“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…
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.
Continue reading “Lessons Learned Outside of Competition Through Speech and Debate by: Adrian King”
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.
Continue reading “Cross Examination – Balancing Firmness vs Respect by: Jackson Zomer”
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…
Continue reading “Hidden Impact! By: Tink Heinsohn”
I’ll never forget the moment when I told my best friend in Speech and Debate (a regionally ranked Team Policy debater) that I was going to compete in Lincoln Douglas debate my junior year of high school. “Olivia, that’s not real debate” she smiled as she spoke as if explaining simple addition to a kindergartner. “All you’re talking about is concepts that you can’t change, do TP, you can change policy.”
Continue reading “The Value Behind Lincoln Douglas Debate by: Olivia Bottorff”
It’s that time of year, when the resolution research begins to get collected into books and distributed for all those conscientious coaches and students out there who are ready to start working on their debate material. There are plenty of sources out there to help you get started, here are some things to keep in mind as you start to consult those resources…
Continue reading “Guidebooks, Sourcebooks, and Casebooks, Oh My!”
Yes! We have done it again… added another resource to help guide you through this 2020-21 Team Policy Debate Season. This is for any TP student, parent, coach, club leader, or even judge who wants to get a better understanding Team Policy! If you want to quickly wrap your brain around TP this season in either NCFCA or Stoa- this Guide is for you!
The Lasting Impact Grab and Go TP Guide provides a succinct and thorough basis for Team Policy Debate. Perfect for both competitors and coaches new to Team Policy, the guide covers basics such as stock issues, plans, harms, advantages, definitions, and more. For those wanting a deeper dive, the Guide also offers aff/neg strategies and research tips, laid out in a clear and accessible manner. Complete with an example Stoa Aff case, NCFCA Neg brief (from the Lasting Impact TP Sourcebook), and NCFCA general brief, this Guide will equip students with a thorough understanding of how to approach and compete in Team Policy Debate in a skilled and godly way.
Table of Contents include…
About the Book
About the Authors
Definition
Definitions Summary
Definitions Brief (NCFCA)
Definitions Brief (Stoa)
Plans
The Stock Issues
Topicality
Inherency
Significance
Solvency
Advantages & Disadvantages
Evidence
Advocacy
Case Backups
Brief Writing
Sample Case Structure
Sample Case (Stoa)
Sample Negative Brief (NCFCA)
General Brief: The European Union
Debate Terminology
TP Tips and Tricks
Prep Time
Speaker Positions
Presentation
Evidence Preparation Strategy
Voting Issues
Choosing Your Partner
Partner Questionnaire
Tips For Writing A Good Ballot
Grab the Guide and Go HERE. Don’t forget to also check out the 2020-21NCFCA TP Sourcebook HERE. Lasting Impact! loves being able to support your speech and debate journey, wherever you are in the journey.
It was my first year in Team Policy Debate. I was young and inexperienced, my partner even more so, and I was terrified. I thought we were going to die. And we would have, if not for our club. It was an online club, full of experienced debaters, many of whom were seniors. I had nothing to offer them. I could barely research, so I wasn’t useful in the evidence sharing department. My strategy was sub-par. It was not useful to practice debate us; In fact, I’m sure it felt more like pulling teeth.
But they didn’t mind.
This summer I was invited to be a part of something epic! I love collaborating with like-minded organizations. If you have never heard of DFW Speech and Debate, let me introduce you to James Russell, the director, and the vision for this new, awesome speech and debate curriculum…
Continue reading “A New Speech and Debate Curriculum to Explore”
Last year when the world seemed to shut down and that nothing would ever be the same, I saw so much disappointment and heart ache. I encouraged my students to remember why they do speech and debate. Their assignment- write a devotional! Why do they want to be good communicators? Who are they doing this for? How did God use them this year? And do they really think it’s all over?? This fall, as we enter a new season, I want you to remember that speech and debate may look a little different, but I can guarantee you, I agree with my student, the Lord still wants to use you…
Continue reading “Devotional- Step Out of Your Comfort Zone”
Who's having trouble getting started right now? On anything...
In the wake of extensive 'shut downs' and tectonic shifts of our existing paradigms, most of us are having trouble gearing up to start anything back up. Nothing is working the way it has in the past. Nothing is clear about what comes a month from now, or even next week. There seems to be no long-term vision or goal that feels attainable. That makes it hard to start. And yet...start we must. It's a new beginning.
I could say it a thousand times: Adaption to online tournaments will be essential for the upcoming debate season! Raise your hand if you want to try out online debate for the first time at an actual tournament with check marks or at-large points in the balance? No hands? I agree.
The speech and debate world is undergoing a huge shift to try and balance speech and debate while protecting people’s lives. This shift is towards online debate. As students, we can choose to either resist it and just hope that something changes, or embrace it and learn to adapt. I am with most of you in that my initial gut reaction to online debate was: “Yuck!” Yet, after participating in several online tournaments, one of which was hosted by Lasting Impact!, my perspective has entirely changed. I believe that online tournaments provide a more than viable way to continue speech and debate in the Covid era.
Lasting Impact! is offering a chance to prepare for these online tournaments in the form of their Fall Circuit. It starts Sept. 28, 2020. Go to www.impacttournaments.com for more info or to register. In the meantime here are some expectations that you can have for this circuit and future Impact Tournaments…
Continue reading “Expectations From an Online Tournament from Lasting Impact! By: Thaddian Burson”
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