not understand it or flow it. By chance if I do flow part of your theory argument , it will not be a major evaluation in the debate and I will probably just ignore it.

HAVE FUN DEBATING ;)

I am a parent judge who likes clear and concise arguments that help the flow of the round

Lay judge, no spreading. I have judged Congress to oi to policy. I will always write long form notes on in round speeches, but I may not set up my flow like conventional debaters.

sai.ankireddi@gmail.com

Please don't spread

Well constructed arguments will always win me over compared to aggressive behavior

I am a lay judge.

For debate :
1) You can expect me to know something about the topic at hand. I look for clarity of thought, logic in your arguments and how you link the evidence.
2) Please speak at a reasonable pace, do not spread.
3) Please stay respectful at all times.

For speech :
1) I look for effectiveness of your speech - be it through listener engagement, clarity of idea, or variety of examples (depending on event type).
2) If you can convey your ideas to me, convince me of authenticity, you will have my attention.

I am a lay judge who has three years of experience in judging PF.

Please speak on the slow side; I will not vote for you if I cannot understand your arguments.

I vote off of clearly explained link chains and impacts. Make your case and narrative the easiest to understand, and you will get my ballot. Make my job easier and explain why I should vote for your team.

I will drop you for racist, sexist, or xenophobic comments/attitude.

Have fun!

Hello Everyone. First and foremost - Let me congratulate you on making a choice to be part of Speech and Debate. Speech and Debate are essential tools for citizenry of democratic society with free and independent institutions and a very important vehicles to arrive at best possible solutions.

I am Raghu Bondalapati and a proud parent of a High Schooler. I have been a speech and debate judge for about a year and half. What i would like to see from Debaters is a clear and concise arguments, respect to participants of other teams and sportsmanship.

I'm a parent judge with minimal experience. Clarity in communciation/articulating the info will help me digest the info better.

I have done policy debate, LD and Congress, competing at State (CA) and Nationals when I was in high school.

I am truth over technical putting a premium on understanding your argument and on the logic both teams use to explain why the evidence and the expert is relevant to the argument. Bad evidence loses to good logic and common sense. Good evidence plus logic wins. Stated another way, in making your arguments around impacts, I listen carefully for logical fallacies -- while I won't vote against you if I hear a slippery slope, or a correlation/ causation fallacy, I will keenly listen to see how your opponent responds. I share this because as you develop your speaking skills for life (amazing by the way), your goal will be to persuade whether in business, law, medicine, science or politics -- few things undermine one's credibiilty more than arguments that tend to extremes based on unsubstantiated logical or reasoning errors, so it's good to start to learn and practive now how to build structurally and logical sound arguments, relying on evidence, early in your journey.

Debate is about testing logic and evidence to communicate a Point of View that can be understood and is compelling, so expect me to be a critical judge who will weight what each team tells me about the arguments presented; I vote for the argument I find most persuasive. I will look to frame my assessment against the main stock issues, unless you convince me another standard should be used. Also, if I can't understand the argument, I can't very well score it in your favor.

Beyond my debate experience, my perspective on policy is shaped by being involved in lobbying the Federal Government for Procter and Gamble and time at a leading think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). I worked as a management consult for Booz Allen & Hamilton, where I created business facts and strategies for the Mayo Clinic and NYH Cornell. I have an undergraduate degree in History and a MBA degree, so I feel very comfortable listening to arguments that weight and test the quality of the expert as well as the merits of the evidence; I will even accept your use of common sense or logic to call out logical fallacies, and to sanity test or refute a piece of evidence that just doesn’t make sense.

Finally, effective persuasion includes respectful disagreement, so I will notice rude, sarcastic or condesending behavior and that will detract heavily from the weight I attribute to your argument or position. Please enjoy a spirited discussion and I will do my best to flow and follow.

I am a parent judge

Tactful crossfire please

Try not to use complicated debate terminology

I am a parent judge and this is my fourth year judging in policy, PF, and LD events. Please do not spread or speak super fast: If I cannot understand you and follow your flow, I will not be able to judge you.

