Posts by Heather Neumann

Lasting Impact! One Stop Resource

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Ever caught yourself feeling unprepared for the upcoming season or generally in need of speech and debate resources? You’re in luck! From clubs, coaching, and mentoring to downloadable pdfs, Lasting Impact! has you covered! If you’ve ever wondered what the resources Lasting Impact! offers are, look no further! Lasting Impact! is available for all to enjoy, however membership does have privileges. Why do we offer a membership? Lasting Impact! is a community, think of it as a giant club! We have members all over the world. A few of the membership benefits are- receive discounts on coaching, clubs, and classes, as well as free access to our video gallery and the recorded workshops. Membership is ONLY $35 for the year!! As a Christmas and New Year’s BONUS you can use the code MEMBER5 for $5 off!!! If you don’t want to be a member but want to be up to date on what we offer, be sure you SUBSCRIBE to our website and give us your email on the right hand side of the HOME page.

In addition to the over 400 articles (and counting) posted at the Lasting Impact! site written for Speech and Debaters, in mind, as well as parents, coaches, and club leaders, here is an outline everything available in the lastingimpact.info SHOP (think Christmas gifts)…

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Adding Personal Perspective to Speech and Debate by: Kristi Eskelund

Posted on by Heather Neumann

If we are going to talk about YOU as a speaker (and we are!) then you need to begin to know what your perspective is on the things you are going to talk about. Perspective in your point of view.

Let me break that down:
Your – influenced by your own experiences and encounters and background, etc.
Point – the direction of your thoughts
of View – the way you are looking at things

See, your perspective is yours. As you move beyond the ranks of a novice speaker, you will stop writing and saying the things you think other people want you to write and say, and you will begin articulating your very own thoughts, gleaned from your very own experiences, based on the things you encounter with your very own senses. You will share perspective with other people, but unless you can identify something as your own perspective, you will not be a genuine and authentic speaker...

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Do Apologetics!! By: Emalyn Sharp

Posted on by Heather Neumann

As is usually the case with me, it wasn’t my idea to compete in Apologetics. It was one of those things that I was cool observing from a distance but didn’t want to participate in myself. My mother had other ideas though and decided that it would ‘be good for me.’ Oh, how I hated those words. It was only my second year in Speech and Debate and I was absolutely terrified. Apologetics sounded complicated and scary. Apologetics was going to be miserable, and I was going to make a fool of myself…

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Sign Up Now! Online Tournament Prep Workshop

Posted on by Heather Neumann

You may not want to hear it, but online communication is here to stay. It’s not going anywhere! While it seems as if it came abruptly in March of 2020, because of COVID, Lasting Impact! has been connecting with thousands of people across the country, even the world over the last five years! I have coached National Speech and Debate Champions, an Olympian, Fortune 500 Business owners, as well as students who want to be better communicators overall or simply want to enjoy the art of communication. And guess what? I have done this mostly online!! I have even directed a virtual play, as well four national online speech and debate tournaments, all within the that six months.

While all of us prefer to communicate in person and can’t wait to be together again, there is much to learn in the online environment. I believe communication, connection, and engagement can happen virtually. Until the day when we can be together, I will embrace, learn, grow, and adapt. There is much to learn!

This is why after our recent practice tournament, we decided we wanted to share with you the tips and tricks you can use to help you be a better virtual communicator. The Lasting Impact! Team will be offering an online workshop on how to prep for virtual tournaments. There are so many more elements to think through than just doing your speech or debating (in your bedroom) online. By now, you have been in an online meeting, where the presenter is back lit, or just the opposite and the sun is glaring in their eyes. We will address multiple items to get you thinking about how you want your online presentation to be, whether it be for speech or debate. I look forward to sharing what we have learned to help you prepare for the online world ahead. I hope you will join us Dec. 28 at 6:30pm CT

Learn about…

  • Online Tournament Tips
  • How to create an online environment
  • Lighting
  • Microphones and sound
  • Connecting online
  • Sitting vs standing
  • Movement and space
  • And more!

Cost – Only $10 per member family/$25 non member families*

*As always, no additional cost for the recording.

Click HERE to register and for more information.

Lasting Impact! exists to train and educate students to build their communication skills so they can be effective ambassadors for Christ in all areas of life. We are often told that practice makes perfect. In the case of online communication and this “don’t miss” Workshop, we believe practice will equal prepared! We hope to see you soon!

