It’s Not All Fun and Games When You’re Writing an ADS by: Katie Kellam

Sometimes, competitors are disappointed when they learn that the After Dinner category isn’t exactly the same thing as a stand up comedy routine. ADS is more than just a string of jokes, not in the least because most speech and debate leagues have a section on their ADS ballots for something like “merit,” “message,” or “impact.” Competitors often chafe at the fact that they’re being restricted in this way. After all, the only reason anyone wants to compete in ADS is because they want to be FUNNY! Leave the serious stuff for the persuasives! Right? These aren’t just empty complaints either – I’ve talked to many competitors who feel strongly that shoehorning a message into a speech where it doesn’t belong is little more than judge pandering. 

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How to Get the Most from your Humorous Material

            Humor is important in communication.  Knowing how to use humor opens doors that no other skill can get through, BUT humor badly done is also worse than any other communication skill when it’s botched, so it’s awfully important to your ethos as a speaker to manage your humor well and mine all of its potential.

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Incorporating Humor in Speech and Debate

What is humor?

Humor happens in that luminous moment when two things don’t seem to be related at all, but then they come together in a way so unexpected that we laugh…or at least feel the delight of it.  It’s an insight that bubbles out: we feel joy when we see the connection or “get it.” That joy often comes out as laughter – delight escaping after the mental activity of making the connection.  

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