Gillespie,+Matthew

In general: Your job as a debater is to persuade me. It's not to prove your point; it's not to destroy your opponent's case; it's not even to win. It's to persuade me as the judge that I should put your name down on the ballot. This requires the total package, appealing to my reason, my sense of right and wrong, my emotions, and the common ground between us. Just pointing out a logical fallacy or two, or just pleading for me to "think of the children" does not cut it.

A few specifics on content:

Cases: I'm fine with any style of case construction, as long as it is well-explained. Value and Criterion/Standard, while the norm, are not necessarily required.

Cards: If you throw a card at me, please explain why you read it. Why does it matter? The fact that you read something you printed from the internet, quoted from someone I've never heard of, means precisely squat. In LD, please back up what you read.

Impacts: When you provide impacts, they should link clearly, be well-explained, and absolutely credible. Please, minimize squirrel cases and implausible claims. Let's keep things real.

Facts: If you state something as a fact, but any person with two brain cells to rub together would know it to be false, I will take that into consideration, even if your opponent does not point it out.

A few specifics on presentation:

Speed: I highly value eloquence. Eloquence is impossible above 300 wpm. Please give your speech more meaning than just the words. I can listen quite quickly, but if I can't understand it, either through lack of diction, or lack of sufficient explanation, I don't flow it.

Volume: Please don't yell at me. I have abnormally sensitive hearing.

Cross-ex: Please be polite, allowing your opponent to answer your questions, and answering theirs succinctly. I am mightily turned off by monopolizers.

Other than this, I try very hard to be //tabula rasa//. I will consider any well-explained and well-linked argument when filling out the ballot. Again, **persuade me**.

Background: Degrees in philosophy and logic from Boston University, Université Stendahl, and the Sorbonne. Currently a debate coach and teacher of French, Forensics, and Philosophy. I am also a trained gemologist, genealogist, proofreader and enjoy a host of other occupations.