Greetings All,

I am a debate coach of over 19 years. I have coached Policy, Public Forum, Congress and Lincoln-Douglas Debate. I have judged at Nationals, my teams have placed in the top 100 and have watched some of the best debaters in the country debate the issues. The best ones don't cram a bunch of junk into the round and expect me to figure out what you want. You need to walk me through your argument, evidence and tell me how to weigh it (impact).

If you prepared a good case, defend it, respect your opponent (don't be rude) and can counter your opponent you have a strong chance of winning the round.

I expect a value (LD Debate), the means to measure it and contentions (main arguments). PF debate you don't have to be able to respond to every little outcome, but you need to be reasonable with your arguments and outcomes.

I DO NOT LIKE CRITIQUES! All your opponent has to do in the round in my book is to call you out for it and your opponent will get the win.

I expect you to be able to explain your points and defend them in CX and flow your arguments into your rebuttal. You can bring in evidence here to explain your point, but this is not the time to bring in new arguments.

Give me examples or context, so you can apply your case to the resolution. I need you to show me that you comprehend the resolution and how to apply values to it. The more you explain or give me context, the more convinced I am of your comprehension of your case and it will increase the chance of a winning ballot.

I strongly suggest that you pull your value (LD DEBATE) through at every turn you can (within each contention), try to bring it into CX and of course the rebuttal. You can drop your value and value criteria if you accept your opponent, but this is risky and not recommended. At the end of your constructive and rebuttal summarize why you won!

DO NOT SPREAD! If I can hear you breathe you have likely already lost the round!

I have been teaching public speaking and coaching debate for over 19 years. There are few careers that benefit from SPREADING! I make it a point to remind students of this!

I will always encourage you to stand when speaking, this will put you in an assertive position and will help with your nonverbals (you are more likely to slow down your breathing by standing up and letting air into your lungs).