Essential Tournament Prep: Judging Debate by: Brenda Storz

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Our friends, at New England Debate, posed a great question… it’s geared toward judges…

Are you ready? We’ve all spent months helping equip our debaters for competition. We’ve asked: Do they have fitting tournament attire, a way to organize their evidence, a timepiece and flowpad? Have they written their case well, developed enough negative research, and practiced enough debate rounds? We’ve focused on making sure they are prepared — or at least as prepared as they can be. As parents, we usually worry about ourselves last, but are we prepared?

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Cyber Monday Sale – Buy 2 Coaching Sessions – Get 1 FREE!!!

Posted on by Heather Neumann

This offer is only good today! Purchase 2 coaching sessions – get 1 FREE!! Mix and match coaches. Use the coaching for the ultimate tournament prep, or spread it out during the season. Our coaches are excited to help you better prepare- for whatever lies ahead!

Check out our Lasting Impact! Team and Coaches HERE.

Purchase your sessions HERE. Just purchase two, and we will add the third for FREE!!

*Sessions must be used for the 2020-21 Season. Sorry, not valid for Club Coaching.

The TPers Horror Story Turned Utopia by Sarah Fox

Posted on by Heather Neumann

It was the moment every policy debater fears. My partner and I had just asked our opponents what case they were running, and to our horror they gave us the name of one of the only cases we didn’t prep for at that national mixer. Not to mention it was the last prelim round – a breaking round. I less than confidently pulled out our one piece of evidence on the bill printed late the night before while my partner ran through the rain to retrieve a few pages of evidence from a fellow team. Needless to say, it was chaotic… Till we remembered there were such things as sourcebooks.

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Ready… Not Ready (How to survive signing up for a Speech and Debate Tournament)

Posted on by Heather Neumann

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” Apparently, Mary Poppins had never signed up for a Speech and Debate Tournament!! Ah- the STRESS!! First there is IF you are going to sign up… Are your parents making you? Are your speeches written? Do you have a case yet? Just breathe! Let us be your guide… your own little Mary Poppins to help you navigate the task set before you. How to survive signing up for a Speech and Debate Tournament…

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Lessons Learned Outside of Competition Through Speech and Debate by: Adrian King

Posted on by Heather Neumann

I was your classic speech and debate nerd. For three and a half years of my life, I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into the sport that had become one of my greatest passions. Over the course of my Speech and Debate career, I went to numerous camps, outsourced ten different coaches, and heard more lectures than I can count. I attended 35 tournaments, participated in 220 debate rounds, and competed in every event except for Expository. You could say I was obsessed with Speech and Debate. But it wasn’t until my senior year was abruptly cut short by COVID-19 that I truly took a step back from the competition to reflect on my experience throughout my time in forensics. It wasn’t until my senior year that I actually understood the impact Speech and Debate had on my life, in both positive and negative ways. It wasn’t until my senior year that I realized the opportunities I wish I had taken and the lessons I wish I had understood.

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Cross Examination – Balancing Firmness vs Respect by: Jackson Zomer

Posted on by Heather Neumann

How many times have you seen it happen? A debater loses significant likability with a judge because they are far too rude in cross examination. Or someone loses a round because they don’t bring up a point for the fear of sounding too harsh. In my five years of competing in Speech and Debate, I often experienced being on both ends of the spectrum (more so the former than the latter). This can be categorized as a lack of balance- the balance between firmness and respect. Being out of balance on either side can devastate your chances of winning debate rounds and having genuine communication with your audience. By the end of my senior year, I feel I had greatly improved with this balance and transformed it from a massive weakness into one of my strengths. Part of that is because my TP partner for my last two years, Thomas Walter, is an absolute master at balance and I learned a ton just from observing his habits. I’ve boiled down what I’ve learned about the balance of firmness and respect in debate into a few very practical suggestions that I feel can significantly improve your skills, likability, and success as both a speaker and a cross examiner.

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Hidden Impact! By: Tink Heinsohn

Posted on by Heather Neumann

How do you measure the impact of a speech? As you consider the words you think about, put on paper, and give voice to, also consider the one who holds those words in His sovereign hands. Your testimony of His work in your life is not about you. It’s about Him. He is faithful, merciful, just, right, and good. We are called to testify to His goodness, His truth, and His faithfulness, not our own. A testimony requires communication. We write, speak, and testify to His purposes, not our own. The impact of your words may be hidden from you, so I would like to give a personal example of the impact that spoken words can have on the broken soul of a sinner…

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