I am a scientist by training so I am mostly looking for the logic connecting the evidence with the statement, and if the opposing side was able to identify the conflict of evidence either existing in assumption and study methodology. I do not judge the credibility of the evidence by its author or organization but more on what the opposing team picks up to clash and answers to.

I am a parent judge with two years of judging experience

General Preferences:

Don't speak too fast

Be concise

Time yourself

Emphasize important points with pauses!

PF:

I care about how you speak

Make your contention names clear when reading your case

Make your opponent's contention names clear when you are refuting them, and be specific as to what you are refuting.

Make sure all arguments are responded to

For Debaters:

Hello,

I am judging for the first time and where I know about the flow of the debate , I am technically not familiar with counterplans and so on, please explain them thoroughly.

I prefer moderate to slower speed of speech of the given argument.

I always emphasize on clarity of speaking which will always make me take your side.

I am particularly against to emotional expression of arguments as I prefer more of a convincing content with necessary evidences.

Before the round ends a look at the case sheet of both the parties can always be a better help.

To end up with, I am totally against to the interruption in the flow of one's speech either by their team or the opposing team.

All the best !

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For Speech :

Hello ,

As a person judging for speech I expect a combination of answers to the question (merely the topic of the speech) and your composition of words, statements and texts which should be a selling point to convince me , where I don't mind the way you try to emphasize the ways your view point is true or fair.

In most of the cases, I like to have some sort of factual info added in your speeches. to add with, a little bit of Humor, Sarcasm (if applicable) will always be plus.

To end with, I expect an effective speech (in the time boundaries given) which is an attractive one whether its a story telling or interpreting something or putting out your view point it should be able to make an impact .

All the best!

I am a parent judge and this is my fourth year of judging debate. I strongly prefer that you speak slowly and clearly and emphasize the important arguments in the round.

I’m a parent judge, and I’m very excited to hear your speeches. As always, please be respectful to your fellow competitors and be mindful of the rules and time. Thanks!

I am a parent and educator. I have no knowledge of fast debate. Please do not spread. Try to stick to policy and understandable arguments, as I am not familiar with fast debate argumentation. Be respectful of all debaters in Cross-X. Arguments that aim to shock and offend will not be tolerated.

I am a parent and educator. I have no knowledge of fast debate. Please do not spread. Try to stick to policy and understandable arguments, as I am not familiar with fast debate argumentation. Be respectful of all debaters in Cross-X. Arguments that aim to shock and offend will not be tolerated.

Veritas et brevitas.

When judging, I look for powerful delivery, slow measured speech, body language, insightful analysis and love contestants they enjoy their time under the spotlight. Go You!

My background is executive management in technology companies. I have some limited experience in judging PF.

General Rules

Be Respectful

Don't Misrepresent Evidence

If you are asked a question, answer it. If you ask a question, allow it to be answered

Final Focus should reflect what took place during the round, not just repeat opening arguments

Make Convincing and Logical Arguments. While logic prevails, emotion and conviction also helps. Most important, have fun.

I am a parent judge and judging for past two and half year.

I prefer if both teams would reference their evidence and make their arguments concise and easy to understand.

I look for consistency in the arguments throughout the debate

Judgement is limited only to the arguments presented and contested in the debate

I am a lay parent judge.

Please speak slowly and enunciate your words.

Written by the child of this judge:

General: My mom is pretty expressive irl so if you either say something funny and/or really absurd she'll laugh and if you say something she doesn't understand she will frown. If it's online debate then she'll probably won't change her expression throughout the debate

Putting her on the chain is probably a disadvantage to you because she has no idea how card formatting works.

Ideal speed is the speed at which you would talk to your parents about normal, everyday things.

Experience: My mother is a lay parent who has some experience judging stock issues centered lay debate at a local level. She values clarity of expression and thought, and devalues faster speaking styles and arguments. This doesn't mean that just because someone spoke better than you she'll vote for them, this just means if she can't understand your argument, she won't vote for you.

Jargon: Additionally, try to minimize your jargon even if the phrases might not seem like jargon to you. Things like "OCOs," "uniqueness," and even " status quo" should be avoided.

