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For the longest time, I thought Apologetics was about having an answer: knowing how to combat lies with truth, knowing how to explain the depths of the Christian faith, etc. But Apologetics isn’t about having an answer, it’s about knowing how to communicate truth to people’s hearts. When I realized that, it revolutionized how I approached apologetics.
The Speech And Debate Season is quickly upon us. We hope you are able to celebrate the blessings of the Christmas Season. Put your Speech and Debate work down for a day or two. It will be there after the holidays. In the meantime we hope you enjoy our little poem…
On the first day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
An Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the second day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Two Time Pieces
And an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the third day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
And an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the fourth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the fifth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the sixth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Six “How-To” Videos
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the seventh day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Seven Minutes of Prep Time
Six “How-To” Videos
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the eighth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Eight IO/Expos Boards
Seven Minutes of Prep Time
Six “How-To” Videos
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the ninth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Nine Impromptu Prompts
Eight IO/Expos Boards
Seven Minutes of Prep Time
Six “How-To” Videos
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the tenth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Ten Tears for DI (Dramatic Interp)
Nine Impromptu Prompts
Eight IO/Expos Boards
Seven Minutes of Prep Time
Six “How-To” Videos
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the eleventh day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Eleven Laughs for HI (Humorous Interp)
Ten Tears for DI (Dramatic Interp)
Nine Impromptu Prompts
Eight IO/Expos Boards
Seven Minutes of Prep Time
Six “How-To” Videos
Five First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my Speech Coach gave to me…
Twelve Fresh Breath Mints
Eleven Laughs for HI
Ten Tears for DI
Nine Impromptu Prompts
Eight IO/Expos Boards
Seven Minutes of Prep Time
Six “How-To” Videos
First Place Ballots
Four Extra Pens
Three Days of Coffee
Two Time Pieces
and an Idea for a Really Great Speech
Lifting you up as you continue to prepare for your season!
How to develop the triple threat of being a club leader, as a student…
So, you’re a student leader in your club? You now have to balance your own busy tournament preparation schedule with the obligations you have to your club. If you’re attempting to rework your IO/Expos boards the week before a tournament where several novices are panicking before their first tournament, it could seem like you have a little bit too much on your plate. But luckily, these dual responsibilities aren’t as insurmountable as they may first appear. Being a student leader while a competitor can be one of the most rewarding experiences you will have while participating in speech and debate. It gives you a unique perspective on forensics and, as a teacher, you will come up with new ideas that you normally wouldn’t have considered as only a competitor. I’ll be discussing some different methods to ensure you can succeed as a club leader or captain while also growing as an orator and logician…
Continue reading “Student, Teacher, Competitor… By: Eric Meinerding”
CX designed to undermine your opponent’s case is a lot like CX designed to support your case, with two key differences: you don’t know what your opponent is running ahead of time, and the questions aren’t written beforehand (usually). Judging from these differences, you may think that you’re doomed to wait until you hear your opponent’s case and then pray you come up with something intelligent to ask… let me discourage this thinking. While you can have strokes of brilliance in the moment, just thinking a bit about the resolution can give an idea of what you might want to ask.
Much like I can’t tell you what questions to ask to support your debate cases specifically, I can’t know what your opponents are going to run. However, I can give you the keys (learned over the course of several years) to attacking your opponent’s case in CX.
Continue reading “Cross X Series #4: Keys to Undermining your Opponent’s Case by: Samuel Hand”
You have an inherent advantage when writing questions to build up your own case: you know exactly what you’re running in said case. This means that, with proper guidance, you can know exactly what to ask. While I can’t tell you which questions to write for your specific case, I can give you some principles which will hopefully make those questions much easier to formulate. Before I do, though, let me tell you what not to do.
Continue reading “Cross X Series #3: Solidifying your own Case by: Samuel Hand”
Ahhh, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought it fitting to start the season off with a small crash course of our coaches, whom we are so thankful for!! Let me begin by saying I have seen the skills of almost all these fabolous public speakers and know that they are going to be incredible coaches to you all. I love that they believe in the mission behind Lasting Impact! and want to see students excel in public speaking, empower coaches and clubs, and equip parents with the tools to see their students succeed. Now that I am done with all that mushy gushy stuff let’s get down to BUSINESS…
Continue reading “So Thankful for Our Lasting Impact! Team by: Gloria Heiss”
How cool is it that we have products that you can get your hands on TODAY! We are giving all of our fantastic customers, of whom we are so thankful for, $5 OFF OUR LASTING IMPACT! EBOOKS!!
Just use the code – 5MEMBER
NEW! Speech Games and Ice Breakers –
A must have for any Club Leader or Coach. I know I hate reinventing the wheel when it comes to Speech Games or Icebreakers that I want to implement in class or a workshop. That’s why we created this book! No more scouring the internet for a game to play. In fact, our book is geared around “target skills” for you to be able to help your students hone in on! Does your club need help with limited prep, characterization, or delivery? We have you covered! Check out the over 40 different games, plus variations to get you and your club energized, engaged, and practicing the skills they need to succeed!
The Ultimate Duo Handbook –
Those of you who know Kristi and I, know that Duos are near and dear to our hearts! Together, we have had a Duo Team in Finals at Nationals for almost the last decade. The Ultimate Duo Handbook was one of the first resources we created- lots of practical information including color pictures, character worksheets, a duo compatibility worksheet, picking a piece, tips from a pro, and more! If you are doing a Duo – you will want this book!
