When I first joined the NCFCA, I was overwhelmed by all the things I had to learn. Depending on how long it has been since you were a novice, you may have forgotten what it was like to learn all the terminology and ways of doing things. Wait, so what is the difference between Inherency […]
Book Gleaning — Made to Stick
Book gleaning is a series of posts that highlight specific books and what we can take from them to apply to public speaking. In this post, we’ll be discussing the book Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of […]
Cook up a catchphrase
Part of your preparation for important negative strategies or for your affirmative case should be coming up with one or two memorable catchphrases. A catchphrase is a word or expression that is used repeatedly and conveniently to represent or characterize a person, group, idea, or point of view. Let’s look at what makes a good […]
Phrases — Setting standards
An ideal situation in debate is when the judge looks to you for a standard by which to rank the other team. If you can establish a line for the judge to choose who won, and set it so that you’re the clear winner, the round is in your hands. This post will teach you […]
Phrases — Common misunderstanding
When you’ve been running your affirmative case for a while, you have a pretty good mastery of all the possible arguments that may be run against your case. (Although you may be occasionally surprised by the… creative… arguments people come up with from time to time). There are some arguments, however, that always seem to […]
Preparing for the 2AR
If you haven’t already read preparing for the 2NR, please read that first. I will be skipping several repeated concepts. The last affirmative speech is the most important speech in the round, arguably. It’s the last thing the judge hears. With this power, of course, comes the responsibility to avoid saying things that are untrue. […]
Preparing for the 2NR
The last negative rebuttal is the most important negative speech of the round. While you can’t bring up new arguments or evidence, you can certainly bring back a losing round and win. Because this speech is so important, let’s talk about how you can best prepare yourself for it. Note: Some of the best preparation […]
Cross-Examination: Using first names
Sometimes your opponent is simply being unreasonable in cross-examination. Often times, everyone knows he/she’s being unreasonable. One of the ways to make them snap to their senses is to use their first name. I’ll provide a few examples of how using first names can project your confidence and control over the round. Examples Setting the stage: […]
6 ways to stop rambling
I noticed that some debaters seem to be saying a lot of words, but not a lot of sentences. And if you were to really concentrate on what they’re saying, you’d see there’s no connection between one sentence and the next one. If you’re unsure what I mean by this, here’s an insanely perfect example. […]
No more debater voice
This is going to be a short post. That does not undermine its importance. The message I have today. Is. Important. For the love of all that debaters hold dear, get rid of the debater voice! Here is what I mean. After listening to the sound clip, you may be wondering what specifically makes […]