Background: My mother works in management for a tech company that heavily involves straddling the barriers between the United States and China. That means she is generally pretty knowledgeable about international supply chains, US-China relations, and manufacturing. Do with that information what you will. She's also really smart so don't feel the need to excessively simplify arguments for her. In addition, even though she is fluent in English, it's still her second language so just speak a little slower than you think you need to.

Strategy: In terms of strategy, she likes big, core of the topic affirmatives (yes read a plan) with intuitive solvency mechanisms and minimal jargon. On the negative, she WILL and often does vote on presumption and inherency. That means that when it comes to 1nc construction, it's probably better to develop a deeper explanation of case defense rather than adding in another off case position.

Intuitive advantage counterplans with clearexternal net benefits might work in front of her but be very clear in describing exactly how the counterplan functions. Counterplans that rely on specific definitions of words in the resolution probably would confuse her (i.e. DoS CP, DSCA PIC, all counterplans that compete off of certainty and immediacy). I would say the closer you stay to the core of the topic arguments and position, the better it is. Something like OCOs bad + defensive posture cp against the ocos aff would be much better than something like the Canada Counterplan or the dsca pic.

Really really really oddly enough she loves the 5 eyes counterplan against cyber affs. I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure how she'll evaluate a round on it so read at your own risk.

If you are a K debater/prefer kritikal arguments then I'm sorry but probably not the greatest judge for you.

If you want to go for T it's probably going to be a coinflip unless the violation is extremely blatant and intuitive. In that scenario, technical standards debating won't win you the round but big picture appeals like "c'mon, this very obviously isn't about nato security cooperation" will, so in that regard topic knowledge is probably the best offense on T.

English is my second language, please keep your track of your speaking times and be respectful to your opponent(s). Thank you.

Sehjung Hah

My child has participated in high school debate the past 4 years and I have also mainly judged Public Forum during those 4 years. I have also judged Speech including impromptu speech, dramatic interpretation, and original oratory.

My career in marketing allows me to appreciate a framework that is clear with logical reasoning.

I understand speech at a normal rate with clear ideas and enunciation while presenting. Also I expect fairness in cross and taking turns. Rudely talking over people is not appreciated. Spreading is not a good strategy as most parent judges (including me) will not be able to keep track of all the arguments raised that need to be addressed. Weighted arguments have more impact.

Team balance is also something I look at and where I would like to see each team member's speech build upon each other as well as having both engaged in the cross. Having all 4 speakers participating in grand cross shows active engagement.

I feel occasionally groups inappropriately use the process of evidence cards multiple times within a match as a way to stymie the other group rather than having their arguments win out. This behavior can occasionally delay the timing of a flight, time remaining to write notes in the ballot to the participants, and the start of the next round.

Don't forget to carry your arguments into summary and final focus without introducing new ideas.

I enjoy listening to students debate civilly and fairly and think it is great because I really feel the skills and practice that occurs here helps with future work/life interactions.

Truth > Tech

First and foremost, I am a lay parent judge. Please be patient and explain arguments thoroughly at a reasonable pace. I will not be familiar with the topic you are debating, and make sure to extend the argument throughout the entire debate. Also, be sure to provide an off-time road map and I also want to hear top-level reasons why you win today's debate. Racism, homophobia, sexism, or any other -ism will not be tolerated. Thank you!

Hello! I am a parent judge with a few years of experience judging debate. I appreciate good logic chains and respectful manners in round, and English is my second language so please speak clearly and at a conversational speed, I may have trouble keeping up with fast or technical rounds. Most importantly, have fun!

I am a parent judge and this is my 4th year judging debate and speech tournaments.

For debate-

My vote is based on the following three principles:

1. Clarity and evidence: Debaters should deliver their arguments clearly and concisely, with supporting evidence from credible sources. Take your time to explain your reasoning to the judges, and don't assume that they will understand your points without a thorough explanation.
2. Rebuttal: Debaters should challenge their opponents' arguments during cross-examination and rebuttal. This shows that you have listened carefully to your opponents and that you have thought critically about their arguments. Be sure to provide evidence to support your own arguments and to refute your opponents' claims.
3. Pace: Debaters should speak at a moderate pace. Speaking too quickly can make it difficult for the judges to follow your arguments, while speaking too slowly can be boring and ineffective.

