To rank high

-be memorized.
-have passion

-be confident

To be a cool speaker:

-be professional

-be nice to opponents and me

-give it your all

I do Public Forum and have lots of experience in spontaneous events. I've also done many originals, especially OA.

in prepared speech I look for:

• Strong eye contact and posture
• content!! memorization is key.
• Good etiquette and attitude!!!
• Signposting

in spon:

• Strong eye contact and posture
• content!!
• Good etiquette and attitude!!!
• Signposting
• connection to the topic and overall theme

in debate:

• LOGIC. evidence doesn’t mean anything if you can’t explain why those numbers matter!!!
• good etiquette and attitude!!! Be polite. esp during cross.
• debate is a discussion, not a battle. I value meaningful clash and discussion over yelling.
• don’t ask silly questions lol. “What do you look for in a Debate?” Read the paradigm.

David Chamberlain
English Teacher and Director of Forensics - Claremont High School, CA
20 years coaching forensics. I usually judge Parliamentary debate at tournaments.

In Parli debate I don't like being bogged down in meta debating. Nor do I appreciate frivolous claims of abuse. I always hope for a clean, fun and spirited debate. I trust in the framer's intent and believe the debaters should too! Logic, wit and style are rewarded.

In PF debate I certainly do not appreciate speed and believe debaters must choose positions carefully being thoughtful of the time constraints of the event. This is the peoples' debate and should be presented as such.

In LD debate I prefer a more traditional debate round with a Value + Value Criterion/Standard that center around philosophical discussions of competing moral imperatives. I understand the trend now is for LD Debaters to advocate plans. I don't know if this is good for the activity. There's already a debate format that exclusively deals with plan debate. LD is not one-person policy debate.

Speed:
I can flow speed debate, but prefer that debate be an oratorical activity.

Theory/T:
I enjoy Theory debates. I don't know that I always understand them. I do count on the debaters being able to clearly understand and articulate any theory arguments to me so that I can be comfortable with my vote. I prefer rounds to be centered on substance, but there is a place for theory. I usually default to reasonability, and don't prefer the competing interpretations model. It takes something egregious for me to vote on T.

Points:
I usually start at a 27.0 and work my way up or down from there. Usually you have to be rude or unprepared to dip below the 27.0.

Counterplans:
I don't think it makes sense to operate a counterplan unless the Aff has presented a plan. If the Aff does go with a Plan debate, then a Counterplan is probably a good strategy. If not, then I don't understand how you can counter a plan that doesn't exist. If this is the debate you want to have, try Policy debate.

Critical Arguments:
The biggest problem with these is that often debaters don't understand their own message / criticism / literature. I feel they are arguments to be run almost exclusively on the Negative, must have a clear link, and a stable alternative that is more substantial than "do nothing", "vote neg", or "examine our ontology/epistemology".

Politics / DAs:
I really enjoy Political discussions, but again, LD is probably the wrong format of debate for the "political implications" of the "plan" that result in impacts to the "status quo" to be discussed.

My “hot take”: long paradigms are pretentious, and weirdly narcissistic. This is your debate, not mine, so i’ll make this quick and concise: if you have any other questions, ask me in round.

5+ years of experience in the NSDA (competitor, captain, and mentor) -- I’ve been to both state and nats and compete regularly in both speech and debate. i primarily coach LD, but i’m familiar with different styles of debate so don't worry about experience with me.

Speak clearly and signpost!

I do not want to be added to the speech doc. Oh yeah,I hate spreading. Either adapt or lose. If you think that’s unfair, get over it. Life’s tough…get a helmet.

I won’t disclose unless I’m on a panel. If we’re at that point, I welcome questions about the debate. But don’t cross a line. If you do, I reserve the right to leave. Just be respectful, it’s not that hard.

I’m a heavy adversary to judge interference. Tech > Truth.

I do my best to leave quality and constructive feedback for every round I judge. Yes, I will flow the round.

Tone matters. A good delivery has an arc — passion, intensity, and even aggression (at times) is called for, but build towards those moments. Let them stand out when they’re called for, rather than going on auto pilot and yelling the whole time.

I'll vote for any argument if you can win on it.

I am an experienced coach and experienced competitor. I have been tournament champions of numerous tournaments (in Originals and Interp) and have been to State every year of competition and qualified to Nationals. My team has always sent a delegation to Nats every year we have been a program. I do my best to leave quality and constructive criticism on ballot.

Debaters:

I sure love it when debaters signpost. That helps me and you stay organized on the flow sheet.

If I can't understand you, I can't judge you. So make sure you are speaking clearly and slowly enough so I can digest what youre saying.

I have a conditional love towards "out of the box" plans and ks but keep them tasteful and thoughtful. Anything facetious or "edgy" is not it for me. But an interesting take and or something whimsical but thoughtful I will appreciate. In the end, is it something you would run in front of your coach? If yes, I'll take it. If you do extinction theory, it's not going to go well. That's not showing me how good of a debater you are. I am much more about the spirit and intention of argumentation, not the letter of the flow.

Speechies:

Please enunciate and project. Again, if I can't hear or understand you, I can't judge you. For originals I am expecting a well organized and analyzed speech. For you Varsity/Open competitors, you should be completely memorized (but a few flubs here and there will NOT make or break your speech). For interpies, please have clean and distinct character pops, and the cut of your piece should follow the elements of story telling and make narrative sense. Also, remember, if I didn't see you emote, did you? Be mindful of facial direction, and focal points. If I can't see you, I can't judge you.

Spontaneous speakers, if I see that you are canning your speeches, your rankings will reflect that. Spon events are testing on your ability to organize and complete a speech spontaneously. If you are using canned examples and just swapping out phrases or words, that is not speaking spontaneously. I will penalize HEAVILY.