Pfeifer,+Sharon

I have judged many national-circuit varsity LD rounds at competitions across the United States.

I am apolitical and am not concerned with what school you attend. The debate will be decided entirely on the merits of the round.

I am not in favor of speed. Ensure that your words are clearly enunciated. This does not mean you must speak slowly; rather, simply ensure that your words can be clearly heard and understood.

Stay organized. Keep a cohesive direction in your speech instead of jumping all over the flow.

Properly extend your evidence. You need to explain the warrant coming out of the last speech.

I flow every round for the most accurate judging. I try to make the decision that requires the least amount of intervention on my part. If that doesn’t resolve it, I’ll tend to vote for the debater that I think did the most work or exhibited the most strategic and substantive smarts during the round. In other words, if the round is not resolveable on the flow, I will not have a problem voting for the “better” debater. I will not agonize over a messy round just to artificially make up a flow-based decision. You have to earn that. In most rounds, though, I find a decision usually pretty clear on the flow. Just do the work for me.

In terms of how I evaluate the flow, this is what I usually do. I will try to look at the voters given by both sides, and see how I evaluate them in comparison with each other. Weigh your arguments. You never know how I will weigh arguments on your behalf. That’s where I start. If that resolves it for me, I’ll vote there.

Be respectful toward your opponent. To be aggressive is fine, to be rude is not.