In addition to these three principles, I also appreciate it when debaters are respectful of their opponents and the judges.

For speech-

I am looking for presentations, not just readings. I appreciate speakers who use nonverbal communication skills such as varying their volume and speed, using hand gestures and facial expressions, and moving around the stage to engage the audience and emphasize key messages.

PS. Please avoid mumbling your words even if that could be funny to get certain effect.

I wish all people good luck and can enjoy the game.

I am a lay judge but I have 8 years experience judging League debates.

General Stuff:

Just speak at conversational pace and tone and use all your time.

Only go for topicality if its a glaring violation

Try to avoid using terminology-heavy debates.

If aff, focus on defending your policies and answer all of the negs points effectively and clearly

If neg, focus on finding gaps in the policy proposal and carry only the most contested and strongest negative stock issues into the 2NR.

Cross ex is the most important focus area for me in the debate.This is the only part of debate where neg/aff actively clash with each other. I look for teams to use the that time effectively.Don't cut off responses, unless they are stretching the time limit.

Don't give up in round, I keep an open mind throughout the debate, even the last speech.

I’m a parent and volunteer judge, have been judging for just over 6 years. Have judged some speech events but mostly Parliamentary Debate, and some Congress events. I like logical, reasoned and well developed arguments. Dislike aggressive speech style, frequently raised POIs, tag teaming. POIs raised should be concise and well articulated. Granting at least one POI is encouraged. Like quality over quantity with respect to arguments. I mostly use flow to decide the outcome. Given the remote format imposed by Covid-19, would appreciate it if participants look at the camera other than when they are reading from / writing notes.

I am a parent judge. I've judged mainly lay Policy for the last 3 1/2 years. I prefer usage of stock issues. Please do not spread or read Ks with me.

I'm a parent judge, and I have been judging PF, LD, and INTERP for more than 2 years.

I lived in United States since late 1990s, so you can consider me as a native English speaker.

I usually judge the debates based on 3 aspects, the content and logic, the presentation skill, and the techniques during the cross.

I am judge that has been judging for 5+ years, mostly in debate (Policy). I tend to value stock issues and the affirmative must be able to prove all of them sufficiently in order to win the round and fulfill their burden. I also prefer well reason, clear speech and relevant/recent evidence. I'm not comfortable with speed and please explain all arguments in depth.

Debaters: Use conversational talking speed or I'll miss what you have to say. And try to avoid (or at least explain) debate jargon.

I am a lay judge with very minimal experience judging policy debate. Hence, I appreciate rounds with an emphasis on clear and effective communication of subject matter and arguments.

Looking forward to it. Good luck!

RK

Hi, I'm Vijay. Here are my preferences for the round:

- Clearly state your contentions

- Speak slowly

- No theory. I don't understand it.

Other than that, everything else is up to you. Have fun!

I am a lay parent judge who has judged PF, LD, and various speech events in the past two years. Please do not spread or speak at very fast speeds, speak clearly and slowly so I can catch everything. I can't evaluate any advanced argumentation/theory/Ks, so please avoid it.

Be respectful and have fun!

I am a parent who has judged for 5 years. Please be civil and respectful in round. Speak at a reasonable speed, and make sure to have organization in your speech.

Please speak coherently. I will be looking for the most significant arguments and then logical responses. I look for good and thoughtful delivery.

I am a parent judge who have judged quite a number of rounds in speech and debate events by now. But, please don't assume I know acronyms when you use it the first time. Please email your speeches to csl5148@gmail.com and cards exchanged, particularly if you are a fast debater. Thank you and good luck.

Parent judge. Speak slowly and explain arguments simply and clearly.

Hello, I am a parent judge that has judged in several tournaments in the past.

