Henson,+Karen

I did some policy debating in high school, but that was a long, long time ago. For the last four years I have judged primarily L-D rounds at state and regional tournaments, with a bit of public forum and policy thrown in.

I prefer debaters to let me know where they are going in advance. That means I like roadmaps. I like to have arguments/defenses weighed and explicitly stated. I like the value and criterion stated clearly and arguments linked back to them deliberately. I like debates that actually focus on the resolution, not ones that question underlying assumptions or criticize an opponent's discourse or mindset or any other type of critical debate. I do ask to see evidence on occasion. You will make me very happy if you crystallize the voting issues for me in your last speech.

I hate when debaters lable statements turns when they are not, so please don't do that. In general I hate debate jargon. If you are going to extend an argument, tell me why. If you just say "extend", I am likely going to ignore it. Also, I don't care for snarkiness or nastiness in cross-ex.

On speed. I can handle some speed if a debater also has decent volume and clarity. I will let a debater know if I am having trouble following.