Lawrence,+Elizabeth

I was never involved with debate as a competitor. My only experience is as a judge, which I started doing this school year. This means I have some different habits from judges who started as debaters: - I never learned to talk fast or to listen fast. I can't understand you when you spread. To the extent that I can comprehend people who talk faster than normal, it is only possible when they enunciate impeccably. If a judge has ever called out "clear" to you, you should consider debating at conversational speed when I am judging. - I don't "flow" in the technical sense: I don't try to write down every word that is said in the speech. I listen to and process your speech, and I then take notes in speech-columns to keep track of major arguments that have been made. - Do not assume that I know your debate jargon terms the first time you say them. - Debate is an academic activity with rules. Positions should be germane, arguments should avoid fallacious reasoning. The affirmative ought to talk about the resolution.