When speaking:

I look for the speaker to be confident, but not condescending in any way. Please do not spread, I will not accept jargon. If I can't understand what you are saying, I will not be able to take notes. Please be respectful to your opponents at all times.

Argumentation:

I will evaluate arguments based on how clear and effective they are. I will not be persuaded by arguments that are not clearly backed up. I will be voting for the team with stronger arguments and impacts.

Theory:

Please do not introduce theory!

Plans:

Don't introduce any if you are a Public Forum Debater

Best of luck to everyone!

lay

I am a parent judge but have judged for multiple years since 2016. I mostly judged PF but I also judged Congress and Parliamentary.

I am flay, meaning I take notes, but not in a flow style.

I like to focus on direct clashes and rebuttals of your opponent's arguments. Points need to be extended in every speech, and if one team brings up a point that is not extended, I will not consider it. It is also up to the opponent team to bring this to my attention.

I will always weigh impacts. I primarily weigh on the magnitude, but I will also consider timeframe and probability.

Do not spread. I want every speaker to give their speeches in a clear, systematic way and emphasize the main points they want to resonate with me.

My philosophy and decisions regarding Debate judging is based on the following...

1. Do the debaters have a good strong point of contention to the side they are speaking about.
2. Do they provide references to the information given or quoted.
3. Do they have statistical data that backs up their claim.
4. Does their cross examination challenge the point of contention.
5. Are the debaters speaking clearly, concisely and understandable.
6. Is there some eye to eye contact with the opponent and the judge.
7. Does their final speech capture all the points and rebuttals discussed.

Hi, I am a parent judge and this is my first year judging! I am currently getting familiar with speech and debate terms/procedures so please give off-time roadmaps in the beginning of your speeches and signal posting throughout. Please no circuit arguments or spreading.

I founded Able2Shine, a public speaking company. And I have only judged a few debates this year but love the activity. And I want a clear communication round with no speed.

This is my 2nd year judging. I am comfortable with both slow (lay) debate and medium fast debate. I understand different affirmative advantages as well as disadvantages, counter plans and topicality. I do not know how to judge theory or kritiks and I am unfamiliar with them in general. I like it when teams are clear and tell me for what to vote on.

If you would like to spread, please add me to the email chain at gayatri.naha@live.com . However, if you are going at lay speeds, it is up to you if you want to include me on the email chain. If you have included me, please let me know so I can check my inbox. However, spread at your own risk, as the faster you get, the harder it will be for me to understand your argument. I am a parent judge after all, and I tend to like slower rounds more. If you decide to speed up, be cautious at how fast you are reading your arguments.

Most importantly, remember to respect each other and have fun in debate.

I am a parent judge who has had experience for the past 3 years. Please don't spread.

Policy:

I would prefer it if you debate using stock issues (harms, solvency, DA, etc). Please make substantive arguments that can win you the debate.

LD: 

I am looking for clarity of thought, structured and substantive arguments (where you keep track of and rebut your opponent's argument), and effective cross-examination.  

Please explain why the reasons you have won at the end of the debate. 

Good luck to all competitors.

I am a completely Lay judge with no circuit judging experience. If you want to debate circuit, please add me to the email chain so I can read your case and try to follow along (somnath.mani@gmail.com)

For both Lay and Circuit, please make your impacts clear and exactly why I should be voting for the affirmative /negation. I am not great with speed so I prefer if you talk slower.

As a lay judge, I place high importance on receiving arguments that are straightforward and structured for easy comprehension.
Please ensure that your presentations are clear and digestible. A respectful demeanor is essential throughout the debate.
Additionally, I prefer arguments that emphasize real-world truth over technical debating skills.

Also, for my reference, kindly add me to the email chains at sajeesh.mathew@gmail.com.

I am a parent judge. So please keep technical aspects of the debate to a minimum. If you can avoid spreading it would be perfect. Try and avoid speed-talk. I appreciate addressing and making eye contact with the judge. Please explain some of the definitions and/or acronyms you may be using. I give credit to sticking to the full topic. For example in one session "Should liberal countries coerce non-liberal states to become liberal', it is not about liberalism vs autocratic govermnents - it should be about the entire topic. I don't mind if you remove your mask to talk during your turn. I typically take notes and keep time. Before every section try and provide a roadmap of what you are going to present and stick to it. I love a good debate or a speech! Good luck!

