hey so this is going to be my first year debating competitively, and I was wondering if you have any advice?
that sounds exciting!! this is my third year doing competitive debate, but i’ve only done public forum debate so far. my advice is probably limited to pf mainly, but hopefully this could apply to the other forms as well.Â
1) specialize as either first or second speaker!Â
i know some coaches (like mine..) have partnerships split up speaker roles (i.e., you’re first speaker for one side and second speaker for the second side), but i’ve only become more successful as a debate after specializing as a second speaker. i know there’s a stigma around second speakers being better informed about the subject, smarter, etc, but i can tell you right away that that’s absolutely untrue. some of the most experienced debaters i know agree on the fact that the summary speech(which is done by the first speaker) is in fact the most difficult of the round. however, it is definitely true that second and first speakers require different skill sets. in my opinion, second speakers definitely need to have a better grip of all of the counterarguments, as well as the ways in which the two cases clash with one another (the rebuttal is all about addressing clash and turning points!), as well as why they’re winning the round at the end of the day. in contrast, first speakers need to have a better grasp of the intricacies of each case, as well as how every point interacts. they need to keep a really close track of the flow, and be both extremely concise in their word economy. definitely try both sides at the beginning, but it’s always best to choose one position to focus on eventually.Â
2) choose a good partner
this goes without saying, but it’s honestly been one of my biggest struggles throughout my debate career. obviously, you should choose someone who cares as much as you do about debate, and will put in the effort. at the same time, you also should find someone who has a debating style that compliments yours. i’ve seen partnerships with extremely capable and intelligent debaters end as a trainwreck because their personalities just.. clashed too much. for example, if you’re a really passionate speaker, try finding someone who’s perhaps calmer and more calculative. on the other hand, if you really hate cross-ex (#me), find someone who loves it. most importantly, find someone that is willing to listen to your critiques and improve. this is the only way for your scores to significantly improve, as debate really is a team sport. lol sorry if you’re in ld
3) accommodate to judges!
some people don’t buy this, but i really think it matters to take note of your judge’s background when making arguments. if they know a lot about debate, go hard on those technical terms and quick-paced arguments. in contrast to this, if they know absolutely nothing about debate, drop what you as a debater see as important to the round (such as naming specific evidence, jargon, etc), and really work to convince the judge through weighing impacts and a nice speech. at the end of the day, the judge is required to write the reason why a team won on the ballot, so give them voters and clear taglines as to why you win!
4) blocks are super important.
collaborate with your whole team to make a block file as soon as you know the new topic. this way, you’ll get an exponentially higher number of blocks, and a much better rebuttal. plan out what the important arguments are that you’ll need to counter, and assign individual ones to everyone in the team.
5) some small things regarding flows…
-preflow your case! especially if you’re first speaker.
-flow each side with a different color. that’s really the only way to make all the arguments seem cohesive and clear once you get a few speeches in.
-develop some shorthand! this will make life a lot easier.
but really, above all, have fun with debate! debate is one of the few things i truly love in my high school, and it’s pretty safe to say that it is one of the highlights of high school for me. it’s really scary at first, but remember that—especially since this will be your novice year—no one else really knows what they’re doing either, and they’re probably equally as shook as you are. have fun, win rounds, get to know your team, share debate stories, etc. it’ll be a fun time, i promise!Â
anyway, this is super generalized (and probably contains a lot of typos, as i’m always too lazy to read through things..) because i’m not completely sure what kind of debate you’ll be doing. i hope this helps! if not, feel free to hit me up with more questions. best of luck!
