Sur,+Sumana

Affiliation: Notre Dame San Jose Parent Judge (Written by Debnil Sur)

My mom's judged various forms of speech and debate since 2009; she will vote for the team that persuades her best. Speak at a snail's pace, and stick to a simple paradigm and explain why she should resolve the round in that way. If you read counterplans, explain them without jargon (i.e., explain permutation arguments as reasons that you can (or can't) do both the affirmative plan and the counterplan, and avoid confusing terminology like net benefits). As a management science lecturer, my mother has zero background in philosophy, so read any form of a criticism at your peril. **Presentation matters**: be kind and knowledgable, and don't be rude to your partner or the other team.

tl;dr: Control the round, both in terms of winning the arguments and presenting them effectively.