Calling all parents! Our team is excited to offer a free parent registration with every student who signs up for one of our online camps this summer. The fact is, YOU are an essential member of your student’s competition team. Every late night conversation in the kitchen, every practice round you judge, every bit of feedback you offer will help your student gain a deeper understanding of the resolution, and our league culture will benefit from your expertise!
Camps start this week! It’s not too late to sign up for…
Novice Team Policy, June 26-27 from 9am-12pm CST
Advanced Team Policy, June 26-27 from 1-4pm CST
Novice LD, June 27 from 11am-3pm CST
Advanced LD, June 27 from 11am-3pm CST
We hope to see you there! If you haven’t signed up yet or haven’t checked out ALL the Speech and Debate Camps we are offering this year – check them out – HERE!! https://lastingimpact.info/product-category/online-camps/ OR Email anne.lastingimpact@gmail.com with any questions.
Every speech and debate season brings something new. Sometimes it’s an entirely new event!! Other times it’s a rule change, a revised event description, or an updated ballot. For many competitors (and coaches!!), these changes can feel overwhelming at first. Where do you start? How do you know what judges are really looking for? How can you make your speech stand out? Do you sit this season out to let someone else show you what a new even can look like- NO WAY!! Sign up for an inspirational, informational webinare on July 14 (more information below) or read on for some expert tips…
Our speech and debate summer camps aren’t just about communication! At Lasting Impact! we focus on connection and community, building friendships across regions and leagues. Our team is thrilled to offer you a wide variety of online camps throughout the summer months. We are offering a variety of ONLINE CAMPS to help you grow, grow, GROW… including camp geared toward COACHES!! And in addition to our Online Camps… we travel!! We have been to over 20 states… including Hawaii! All camps are now open for REGISTRATION, and over the next few weeks we will be introducing you to our elite coaches. We can’t wait for you to join us or contact Anne (anne.lastingimpact@gmail.com) to learn more about hosting a specialized camp in your area!!
Are you at NCFCA Nationals? Come visit us for a chance to meet our summer coaches and win fun prizes! Checking in from home? Reach out to our new Education Programs Director Anne McClure (anne.lastingimpact@gmail.com) to be entered into our drawing for a free coaching session. Here’s to a great summer together!
As we move toward the close of another incredible speech and debate season, this is the time to make a valuable moment to pause, reflect, and grow. AKA- Don’t STOP!!
The end of a season is not just about celebrating what went well—it’s also the perfect time for intentional assessment. Whether a student just completed a production, wrapped up a speech season, finished a debate cycle, or completed a class, personalized coaching can help turn experience into lasting growth.
That’s why we’re excited to offer a special BOGO Coaching Call promotion – FOR ONE WEEK ONLY… now through May 24: Buy one coaching call and receive one free (with the same coach). Read ALL the details below…
This is a wonderful opportunity for students and families who want to maximize progress while building momentum for their Regional, National, next season, or beyond!
Why End-of-Season Coaching Matters
A coaching call at the close of a season gives students the chance to process their growth while the experience is still fresh. Having a professional help to assess ballots, cases, both in speech and debate can make a difference.
In these sessions, students can:
Assess what went well in past competition
Identify strengths that should continue
Pinpoint growth areas in confidence, technique, preparation, or mindset
Receive personalized feedback from a coach who understands their goals
Create a clear next-step plan for summer or fall training
Too often, students jump from one tournament right into the next without taking time to reflect. But reflection is where real growth happens, especially when you are reflecting with an experienced coach.
Assessment transforms “I did it” into “Here’s how I get even better.” If you have been getting minor improvement ballots all season long… a one hour coaching session can help bring you to the next level!
The Power of Two Calls Instead of One
The beauty of this BOGO offer is that the second call creates space for follow-through.
The first coaching session can focus on:
Season reflection
Strengths and challenges
Goal setting
Honest assessment
The free second session with the same coach allows students to:
Revisit those goals
Check progress
Strengthen skills discussed in the first session
Prepare for the next level
Build confidence with consistency
OR use the coaching call for multiple family members
Growth happens best when feedback is paired with action. Two calls give students both the insight and the support they need.
BOGO Coaching Offer Details…
All coaching must be done by June 1
Buy one coaching call and receive one free with the same coach (some exceptions can apply).
ONLY one paid session per family.
Offer good for members or nonmembers of Lasting Impact!
Coaches include – Heather Neumann, Kristi Eskelund, Caleb McClure, Hillary Kolssak, Nathanael Kolssak, and Seth Margolis
The season may be ending, but growth doesn’t stop here!! Now is the perfect time to invest in reflection, refinement, and readiness for what’s next. Click HERE to schedule your coaching call today.
Last week I went to see one of my favorite Broadway shows at a local theater. Something was missing. The set was awesome! The costumes were great! It was a full cast! Something was off!? Anyone who spends time in theatre has experienced it. The actors say all the right words. They move to the right places. The show looks polished and well-rehearsed. Yet somehow… it feels hollow. The same thing can happen in Speech and Debate!!