Please make sure that your arguments have logical consistency and that your presentation has integrity.

Also, presentation skills play a large part of my evaluation.

I am a parent judge. Please explain arguments thoroughly and clearly at a reasonable pace.

I am a parent judge. I started judging in 2021.

Do not spread or run theory. I prefer speakers go not too fast and carefully establish their logical framework, rather than glossing over a list of items. If I cannot understand, the contents do not matter. Once I understand, I vote for both arguments and speaking.

Be respectful and courteous to your opponent.

I prefer to give a written comment instead verbal comment at the end of the debate.

I am a parent judge who prefers debating by the five stock issues (but not a must).

This includes inherency, significance and harms, solvency, topicality and the disadvantage. (and counter-plan)

As long as you speak clearly, stay on topic, be more convincing than your opponents, handle yourself well during cross-X, I'll vote for you.

Cheers!!

I am a parent judge. I have been judging various speeches and debates for about 5 years now. Clarity and strength of your arguments, cross-examine of opponent's arguments and a good summary will help me choose the winner for debates.

I am a parent judge with some experience in judging but not with fast debate. Please avoid using terms that parents do not understand.

For Policy Debate specifically, I evaluate the round based on the clarity of your point, evidence, and ability to handle cross-examination of issues. I will consider your framing but will vote for a more credible, logical, and understandable case most of the time. I also prefer summarizing your argument and points at the end of the debate, especially in rebuttals.

I am a parent judge, and I have some experience with judging congress, LD, public forum, policy, and parliamentary debate. I have been judging for less than 2 years, and I don't know all the rules about these events.

Please speak slowly and clearly, and don't use too much debate jargon. I evaluate rounds based on what you convince me to evaluate, so please clarify this.

Good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the round.

I am a parent judge and this is my second year judging. Please speak slowly and clearly and do not use debate jargon.

Please be respectful to your opponents during the round.

I will vote for the team that has the most convincing argument and evidence to back it up, so do not run any illogical arguments.

Julie Noh (she/her). I'm a parent judge. Please email me your evidence and include me on the email chain at julienoh@gmail.com

My paradigm for debate focuses on:

Clear and concise communication from the debaters. I'm looking for logical reasoning and evidence-based arguments and quality debate. I expect debaters to use credible sources and avoid making sweeping generalizations or unsupported claims. If you spread, make sure you can be understood!

Respectful discourse. Engage with your opponents' arguments in a respectful and constructive manner, rather than simply dismissing or ignoring them. Debaters should ask questions and seek clarification when necessary, and respond to their opponents' questions in a clear and straightforward manner.

Time management and organization. This is both in terms of structuring arguments and delivering speeches within the allotted time. Debaters should be well-prepared and have a clear understanding of the key issues at stake, impacts, as well as a clear plan for how to address them effectively.

I leave you with this haiku:

Speak with conviction

Evidence and reasoning

Challenge with respect

Debate:

I am a parent judge who doesn't have any experience in judging circuit/fast debate; please refrain from spreading or some of the jargon used in those faster styles.

For Policy Debate specifically, I evaluate the round based on evidence and stock issues; I will take your framing into account, but I will vote for a more credible, logical, and understandable case most of the times. If you bring up any other technical arguments outside the stock issues, please be clear and specific for me to follow.

No Kritik please!

For LD:Please state your value and criterion clearly and don't rush through them!

Relatively new judge. Have judged a few tournaments of Public Form, Lincoln-Douglas, and Policy, as well as various speech events.

Prefer medium to slower pace, but not too slow.

I will expect participants to track their time themselves unless that's not possible for some reason.

I do not have a speech and debate background. For debate, I therefore strongly recommend you avoid acronyms and short hand ("DA", "T", etc.) because I likely won't know what you're talking about.

I am a parent judge, and this is my second year with debate. Consider me a flow judge.

