Berger,+Michael

My name is Michael Berger. I debated for 4 years at Lakeville South High School in Lakeville, MN. This is the second year coaching at Lakeville North High School working with both novices and varsity. This is what I look for:

- Clear and coherent standards with every argument you are making being linked back to those standards with clear impacts. - I wont give you high speaker points just because you won. I like to see debaters remember that this still is a speaking activity and you have to persuade me with your speaking skills. - I don't like theory and probably won't vote for you if you run it. I never ran it and I usually like stock arguments that make sense and have clear impacts. - Excessive speed probably won't be persuasive to me. - Use cross-ex as a time to show me that you are more knowledgeable than your opponent and that you can poke holes in his/her case. Clarifying questions are boring.

All in all, I would consider myself a pretty traditional judge and as long as you are clear throughout the entire round, you will get a win from me.

Michael.