Smith,+Michael

I have been judging for 4 years and am affiliated with Benidle-St. Margaret's High School in Minnesota. Most importantly - SPEED IS NOT YOUR FRIEND with me. (I'm not yelling, just empasizing) If you need to speak quickly I must be able to understand you and it can not be inserted to try to trip up your opponent. If your opponent has to ask you what contentions 6 thru 35 were because you were going so fast...hmmm. State your Value and Criterion early and lets debate. I follow the flow but if you and your opponent drop an argument, it is gone. Bring evidence to support your case and //understand// that evidence and your case. Nothing reveals an unprepared debator more than someone who can not cite their evidence later in the round without having to go back and re-read it first. I am not wowed by your trip through the "big word thesaurus" so be prepared to know what you are saying if your opponent asks. I base my final decision on how well you defended your case and debunked your opponent's arguments against it. I vote on the content of the debate, not the style. Convince me you're right without telling me how many of your contentions your opponent did not respond to. (I'm pretty good at figuring that out.). I am not impressed how your contentions relate back to your opponent's value and criterion (unless they are the same or very simlar). If you give up on your Value and try to work through your opponents, it had better be a better argument than your opponent is using to defend it already. Finally, I understand you feel you win the debate. You should. But don't tell me that. You are wasting time and I just might not agree with you. Good Luck.