I appreciate it when speakers talk clearly and introduce issues, and definitions or describe acronyms before using them.

Do speak confidently and in equal measure use logic and arguments to support your case.

I expect participants to be polite and courteous with the opposing team. Also, I expect participants to state what are the key facts I should consider, even when seemingly obvious. Do not assume I will credit you for a mistake of the opposing team unless you highlight it.

Good luck!

I am a parent judge, with 10 years of experience.

Important:

Please speak clearly, avoid over speed, and explain your points thoroughly.

Online Debate:

For online debates, prefer cameras on and you are fully visible.

Relevant Thoughts:

• Evidence quality is important. Good data and analytics can beat bad cards.
• My experience is policy-heavy, and it ultimately isn't my choice what I hear, but point is I think I've seen, heard, and debated a wide variety of arguments that will help aid in judging so do what you know best.
• You as the competitor should be clear in your thought while asking questions or answering them.
• In rounds just make sure to tell me where you are going in your speech.
• Speed is fine with me in beginning speeches but make sure your speed doesn't affect the quality of the argument.
• Don't hesitate to ask me any questions.

I am a parent judge and would like to be included in the email chain

• Please speak slow so I can understand you best

• Be respectful of your opponents and give them the chance to speak. I will drop your speaker points if you are rude

• I encourage sign posting and off time road maps during your speeches so I can follow your arguments well

• I judge based on evidence, rebuttals, impacts, and weighing on both sides

Good luck and have fun!

Parent judge, please try to go slower and err on the side of overexplaining jargon on the topic. Warrant out and impact all of your arguments. Good reasoning and explaining of your side will win you the round.

This is my second year being a volunteer judge. I plan on volunteering often to build up this experience.

I am a parent judge. I look for the data and and evidence supported arguments during the debates. 

From San Jose CA. My son is active in debate and I've judged speech and debate competitions for ~5 years.

Speed- I prefer elucidation and clarity to speed.

I like fewer more well developed points versus lots of varied but weaker arguments.

I dislike rude behavior, verbal or through gestures.

I really enjoy the creativity that teams bring to their debate topics and the diligence they bring to the preparation.

I am a parent judge, do not spread. Present yourself confidently and be organized. Don't interrupt each other in cross-examination.

Parent Judge:
Don't spread, make sure to make your arguments clear.

All responses to constructive must be in rebuttal. If an argument is not extended through FF & Summary, then it won't count. Make sure to frontline your defense against the opponents through all speeches as well.

Sign post

ganu.sankar@gmail.com -- add to the email chain

Hello! Please speak loud and clearly. Make sure not to bring up new points in your second speech and focus on the impacts on your last speech. Make sure to have good evidence and warrants to back up your points. Finally, don’t be rude to your opponents or talk over them aggressively!

I am a parent judge who has judged for about two years. I won't understand super fast talking of any kind, so I advise you to speak at a normal pace.

I will only vote based off what is said in the round, and will not make any assumptions myself. This means that you should assume that I know nothing about the topic, which is probably true. If you want me to consider an argument, I suggest you bring it up in the final speeches of the debate. This is mainly where I will make my decision, so I think clearly stating your reasons on why you won here is important.

Other than that, have fun.

Please speak slow and be clear in analysis. 2nd year parent judge

I am very new to the world of debate. I would like to see clear argumentation with great delivery. Please don’t speak too fast while debating, as it becomes hard for us parent judges to understand. Extra points for strong rhetoric and good summaries of key arguments at the end. Be persuasive, but be respectful to your opponent. Please speak clearly. Best of luck to everyone!

My preference is that the speakers should have a moderate pace in their speeches so that the judge could fully understand them and specifically when they are speaking about their contentions.

Be polite and respectful through the debate.

I request that both the parties could time each other while speaking and warn/alert if they are exceeding the given time limit

I am a parent judge. I have judged parliamentary debate before so I am aware of the format.

Arguments

Please be clear and read your arguments slowly so that I can understand. If you read them fast (spread), I will not be able to flow properly. Try not to use extremely technical terms that are not very obvious and even if you have to, please explain it clearly.

