Forensics is a speaking competition in which the art of rhetoric is utilized - speaking effectively to persuade or influence [the judge].

I take Socrates's remarks in Plato's Apology as the basis of my judging: "...when I do not know, neither do I think I know...I am likely to be wiser than he to this small extent, that I do not think I know when I do not know" (Ap. 21d-e).

My paradigm of any round is derived from: CLARITY!!!

All things said in the round need to be clear! Whatever it is you want me to comprehend, vote on, and so forth, needs to be clearly articulated, while one is speaking. This stipulation should not be interpreted as: I am ignorant about debate - I am simply placing the burden on the debater to debate; it is his or her responsibility to explain all the arguments presented. Furthermore, any argument has the same criteria; therefore, clash, at the substantive level, is a must!

First and foremost, I follow each debate league's constitution, per the tournament.

Secondly, general information, for all debate forms, is as follows:

1) Speed: As long as I can understand you well enough to flow the round, since I vote per the flow!, then you can speak as slow or fast as you deem necessary. I do not yell clear, for we are not in practice round, and that's judge interference. Also, unless there is "clear abuse," I do not call for cards, for then I am debating. One does not have to spread - especially in PF.

2) Case: I am a tab judge; I will vote the way in which you explain to me to do so; thus I do not have a preference, or any predispositions, to the arguments you run. It should be noted that in a PF round, non-traditional/abstract arguments should be expressed in terms of why they are being used, and how it relates to the round.

Set a metric in the round, then tell me why you/y'all have won your metric, while your opponent(s) has lost their metric and/or you/y'all have absorbed their metric.

The job of any debater is to persuade the judge, by way of logical reasoning, to vote in his or her favor, while maintaining one's position, and discrediting his or her opponent's position. So long as the round is such, I say good luck to all!

Ask any other clarification questions before the round!

Hey! So, speech and debate...

Speech: Idrc if you have boards btw

- good voice modulation and pacing

- appropriate hand gestures (not repetitive or stiff)

- variety of reputable sources (I might choose to fact check if it's questionable)

- keep it simple (good vocab but should be easy for everyone to understand)

- don't pause even if you forget cuz that makes it obvious (I won't know otherwise lol)

Debate: NOTE I'M NOT A DEBATER

- don't spread cuz I won't be able to keep up

- make it easy for someone like me (who doesn't know anything) to follow along

- be respectful to your opponents ofc

- BE CONFIDENT...but don't make stuff up cuz I'll prob know

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk!!

questions comments and/or concerns --> rivadesai2020@gmail.com

Please ask for my paradigm on-site. Thanks!

Hello! I am currently a Sophomore at Seven Lakes High School, and I mainly compete in Domestic Extemp and Original Oratory, and Informative Speaking, but I am fairly comfortable with most speech events!

Extemp/Impromptu: I am huge on delivery, and will focus a lot on that, so make sure you are doing your best not to stutter whenever possible. Extemp is all about coming up with things on the spot, which will determine your ranks. I am not as big on content as long as what you are saying makes sense, and you are making an effort to sound knowledgeable. Also, a big thing for me is to answer the question and all parts of it! I am not too huge on having many sources, and I will not fact-check you, but if there are two people with the same skill level and delivery, sources might be the deal breaker for you. AGDs- As long as you have good energy and don't drop right into the topic, I won't call you out on it. Speaking of AGD's, I am always impressed when you connect your conclusion back to your AGD, if you are the only one in the round to successfully do that, most likely you will get a higher rank than if you hadn't. And last but not least, your impact should be clear and persuasive. If you are giving me an entire speech and never actually tell me why it is important, and/or how it will impact more than a person or group, you will probably get a lower rank(so please add them, they are SO important!!).