What’s missing?
Often the difference comes down to three very different approaches to speaking lines: reciting, performing, and feeling.
Great thinking doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built over time through intentional learning, strong ideas, and meaningful conversation. That’s exactly what Lasting Impact! is here!!
When you subscribe to Lasting Impact!, you’ll receive weekly articles designed to challenge, encourage, and equip students, parents, and coaches in Speech & Debate and beyond. Presently, we have OVER 600 articles!! That’s TEN years worth of information!! We are the LONGEST Speech and Debate Community supporting leagues, clubs, coaches, parents, and students!! We love what we do! And we are here to stay!
What You’ll Get When You Subscribe
✔ Weekly Articles Thoughtful pieces on critical thinking, purposeful practice, communication skills, and competitive growth—written to be practical, encouraging, and immediately usable.
✔ Top News & Ideas at Your Fingertips Stay informed on relevant topics, emerging arguments, and trends shaping conversations in debate rounds and classrooms alike. We are active involved coaches… judging and running tournaments. We are club leaders listening to students and reading ballots. We have a pulse of what is going on. Each article is written with purpose—so you can spend less time searching and more time growing.
✔ Tools You Can Actually Use From practice techniques and speaking tips to mindset shifts and coaching strategies—everything is created to support real growth, not just theory. We have years of experience from around the nation.
✔ Encouragement for the Journey Whether you’re a student learning to find your voice, a parent supporting from the sidelines, or a coach guiding a team, you’ll find insight that meets you where you are.
Why Lasting Impact! Exists
This space was created to build thinkers, not repeaters. To start conversations, not end them. To be bold, grow, be courageous and strong. To give you resources that inspire independent work, deeper thinking, and confident communication.
Simple. Valuable. Worth Your Time.
No clutter. No overwhelm. Just clear ideas delivered straight to your inbox—so the best insights are always within reach.
Subscribe today and never miss an article. Look for the SUBSCRIBE button on the right of the home page on a computer, or scroll below on a mobile device.
Practice is where Speech and Debate competitors are truly made—but not all practice is created equal. Hours spent rehearsing without focus can lead to burnout, frustration, and stalled growth. Purposeful practice, on the other hand, builds thinkers, communicators, and confident competitors. The difference isn’t time... It’s intention. Read on for more EIGHT intentional practice tips and to understand why purposeful practice is so important...
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One of the most common pieces of feedback students receive in Speech and Debate is about hand gestures: too stiff, too distracting, too much, or not enough. While gestures can feel awkward at first, when used well, they become one of the most powerful tools a speaker has.
The goal isn’t perfect choreography. The goal is natural communication.
Hand gestures should support meaning—not compete with it. Remember, hand gestures can help grab your audience’s attention or also give them a VISUAL CLUE as to what you are trying to say. They are a big deal to helping you effectively communicate your thoughts, but they can also distract!! What can you do? Read on to hear Heather’s tips on how to create meaningful hand gestures that aren’t over-the-top, yet still have an IMPACT!…
To win an LD round, you’ve got to convince your judge that your side is “good.” But to answer that question, you first need to ask a more important question: What IS the good? In the particular situation posed by this particular resolution, what ought we to value as our highest priority? Why should we value it? Is LD just a math problem? Is it enough to just tally up the benefits and count up which side provides more? If you’d like to discuss these principles further, or get personal help refining your cases, a few spots are still available in this semester’s LD Socratic Circle club. The club meets on Mondays at 6pm CT. Sign up here: https://lastingimpact.info/product/club24801/
Coach Henry Chen addresses these questions and more in this new resource available as a free download in the Lasting Impact shop. His article describes the two levels of argumentation that an LD debater must win, and he explores the scenarios that can occur when students fail to recognize the clashing worldviews at play in a round. This resource will help debaters and coaches better identify conflicting frameworks and weigh the impacts of each side. Check it out int the Lasting Impact! Library as a PDF soon~
The “Two-Step” of LD Debate Lincoln-Douglas debate is unique because it requires two distinct victories. You cannot just prove your side is “good” (Step 2); you must first prove how we define “good” (Step 1). The “Scale” metaphor visualizes this hierarchy. Step 1: The First Order of Debate (The Framework) Image: Top Left (Framework Conflict) ● The Metaphor: This panel represents the Value and Criterion debate. ● The Action: Notice the two debaters are not looking at the weights (the arguments/impacts) on the table. They are arguing about the instruments in their hands. ○ The debater on the left wants to use a Standard Balance Scale (Utilitarianism). He wants to measure quantity—who has the biggest pile of benefits? ○ The debater on the right wants to use a Precision Gauge (Deontology). He wants to measure quality—did a specific rule or right get violated? ● The Lesson for Students: “Before you tell me how many lives you saved or how much money you made (the weights), you must win the argument of which type of scale the judge should use to weigh the round. If you start throwing weights on the table before the judge has picked a scale, you are wasting your time.”
