I am a freshman at USC School of Dramatic Arts and a 6-year speech and debate competitor.

I love speech and debate!! Yay go you!!

Paradigm:
PFD:

For Public Forum Debate, I don't judge based on cross, but I will take note of points made. Summary is the most important speech of the debate, and it is preferred to be a line by line comparison where the stark differences between both worlds need to be prioritized. When looking at the final focus, tell me exactly why I should vote for you. For evidence, just providing a card is not enough, it needs to be analyzed and explained or it will hold no weight. I am fine with complicated link chains, but I need you to explain it clearly and concisely. Spreading is not something that I prefer, since I personally believe that it is not necessary in this format. Make sure to incorporate persuasion and rhetoric into all of your speeches. I want to see a direct clash of logic and/or evidence and emphasis on significance and solvency. I also prefer to stand during CX and Grand CX.

hi guys! i'm currently attending jasper high school, and i'll be going to plano west in a year. i've been debating for 4 years approx, and i'm well-versed in pf and most ies.

read bold for tldr

PF:

add me to the email chain, rishtish4@gmail.com

for general etiquette, don't be rude/racist/sexist/homophobic/etc. because debate is supposed to be about having fun and education. basically, if you make the debate space unsafe i will drop you and and best give you lowest speaks. please don't be rude in cross or to your opponents in general, just be chill and have fun debating.

i'm generally good with speed as long as you send a doc. I'll flow what i can understand if you don't send a doc. don't spread just for the sake of spreading, make sure the arguments you make are good and can win you the round.

for speaking,try not to only look at your computer the whole time. it's generally a good skill to be able to make eye contact with judges in lay rounds, plus i don't want to hear 1 hour of speeches of a doc because then it's pointless to have speakers.do your best to have vocal inflections. remember, you are still giving a speech. it's going to be really boring to me if everything sounds the same. for big numbers and impacts, having vocal modulations to show me what's important will help a lot.

i evaluate by looking at the weighing first. if you are winning the weighing, I'll look to you're case first and see if you're winning case. if you're not winning case, I'll look to the second most probably link into the weighing if there is one. if neither side links into weighing, ill look to the side with the most offense and the best weighed impacts in the round. that being said,please extend weighing in summary and final. defense is not sticky. i won't shadow extend things for you. also,please do comparative weighing or metaweighing so i get a sense of who's weighing i should look to in round.

substance: I'll understand most arguments but I'll need you to explain them thoroughly in the backhalf of the debate if you want me to vote off of it. i need clear extensions of the whole argument extended in the backhalf. if you want to make responses to their case, the responses should be in rebuttal. I'll grant a little leeway if your extensions of responses are slightly blippy in the backhalf as long as they were super well warranted in rebuttal. make sure you collapse in the backhalf. if you want to go for 3 arguments in summary, that's fine but i'm going to be really confused on where to look especially if you don't weigh. PLEASE SIGNPOST!!

theory: i'm probably not the best person to read theory on. i understand how theory debate works but i've never really debated it much myself. if you're going to read interps, you need to have warrants for every part of your shell. you buy yes RVIs or DTDs or anything, make sure you read warrants. i'll vote on the interp that best wins under the best weighing that is done in the round. the best bet would probably be to read offensive counterinterps and just weigh them.

kritiks: i like k debate but if you're going to read k's or responses to k's make sure you don't just read cards but actually explain what each response means in the context of the round. if an argument only gets crystallized for me in like 2nd summary i'm probably not voting on it. that being said, i won't vote of new arguments past 2nd summary unless there's conceded warrants as to why new responses should be allowed. but also if you're reading k's in middle school what are you doing.

congress:

i don't really know much about congress, but just make smart arguments and be perceptually strong. look at my pf paradigm for info about how i evaluate arguments in general

IEs:

same thing applies here as it does for debate, don't be rude, sexist, homophobic, etc. or i will rank you super low

OI: freytag's pyramid, tell a story and be captivating

binder events: please look up from your binder and don't just read off of it, i won't be able to connect to you as well if i never get to look at your face

memorized events: have fun and use facial expressions, don't just be loud to be loud, if you mess up it's totally okay but just try to keep going, use blocking appropriately and make sure it works with the scene (basically have purposeful movements)

oratory: i'll try to also listen to content just as much as delivery, i will like most subject matter as long as it doesn't discriminate against a certain group of people, make sure your speech is organized (just make sure i'm not confused by the end of the speech), have good organization

extemp: i'm not going to lie i have very little experience in extemp, i'll mostly focus on delivery and how well you present yourself, i'll do my best to follow content so make it easy for me to understand your points, please come to round prepared (one time someone pulled up to round and didn't know he was supposed to draw lol), please use an AGD and have all the components of a speech

just have fun and do your best :)

If you ever need me to elaborate on a ballot or add me to an email chain, here's my email:

haniyyah.zia.1@icloud.com

I've dabbled in several events since middle school (currently in high school), but I have the most experience in Original Oratory and other Public Address events. I am currently a senior at Plano West Senior High School and have been the Original Oratory captain for the 2022-2023 school year. I've had a bit of success with OO, including the TFA State 2023 OO Champion, the University of Texas at Austin 2023 Runner-Up, and a Midwest Finch Legal Oratory Scholarship Recipient. I also privately coach on the side, so if you're interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail!

If you feel unsafe during a round or during a tournament that I am judging, remove yourself from the situation immediately and find someone your trust (a friend, coach, or parent).

If you are disrespectful to the other competitors at a tournament or during a round, I will ask you to leave and contact your coach.

In terms of what I'm looking for in Original Oratory or other Public Address events, I have four key criteria:

1) Have you connected with your topic? In OO where the nature of the event allows one to speak on a topic of their choice, allowing your speaking style and speech to carry your passion for the topic is incredibly important. I'm looking for a heart story, personal connection, or powerful rhetoric that connects your topic to yourself.

2) Do your words reach the audience? Oratory is a public address event, so choosing words that are meant to make the audience feel or understand things in a way that wouldn't be able to be achieved in other events like extemp or oral interpretation is incredibly important. Have you made an effort to connect your topic to the people in the room? When I leave the room, do I remember the way your speech made me feel?

3) Is it believable? Quite often in public address, actions meant to enhance one's performance (humor, drama, rhetoric) takes root, so allowing your performance to support the rhetoric you choose is essential. Do you, personally, believe in what you are saying? One of the greatest compliments an orator can ever get is that they are believable. Do your jokes land? Do I, as a judge, feel like you have made an effort to connect with me?

4) Are your solutions tangible? When I walk out of the room, I want to leave knowing that you provided me with a solution in your speech that I can do the second my foot crosses that threshold. It's not about speaking for 10 minutes (or 7 minutes for middle schoolers) just to have a space to speak. It's about finding an issue you care about and utilizing the power Original Oratory gives you to make a positive impact in the world around you with a solution.

5) Are you having fun? Can I tell that you are engaged in your performance and excited to show me, as a judge, what you have been working on for weeks or possibly even months? I want to feel your passion and performance, rather than simply hear it.