I prefer traditional on case debate. I'm fine with counterplans but please explain it clearly.

I am not familiar with Ks (kritiks) and theory so please refrain from running those arguments UNLESS there is actual abuse of rules present. If that is the case, please explain the abuse VERY clearly. Please don't run theory just for the sake of running theory.

Other

Use the last speech to explain exactly why you should win the round. Weigh out the impacts of both sides.

You will be awarded high speaker points for speaking clearly, having a good presentation, and being respectful to your opponents.

I am a parent judge judging for the last 3 years. I have been mainly judging LD but have occasionally done other forms as well. I take a lot of notes so please do speak at moderate speeds and explain your arguments logically. I like powerful speakers but please be courteous to other contestants and provide appropriate evidence to substantiate your contentions. Please do not stretch the truth since that could count against you. Have lots of fun!

I have judged parli debate since 2016, and public forum later on as a parent judge. As a software engineer, I'd like to judge simply and mainly based on the core of the delivered speech, in other words, its logic quality, clearness, tightness and creativity of the argument itself rather than any superficial words of politeness or mediocre prologue...(but it does not mean that speaker can totally disregard of the basic manners when speaking or listening).

How speaker is clear, straight, detailed, well-organized, strong, creative and rich in their contentions and in proving opponent's flaw and weakness in their arguments is what I'd like to judge on.

So debaters should be relaxed, respectful and stay focus on your speech as well as listening well and carefully to the other side to create a strong, creative debate to win the round.

For each of young debaters today, gradually building good debate skill either from winning or losing a round is building for yourself a precious asset for your success in the future. Like other judges, I hope to contribute somehow to this process of your development.

Have fun and enjoy debate!

Hiep Tran

Do your best!!!

I am a parent judge. This is my second year judging.

Roadmaps and signposting are very helpful so I can have an understanding of where you are going with the speech.

Speak at a moderate pace. Define important terms when it comes to the debate resolution; don't assume I will understand what something is. Clearly state your case and provide sufficient evidence and logic.

Be nice to each other during the debate; do not be rude. Do not interrupt when the opposing team is speaking unless it is for a valid reason.

I am a parent judge.

I have been judging speech events since 2017 and have coached students who focus in Original Oratory, Informative, and Impromptu. Prior to my U.S. high school speech judging experiences, I was professionally trained in pubic speaking in my native language; my career involves a high amount of marketing content development, corporate/executive communications, and public relations.

In speech writing, I look for a clear roadmap, strong arguments backed by research (I don't need to agree with your statistical findings or your conclusion, but your findings should fully support your viewpoints), and pragmatic solutions for issues you identified.

For interpretation events, especially those that compose of multiple literature works, I hope to not feel that the selections are pieced together. In other words, the structure should be logical, cohesive, and seamless.

For speech delivery, I look for genuine emotions that help me relate to the urgency of your topic: why is it important now and why your viewpoints, research, and life experiences are the right ones to help your audience understand it holistically. I also appreciate speakers who are able to present with their unique styles, even if there are parts where further polishing is needed.

Over the years I've heard a good number of strong speakers who sound just like Haris Hosseini or JJ Kapur in one of their NSDA speeches. While I admire these students' technical excellence, I also feel that their speeches inevitably become less personal and less distinctive in my ears. It's a fine balancing act between finding inspiration from great speakers/speeches and developing your unique voice.

I have served as a judge for debate for four years and I prefer slower speech with proper short pauses.

For congressional debate, I would love to see new arguments that really advance the debate.

For speech, I prefer the structured approach with emphasis and rigor logic.

Zita Wang

I am a parent judge. I judged speech and debate in different tournments in the past three years.

Take your pace, provide framework, and love to hear your summary about why you should win.

Be confident, run your flow, respect your competitors, and have fun!

I am a parent volunteer judge. My feedback is subjective.

I decide who is the better speaker regardless of whether they won specific arguments.

I am a lay judge.

I prefer simple to follow debate cases.

I like when you have enough evidence to support your argument.

I also like when debaters speak clearly and confidently.