Mehta,+Sahil

I debated for a couple years at Lynbrook High, mainly doing LD.

I believe the debate is yours, not mine so I will not hold anything against you in the round. Nonetheless, I inevitably have my preferences which are detailed below:

1. Speed: I definitely have an easier time flowing for slower speakers, which would put you at an advantage. If you do speak extremely quickly, I still try my best to flow everything, but it necessarily becomes more difficult. I personally appreciate slower (not slow, just slower) rounds, but if you have a lot of great arguments then I want to hear them. So speak quickly if it genuinely puts your argumentation at an advantage, but please be clear. Please don't use talking quickly and unclearly as a strategy to mess with your opponent. If I have to keep yelling clear I will stop and wait for you to get the hint. You will tell by my facial expressions and body language if I am having a hard time understanding you or not. I try to make it as easy as possible for you.

2. Extensions, Weighing, Impact to the standard: I really appreciate it when debaters take the time to do these because it makes my life a whole lot easier. I prefer debate that relates to the topic at hand so when debaters engage in substantive, topical debate it is much better than he-said-she-said messy arguments. Staying on the topic keeps the debate clean and clear. So it is in your best interest to tell me why you should win by doing all of these things very explicitly.

3. Theory: I'm not a huge fan because I think it is overused/used at inappropriate times, but I won't vote you down automatically by any means. Just know how I feel about it, and run it accordingly.

4. Topicality, Kritiks, Off cases: I'm not extremely familiar with them, but with that said, I think they can be fun when used sparingly. Using these is not the be all end all of the debate, so please go back to the case without neglecting the main arguments altogether. Just know that since I am not super comfortable with these, that going over them clearly and explaining what it achieves for you are in your benefit.

5. Miscellaneous; Please be kind to your opponents and judges. I pay attention during cross-ex so don't use this time, or any other time, to bash your opponent for fun. In terms of speaks, my range is 25-30 and I tend to be pretty generous as long as you deserve it. I also consider it rude to talk after the timer has gone off so try to refrain from doing that. Other than that, I'm pretty flexible and I will treat it as your debate round. With that said, please make it clear why you are winning the round so that I don't have to intervene based on whatever is on my flow. Crystallization and numbered voting issues are much appreciated. But also, don't just rattle off voting issues. Bridge them to each other and explain what they achieve for you in the round. Three strong voting issues are better than seven blippy and ambiguous voting issues.

^Updated 12/15