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SALE on Sourcebooks – One More Day! Only $20

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Cyber Monday and we are still feeling thankful! This year, we did something we never have done before- we are offering our Debate Sourcebooks for only $20! What makes our Debate Sourcebooks different from other Sourcebooks out there?

Many sourcebooks take a top-down approach to the resolution, providing you with swaths of evidence but with little way to digest it. While we still provide multiple cases and briefs to be used throughout the season, our sourcebook explores all the facets of debate, not just the evidence. We teach you the tricks of the trade, breaking down terminology and debate theory in an accessible and understandable way. Additionally, we have advanced approaches to boost your speaker points, organization, and persuasion. No matter what your strengths and weaknesses in debate are, our sourcebook is designed to meet you where you are and facilitate growth. This resource will help you gain traction as you launch into the new season. Right now, our sourcebooks are on sale! You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity that will help you identify your best speaker roles, partner compatibility, and strategic strengths.

Additionally, our coaches are on deck and ready to help you put the finishing touches on your cases and strategies as you start this season, and beyond! The holidays are here, but competition will be upon us before you know it. Don’t procrastinate!

Here’s what people are saying about our Sourcebooks, Elyse says, “The TP Sourcebook is absolutely amazing! What a great resource! And the vocabulary list… I didn’t even know half of the words, and I have been debating a couple years.” Club Leader, Speech and Debate Coach, Tena, says, “I have been helping debate students develop their speaking skills for over a decade. I have always encouraged students to utilize sourcebooks (especially early in the season) to get a jumpstart on their research and debating. I always recommend Lasting Impact! They have FAR and AWAY the best sourcebooks.” Heather says, “Our Sourcebooks are not only written for the student in mind, many Club Leaders and Coaches use our Sourcebooks to help them understand the resolution, terminology, definitions, etc. Hundreds of hours are poured into our resources, because we love what we do and love helping people succeed.”

Head to the SHOP and purchase your Sourcebook for only $20 TODAY!

Extemp Roundtable is HERE – sign up TODAY!

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Extemp Roundtable
Time: 4pm ET
Fridays – Begins Nov. 18, 2022-April 2023
Cost: $100 Members / $125 NonMembers

One downside of digital extemp is the lack of club mates getting together to discuss the news while filing articles. The extemp roundtable will recreate that valuable discussion time. Each week everyone will be responsible for a short (2 min) summary of a news topic, followed by a brief discussion. Coach Marc will help keep the discussion going and take notes. This is about information density and actively keeping up with the news. Parents are encouraged to attend to learn alongside their students. Join students from around the nation, from a variety of leagues! This is for beginners to experienced, from students to coaches. You do not want to miss out on the opportunity to discuss current events, understanding the critical thinking process, analysis, and overall communication skills this club will provide!

Go here to sign up – https://lastingimpact.info/product/club10143/

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BIG NEWS! Lasting Impact! Tournament in St. Louis – Coolidge Cup Qualifier

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Lasting Impact! is excited to announce our partnership with Coolidge Cup 2023! Lasting Impact! will be hosting the Impact! at the ARCH Tournament in St. Louis, December 19-20, 2022! The top SIX carefully selected debaters will be chosen to receive invitations to compete in the Coolidge Cup 2023! Battle it out to secure your place in the Coolidge Cup in St. Louis by debating in Parliamentary Debate! Parli Debate is a limited prep style of debate, where resolutions are released prior to the beginning of each round.

What is the Coolidge Cup Tournament?

The Coolidge Cup is an annually held tournament through July 2-4, where speech and debate students across America come together to compete nationally for scholarships totaling $15,000. Sponsored and hosted by The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, the Coolidge Cup offers a unique opportunity for America’s Youth to grow in their Speech and Debate skills and also gain essential life skills, such as following guidelines, working with others, and putting their skills to use. To Compete in the Coolidge Cup, debaters must receive a personal invitation to the event. Invitations are received by competing in qualifying tournaments where limited amounts of invitations are available. Competitors participating in the Coolidge Cup will receive financial aid for travel, hotel, and food costs. For more information on The Coolidge Cup click here. 

For Registration and more info – https://impactatthearch.homeschooldebate.net/ Registration begins Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022 at 9am CT. We do expect this tournament to fill up! Questions? Contact – heather@lastingimpact.info

https://impactatthearch.homeschooldebate.net/

Digital Presentation or Expository Tips By: Clare Cey

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Public speaking is hard. Success requires a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but it is an incredible opportunity to share what’s important to you. The idea of writing a platform speech, let alone a speech using visual aides, such as Digital Presentation or Expository can often feel like an impossible task. Memorizing 10 minutes of words and a powerpoint presentation? Forget it! For many, the draw to a digital presentation is the desire to play with animations, fonts, colors, and cool slide transitions for hours. With a digital presentation (DP) you can just go to town with all of your neon, cursive fonts, and spinning slides, right? Not so, my friend! Today, I’d like to share some of the most helpful things I learned in creating and giving my DP, to help you as you create and present yours…