Info: I love a good AGD! Try to make it funny, and engaging!!! Have a good structure of history, current events, and implications! This can be a little flexible based on the topic but try to focus on this basic structure. I also focus a lot on delivery here, so keep me engaged, or I will probably zone out fast:( Don't forget to have good, reliable sources), as it is a memorized speech, I will take into account if you have sources or not. Most importantly, DON'T TALK MONOTONE! This is one of the hardest things I have experienced while competing in this event, so if you can speak for 10 minutes without becoming monotone as much as possible, I will rank you much higher. Make sure your topic isn't cliche! If I hear you start off with something I have already heard before, I will probably not listen very attentively to your speech, and rank you lower just for that. PASSION- make sure you pick a topic you are passionate about, or it will sound boring. Passion can really put PIZAZZ into your info! Please please please tell me if you have specific time signals or I will default to 3 down fist at grace. Boards- I won't rank you lower if you don't have boards, but if you have a complex topic that can be hard to follow, boards are a great way to make sure I and the audience can understand what you are saying. I love interactive boards that are colorful! Boards are one of my favorite parts of info, and can really make a difference in your speech.

OO: Similar to what I said about INFO, except the structure should be the problem, impact, and solution. Your solutions should be as straightforward as possible. I like a little interp flair, but not to the point where it becomes too much. Please make friends! In info and OO, you will often see the same people, so it is great to make good relationships with those around you. These events are all about having fun, and choosing your own topic is one of the best things about it, so it would be great to see y'all supporting each other during the round! Otherwise, it kind of makes it awkward :)

LD/PF: LAY JUDGE!!! I have literally only done LD and PF once in my life, so please bear with me! I know the times, and the overall goal of each event, but please don't spread! I will not be able to judge fairly if I can't understand either of you. Speak AS SLOW AS YOU CAN! Speaks- Like I said earlier, I am HUGE on delivery, so speaks are going to be one of the biggest deciders for me in a round. I will dock off if you are rude, especially in cross! Please be nice to each other!!!! I can not emphasize enough how important it is to be respectful to one another! Also, I would really appreciate for each team to time the other team. I will be more focused flowing your arguments, so it would help me so much if you would time yourselves. Theory in LD- It will not make me vote for you if you say the other team "cheated" if they say one word wrong from their card! You can run theory, but again it will not be a huge decider for me. In both events, make sure you weigh! If you don't weigh, I won't know which contention is the most important for your case(I will also most likely vote for the person/team that outweighs the other). In PF, don't come up with new arguments in summary or final, I will NOT flow them! I will also most likely not disclose unless there is a CLEAR winner, because I am very indecisive, and it may take a little time for me to decide who the winner is.

Worlds/Policy: I have absolutely no experience in these events and will be pretty much lost the entire time! So, please make sure that you are making it as simple as possible for me to understand.

All Interp Events(duo, duet, prose, POI, poetry, DI, HI, etc.): I have never watched or judged any Interp events before, so I will rank y'all based on who is the most confident, and entertaining. I will rank you lower if you are boring, and sound like a robot. Also, your mood should fit the event you are competing in, so for DI, it should be dramatic, and for HI, it should be funny! I also don't mind timing you, but again, just tell me if you want specific time signals, or I will default to three down fist at grace. And lastly, and probably most importantly, please make sure I can follow your piece. Since I have very limited knowledge of these events, this would help me out a lot!

Congress: I will rank the person who makes the entire debate around them first(If that makes sense!). Please be nice during cross(since it is only 30 seconds, it can get a little intense, but please try to limit that.) Make sure your delivery is good! Since you have your prep, that shouldn't be such a problem, but again, I focus a lot on delivery. Make sure you have sources to prove your points! PO- If the chamber is run smoothly, I will rank you fairly high, otherwise, I will rank you lower. REMEMBER: I never competed in Congress, so I won't go into a lot of technicalities, but I do consider this a bit more of a speech event rather than a debate event(still make good arguments!).

Any Other Side Events: For any events I have not specified, I will try my best to understand it, but I would appreciate it if you gave me a run down as to what the purpose of the event is.

Overall: HAVE FUN(while also remaining professional)! Debate is a place to have fun, and express yourself, so please do just that! I will try to write the best advice in my ballot as possible, but please don't take it personally, I want you all to be the best possible! Please try to be at the round on time, and early if possible(I understand if you are cross-entered, this can be difficult, but try your best!). Also, if you have any questions about your rank, or need advice on how to get better, I would be more than happy to help!

Thank you for reading my paradigm to the end! I appreciate you taking the initiative to read it, and I hope you all have a great round!