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Making an Affirmative response sheet

31May

May 31, 2016 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

Winning Affirmative debate rounds is an essential part of your tournament strategy. If you routinely lose an Affirmative round, that’s a big red flag. You should be able to win all your preliminary Affirmative rounds, leaving you with just one Negative round you need to win in order to get to outrounds. One of the […]

Learning through observation

22Dec

December 22, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

One of the best ways to be a better speaker, besides practicing, is to watch other good speakers. Debaters that started out by timing others and observing how they speak generally have an easier time when they begin debating. Some of the best speakers I know enjoy watching presidential candidates give speeches, or finding other […]

Get organized

05Nov

November 5, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

For more articles on organization, check out this list: http://debate.potentspeaking.com/category/organization/ Organization is important for these reasons: 1. It helps the judge to understand your arguments and how they tie in with the opposing team’s arguments. 2. It improves the judge’s flow, meaning when they review the round afterwards your speeches will stick out. 3. It helps […]

How to win impromptu negatives

22Oct

October 22, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

Note: This post is mostly better suited for novice to intermediate debaters. Hitting a case on negative when you have nothing is probably the scariest thing that can happen in debate. Probably the best way to approach this subject is to give you a series of questions to go through in your head which will […]

Preparing for the 2AR

10Apr

April 10, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

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. […]

Using video to practice

03Apr

April 3, 2015 by PotentSpeaking 2 Comments

It’s been said that you like yourself just fine until you see a video of yourself speaking. It’s true—watching yourself speak can be an extremely embarrassing experience. But the fact that it’s embarrassing should not stop you from using this technique in order to refine your speaking. Why use video to practice As I talked […]

Cross-Examination: Asking for the warrant

24Mar

March 24, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

Many debaters are only prepared for some basic questions they’re used to, and haven’t really given their arguments much thought. If you can expose this to the judge, you’ll leave yourself in a position of credibility. I’m going to teach you a type of question which can cut right through the act and straight to […]

Stop at the nod

10Mar

March 10, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

Do you want to know how to get more words in your speech while still winning each argument? Stop at the nod. All you have to do is wait for the judge to agree with your point, then move forward. Don’t beat the dead horse! Benefits: Saves time Avoids exasperating the judge Allows you to […]

The importance of coaching

03Mar

March 3, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

So, I’ve written a lot about how to get better at speaking. But how do you apply all of this? Many of those (so far 35) posts have multiple tips under them! How do you sort between what is useful to you personally, and what is stuff you already know? I try to help by providing […]

Sketchy debate tactics

24Feb

February 24, 2015 by PotentSpeaking Leave a Comment

Note: this will be a lengthy post, but I strongly encourage you to read every word. It’s about time we have a serious talk about debate ethics. Disclaimer: This is not meant to put down or defame anyone, so for that reason I will include no examples (except for one about me getting adjudicated). Let’s […]

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Recent Posts

  • Drawing a line in the sand using false equivalence
  • Debate traditions that you need to drop
  • 7 Debate Tactics You Probably Don’t Use (but Should)
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  • Making an Affirmative response sheet

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