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The Exploratory Stage – Choosing a Topic by: Alaina Hoyt

Posted on by Heather Neumann


Whether taking a High School Speech class or preparing to compete in Nationals, choosing the right speech topic can seem daunting. Topic possibilities are endless, ranging from persuasive platforms to abstract interps! The thousands of choices swirling like a storm through your mind or scribbled on your notes may make your head spin, but they don’t have to. Using these principles will provide you with a step-by-step map for any situation, always resulting in the same destination: success. Don’t allow yourself to rush through or be intimidated by, what Heather Neumann calls, The Exploratory Stage…

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Researching the Resolution by: Isaiah Depp

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Many debaters have already started preparing cases, or at least researching the resolution. Maybe you have always wanted to write your own case, but do not know where to start with researching and understanding the topic. I would argue that research is integral to debating. If your goal is success in competition, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the topic will help you to win rounds with far more consistency. If your goal is to learn and gain life skills, understanding something thoroughly before you talk about it is likewise far more persuasive and enlightening both for you and for your audience. Let me break down the basics of understanding the resolution and how to research your topics…

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Understanding The Burden of Proof by: Marc Davis

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Lasting Impact! is always excited to partner with other like-minded organizations like New England Debate. Marc Davis coaches for both, and co-runs New England Debate. We are teaming up to offering a series of online workshops for speech and debaters this fall. They’ll be a fantastic way to dive deeper into debate as you prepare for the tournament season. There will even be a FREE How To Judge later this fall. The first one is this Saturday, so register now! Lasting Impact! Members will receive a FREE 1ac for signing up!

I made it a habit this summer, when I was teaching at a number of debate camps, to stop students who mentioned the affirmative’s “burden of proof” and ask them to define the concept. I received a number of different answers, none of them the same. This small experiment has led me to suspect that debaters don’t really understand the concept at all, even though they use it frequently in their rounds…

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How To Decide? Selling Your Speech Topic Idea

Posted on by Heather Neumann

You have probably heard me before talk about this part of your Speech and Debate Journey… welcome to the Exploratory Phase - the time when you should be exploring ideas, options, cases, even books (please tell me you aren’t only using a search engine)! Honestly, this is one of my favorite times - I have stacks of books scattered around my house, coaching appointments are made up “idea generating sessions”, the TV, radio, newspaper could give me a lead on the next best idea! So why is it that so many people struggle with this Phase!!?

While you are in the Exploratory Phase… you need to do just that - EXPLORE! How else are you going to decide what you want to talk about for the next 4-10 months (you think I am over exaggerating, but I’m not). In order for you to make progress… you actually have to put in the work! Here, I’ll help- I will break it down in a little check list for you to decide if you will be able to sell your idea to your future audience…

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Understanding and Incorporating Cultural Relevance – Finding Your Topic and Voice by: Kristi Eskelund

Posted on by Heather Neumann

We live in changing and turbulent times in which we are made increasingly aware of upheavals in our melting pot culture that stem in part from a carelessness in speaking and acting. If you are going to become a public speaker, it’s important that you consider how to be a relevant speaker.

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Before you open the NCFCA Moot Court Packet – Read This! By: Ethan Tong

Posted on by Heather Neumann

About a month ago, the 2022-2023 NCFCA Moot Court packet dropped- an edited version of the college Moot Court (AMCA) packet from five years ago. Many experienced mooters immediately dove into the packet, hoping to analyze it with their friends. But for others, the packet is big and terrifying: 23 pages of daunting legal material.

Where do you even start?

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Online Speech Camp – This Week! Sign Up NOW!

Posted on by Heather Neumann

One more time! After a whirl wind of Speech Camps, I decided to run one more… for anyone that didn’t make it to an in-person camp… for any new coach that wants to learn how I teach, for any family who wants to jump in and explore what Speech looks like! I will be mostly breaking down the three types of speeches we see in Speech and Debate, the myths, why we should do them, and how to go about them. Special emphasis will be put on the new events – Interp in a Box, Biblical Presentation, and After Dinner Speaking. Whether you want an overview, a fresh new take, or an inspiring afternoon. Come hang out with me… click HERE to sign up. Or go to – https://lastingimpact.info/product/camps10241/

The recording will be FREE to those who sign up. For questions contact heather@lastingimpact.info

The Advantages of Starting Early in Speech and Debate by: Brendan McDonald

Posted on by Heather Neumann

The year I first broke in debate was my third year competing. My previous two years of competition had been my formative years of speaking, and I was ready to break through. But I needed a push; I needed to start earlier!

Organized practice debating pushed me across the finish line.

This coming debate season, make the pledge:  No more first tournament icebreaking.

If you’re a young debater or are having trouble breaking, you should consider practicing debate in the fall (months before the first tournament) as much as possible…

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