Baxter,+Dan

Coach at Bellarmine, San Jose, CA Graduate of Whitman College

For your purposes, consider me a lay judge.

I will flow, but debate is foremost an exercise of persuasion, so I strongly recommend you speak at a normal pace. The Supreme Court has time limits, but lawyers speak just as slowly as they would in front of a jury. Your job is to persuade me—not to overwhelm me or your competitor with information.

Respect your opponent. A big part of debate is listening. You’re better off spending time addressing their arguments than trying to fit in as many of your own as possible.

If you want to run off case, beware that if I’m not completely persuaded, you’ve wasted your time. Walk me through it. I try my best to assume very little and let you fill in the blanks. That means if you want a //tabula rasa//, you had better come ready to explain the nuance of your argument. I won't presume for you that X trumps Y.