Step 2: The Second Order of Debate (The Impacts) Once the “First Order” is settled and a scale is chosen, the debate moves to the “Second Order”—weighing the arguments. There are three possible outcomes shown in the other panels.
Outcome A: The Utilitarian Framework Wins Image: Top Right (Utilitarian Match) ● The Scenario: The judge accepted the Utilitarian framework, and both sides are arguing about quantity of impacts. (e.g., Value of Prosperity with a Criterion of Maximizing Well-being). ● The Metaphor: We use the scale that measures quantity, the debate becomes a math problem. ● The Action: ○ Left Pan: “Maximize Happiness” + “Save Lives” (Heavy weights). ○ Right Pan: “Minor Harm” (Light weight). ● The Result: The scale tips. One quantitative impact is found to be “heavier” than the other. ● The Lesson: “If Utilitarianism wins as the scale, then the heaviest pile of rocks wins. Your goal is to pile up as many positive consequences as possible. The side with the greater quantity or has the ‘heavier’ net benefit wins the round.”
Outcome B: The Deontological Framework Wins (The Clash of Duties) Image: Bottom Right (Deontological Match) ● The Scenario: The judge accepted a Deontological framework, but both sides are arguing about duties. ● The Metaphor: We use the scale that measures quality, the debate becomes a calculus of duties and rights. ● The Action: ○ Left Pan: “Duty to Protect” (e.g., National Security). ○ Right Pan: “Human Right” (e.g., Privacy). ● The Result: The scale tips. One moral duty is found to be “heavier” or more fundamental than the other. ● The Lesson: “If Deontology wins, then the strength of the obligation wins. Is the Duty to Protect the Nation ‘heavier’ than the Individual Right to Privacy? The side with the greater moral weight wins the round..”
Outcome C: The Deontological Framework Wins (The Mismatch) Image: Bottom Left (Deontological Mismatch) ● The Scenario: The judge accepted a Deontological framework, but the debaters have different types of things to weigh. ● The Metaphor: This scale is designed to detect specific moral properties (like rights violations), not the weight of consequences. ● The Action: The debater tries to put Utilitarian weights (“Maximize Happiness” and “Save Lives”) onto the Deontological machine. ● The Result: “DOES NOT COMPUTE.” The needle doesn’t move. The machine doesn’t care about happiness; it only cares about rights. ● The Lesson: “This is the most common novice mistake. If your opponent wins a ‘Justice/Rights’ framework, and you keep arguing that your side ‘boosts the economy’ or ‘makes people happy,’ you are putting the wrong fuel in the engine. It doesn’t matter how great your impacts are; on this scale, they weigh zero.”
And Why AI Can’t Replace the Human Touch in Speech & Debate
Artificial intelligence has changed how students write. With the click of a button, speeches can be outlined, rewritten, polished, and refined. AI can be a helpful tool—but it is not a coach. And when it comes to script assessment, nothing replaces the insight of a human who understands people, performance, and purpose.
At Lasting Impact!, we believe technology should support growth, not replace mentorship. And while AI can assist in brainstorming or editing, it cannot fully understand what makes a speech connect. Did you know Lasting Impact! has live classes (Winter 2026 Clubs just started!) instructors, and coaching waiting to work personally with your competitor? Although AI can be a great tool, don’t let it replace the human touch! Continue reading about how to use AI and ways to connect with an audience…
An Oratorical Speech category has come and go throughout the years. Leagues see the value of looking at other speeches, whether the presenter is famous or not. Lasting Impact! has written several articles on the subject throughout the years, which you can find by typing the word “oratorical” in our search button on the right hand side. Or go HERE. NCFCA is introducing Oratorical Thematic this year. This is an exciting and meaningful speech event that invites students to do something powerful: to discover a unifying theme and bring it to life through the published words of others.
Rather than writing an original speech, students curate, select, and perform excerpts from existing speeches, weaving them together to explore a big idea – think Interpretive Thematic or Biblical Thematic. It’s an event rooted in research, interpretation, creativity, and purpose—and one that rewards thoughtful storytelling and clarity.
For students who love ideas, history, rhetoric, and performance, Oratorical Thematic offers a unique opportunity to communicate truth through voices that have already shaped the world. Or maybe you are looking for something different- an old/new category that isn’t super difficult to breakdown. Intrigued?? Read on…
Since most people’s default mode is policy thinking, Lincoln Douglas Debaters need clear positive examples of what values reasoning looks like when it’s working. Here are How Different Frameworks Generate Duty-Measure Arguments… Each major moral framework has its own way of generating duty-measured arguments. Understanding how your chosen framework generates duties helps you construct genuine values arguments. Read on to see different frameworks and how judges can respond to them…
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