Witt,+Melissa


 * __My experience__**: I am a 25 year veteran judge of forensic events. I am a 17-year coach of forensic events. Below this bio are my judging paradigms. I have a BA in Philosophy and Political Science with a minor in Communication Studies from Texas Tech University. I competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Post High School in Post, TX under the coaching of the late Mrs. Candace McConnell Boling. I competed in CEDA debate, Persuasion, Duo, Impromptu, & Extemp at West Texas A&M from 1991-1994 under the coaching direction of Guy Paul Yates, Leigh Browning, and Matt Adams. I competed in Parliamentary Debate, ADS, Persuasion, Extemp, and Impromptu at Texas Tech University from 1998-1999 under the coaching direction of Trent Webb and Tim Doty. I started teaching and coaching at Alief Hastings HS in 2000 - Policy, LD, Extemp, Oratory, Congress. In 2003 I added interpretation events: HI, DI, Duo, Duet Acting, Prose, & Poetry. I am a 2-Diamond coach with the National Speech & Debate Association. I have been a member of the Texas Speech Communication Association and Texas Forensic League since 2000. I have served on various committees for TFA including: Congress, Scholarship, and Public Relations; I have served on the UIL LD Committee and as the Texas Representative and topic author to the National Federation of State High School Associations CX Topic Selection committee. I am currently the president of the Texas Speech Communication Association. If debaters or coaches have questions or concerns, I am happy to provide my contact information to any debate coach.

__**Debate in General:**__ At the end of the round, I want both teams to know that they have put their best speaking, argumentation, and persuasion skills on the floor. In my experience, they who have learned the most and can communicate that typically have the upper hand. Rudeness/cattiness will be addressed via speaker point deductions. Egregious disrespect will result in a loss for the offending team (FYI: there is such a thing as a double-loss). I have hearing loss and wear hearing aids. While I can follow accelerated speech, you will want to verbally emphasize key tags/warrants/cards that you really want me to remember by slowing your speech pattern, making eye contact with me, and increasing your volume. Underviews following theory/kritikal positions are greatly appreciated! Flashing needs to be done efficiently, I will give about 30 seconds and then I will announce that prep is starting. If you have specific questions, be sure to ask them before the round. //**Decorum expectations:**// stand when you are speaking in the round, whether giving a speech or participating in cross-examination. If you have a disability or are ill, that should be discussed with me prior to the round if need-be. (If you are in a wheel-chair or on crutches I am not going to expect you to stand.) Flow the round, don't pack up during any of the final speeches. Shake hands with your opponents, but not with me. And, in case I forget because I'm filling out the ballot, good luck at the tournament and thank you for engaging in this amazing activity and challenging yourself academically and socially!


 * __Policy Debate__**: I do not have a preference regarding traditional vs. progressive styles of debate or argumentation. I enjoy listening and learning about various policy options, I'm fluent in Stock Issues speak, I enjoy listening to a good theory debate (yes, I do think they are possible), and I definitely am a fan of kritikal debate - but i dont know every K or every philosopher out there, so it is your responsibility in the round to make sure that the position you are advocating and the philosophical foundation for it are clear to me. I don't typically vote on Topicality, but it has happened. I want to hear original argumentation, depth of argumentation, solid impact calculus, and offense in the round. Particularly in rounds where arguments are being run that have been circulated thoroughly... sometimes for years... (like the Cap K or T-Substantial) there needs to be deeper argumentation from both sides. (Show me what you've learned after 2-4 years of running the Cap K or T-Substantial). If your K is fairly new (to you or to the circuit) you will probably want to do a fantastic job of explaining it to me during the round if you want me to vote on it.

__**LD Debate**__: I like both pragmatic and philosophical arguments. I think kritikal arguments are at home in a Lincoln-Douglas round and have no problem listening to them. I do anticipate hearing a value/criteria so if you choose not to run them you should have some theory prepared to justify that choice. I do consider a framework to do the work of the criteria. I expect to hear philosophical texts supporting a philosophical position and research/data supporting pragmatic argumentation. I also expect to hear offensive attacks against basic/traditional/oft-used value positions (Kant, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls, etc.). I do not want to hear the best you can come up with in the moment, when positions/values have been used for decades and there are arguments challenging the philosophical standpoints of these authors out there.

__**Congressional Debate**__: Do NOT speak for 3 minutes and 10 seconds. The time limit for speeches is THREE MINUTES - period. There is NO GRACE in congressional debate. Congress is a debate event, so I should hear researched responses as argumentation progresses on a piece of legislation. Students giving later speeches who offer no new argumentation or crystallization are not debating. Show respect in the chamber. Avoid "charity" speeches - you are unprepared but a fellow member has an opposing speech. Be prepared with research and thoughtful argumentation to answer opposing speeches. You have these topic areas weeks in advance, you should come with more than just arguments for one side of the debate. __//**Presiding Officers:**//__ Your knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the rules of the circuit in which you are competing should be excellent. Do not be afraid to double check something with your parliamentarian, but that should be a rare occurrence, not every time something comes up in the chamber. You should know what you're doing. PO's who give 10-second grade period will not fare well in my rounds. PO's who gavel down //by the second// will also not fare well in my rounds - as that gives me a headache. Find another method of counting them down those last 10 seconds. Be fair and firm in the round. Err on the side of more time speaking in the chamber than procedural activity. Be clear about the method of cross-examination that will be followed in the round (regular or direct questioning).

__**Public Forum**__: I don't judge this event regularly. Expectations of evidence, persuasion, and civility discussed above apply. If you have specific questions please ask before the round begins.

__**Interpretation Events**__: __Entertainment preferences__ - I want you to move me, to challenge my preconceptions, to make me understand something I didn't understand before. I want your performance to have a point. I tend to enjoy more realistic characterization rather than the more dramatic or melodramatic. I tend to favor a mix of humor and dramatic in a performance, rather than just straight humor/drama for 10 minutes. I don't prefer silly humor with no point. I should be able to understand you. The later in the year it is or the more important the tournament (state, nat quals, nats, etc.) your accents/tone/range etc. should be spot on. I should see a range of emotion in the performance. I do not like heavy sexual content (inuendo, blocking, or subject matter). I am fine with performers exploring difficult questions, but I really am not fine with acted out sex in front of me. __Technical performance preferences__ - Memorization should be a given, blocking should be reasonable and add to the performance (make it more poignant or funnier, etc.), book work (in Prose & Poetry) should be flawless and should not distract from your performance. I do not have a preference for amount of movement, other than blocking considerations mentioned earlier. Having said all of that - if your performance is better than another performer's even given my preferences for style, you will rank higher. All things begin equal, I will defer to stylistic preferences. I'm not going to give a weaker performer a better rank because I liked their subject matter better. And, in case I forget because I'm filling out the ballot, good luck at the tournament and thank you for engaging in this amazing activity and challenging yourself academically and socially!

__**Oratory:**__ Should be thoroughly researched, fully memorized, blocking should be professional in nature. Humor is always enjoyed, the more relevant the better. While I do think Oratory has some elements of interp, I lean more toward the public speaking side in stylistic preferences. Again, your oratory should make an argument, should move me, should challenge me. And, in case I forget because I'm filling out the ballot, good luck at the tournament and thank you for engaging in this amazing activity and challenging yourself academically and socially!


 * __Extemp:__** ANSWER THE QUESTION. Provide excellent support for your answer. Be organized. Minimal blocking for transition purposes is expected and appreciated. It should be clear when you're speaking that you follow current events regularly. If you are making up source citations, stop it. Don't use more than you can remember. I want to hear appropriate citations, but I would rather hear "in a recent article published in the New York Times" (for example) than for you to fabricate something because you can't recall specifics. Analysis should go deeper than the same rhetoric I get from social media threads. Show me what you're learning from your classes and from following and discussing current events. Humor is always welcome, the more relevant, the better. And, in case I forget because I'm filling out the ballot, good luck at the tournament and thank you for engaging in this amazing activity and challenging yourself academically and socially! ANSWER THE QUESTION!