Lasting Impact! Vol. 1 and 2 –
Our first two years worth of articles in a convenient place! The articles are all on the website, but now you have them organized in categories- Debate, Interps, Platform, Limited Prep, Delivery, Tournaments, and so much more! These articles are key to use throughout the season, whether or not you are a club leader. Although it is handy, as a club leader, to reprint an article here or there (yes- we give you permission to do that)! If you could use an extra pep talk, a burst of motivation, another way to analyze speech and debate- grab these guides!
Check out all of our products HERE. Remember, you can get $5 off each of the Ebooks. Thank you again for being being a part of Lasting Impact! Thankful for YOU!
Now is the time to tell your friends and become part of the Lasting Impact! Community! We are offering $5 off our Lasting Impact! yearly Membership. That’s right! ONLY $30 for a full year of Lasting Impact!
Simply use the Code – 5MEMBER
Why should you become a member to Lasting Impact?
1. Discounted Coaching Sessions. Coaching sessions are $10 off a session for members (only $30 a session). We have amazing coaches ready to make you a priority and help you in your speech and debate journey. Our coaching prices have been streamlined to fit all your needs, whether it be for private coaching, club coaching, speech or debate. Our membership prices are actually below other coaching firms, nor do we require you to pay for bulk sessions or per Debate/Duo partner.
2. Discounted Workshops. This fall we hosted over a dozen live workshops that were only $5 for members. If you weren’t able to make one of the sessions, we now have them archived in our Recorded Workshops.
3. Discounted Classes/Clubs. We had over 75 students/members enrolled in our Fall Online Classes. People from all over the country learning, gleaning, sharing…
3. Access to ALL articles. Did you know we have almost 250 articles?! Sure, just a little more than half of our articles are just part of our regular blog, however there are so many articles specifically geared for the membership. In fact, anyone can be sure to “subscribe” (on the right hand side of the home page) to get our emails directly into your email inbox.
4. Access to Video Gallery. There are over 50 amazing speech videos, most you won’t find anywhere else. Be sure to look in the comment section for coaching tips.
5. Access to Lasting Impact! Library. NEW this year! A place for clubs to share their resources. Remember, clubs and coaches are welcome to use our resources, whether it be articles or videos to share with their club.
6. Community. This is where our heart is! We created Lasting Impact! for students, parents, coaches, and clubs! We wanted a place for YOU to feel encouraged and inspired. It is a place for stories to be shared, as well as lessons to be learned. We feel so grateful, as well as blessed to be a part of so many lives! During this time of Thanksgiving, we thank you for making Lasting Impact! part of your Speech and Debate journey. Remember, $5 off a yearly membership is our gift to you and your friends! Feel free to help our community grow.
It’s that time of year—time for writing, re-writing, and honing speeches for competition. As an avid fan of the platform speech, I wrote and delivered nine platform speeches in four different platform categories during my years in speech and debate competition. By the end of it all, I’d learned that quality speech-writing takes an intense cognitive and emotional investment, somewhat akin to Churchill’s description of blood, sweat, and tears. We all can benefit from the encouragement of those who have been there before. So for all you hard-working speech writers out there, here are five pro-tips to aid your master process:
Extemporaneous is one of those Speech categories that after students graduate… they WISH they would have done it. Don’t let this opportunity for THIS season to YOUR season to give Extemp a try! Join our Lasting Impact! Online Extemp Group!
Guest contributor Drew Magness, 2018 NCFCA Extemporaneous Speaking Champion and Ace Peak Coach, shared this with me, “Most people view Extemporaneous speaking as a hopelessly complicated event reserved for the “smarter” people. Luckily, that’s not true. Let’s dispel the most common myth surrounding extemp.
Myth – I need to be a current events nerd.
Most of the best extempers out there didn’t get where they are by knowing everything about Zimbabwe’s electoral process, Japan’s disarmament history, or the legal standing of American Samoa. They climbed the mountain by learning how to process, condense, and communicate complex information. Extemp speeches don’t fall flat because the competitor is missing a robust history of the African Union. The most common failure is a failure to be understood. A background in current events will be helpful; knowledge is always good. But the keys to extemp are: Process, condense, communicate.”
Sam Wooddell, Stoa’s 2018 TP Champion, participated in Extemp for three years, he said this, “Extemporaneous speaking may help students fulfill their role as informed citizens by educating them on current events. Simultaneously, it teaches speakers critical thinking skills in high pressure situations, a skill which applies to nearly every event in speech and debate, as well as beyond high school.”
Joining a group, club, or class can help beginners and advanced students, even coaches. Here are what some of our Lasting Impact! students have said…
“I know I wouldn’t be as prepared if it wasn’t for your teaching and club.”
“Online Apol, allowed me to feel more confident, inside and outside the classroom, and even gave me the opportunity to compete at Nationals.”
“I am so thankful for my Online Community, this is exactly what I needed to push me out of my comfort zone.”
“I feel ready and prepared for this season!”
We have great things planned in Extemp for our six weeks together. Whether you are new to this category or have experience- this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss!
Do do not let this be an opportunity that slips in the wind!
When I was competing in Speech and Debate, I loved the Limited Preparation speeches. Apologetics, Impromptu, and Extemporaneous gave me the opportunity to use my voice to speak about important issues, make an impact, and inspire people. I used to jokingly tell people that I loved limited prep because for me, “limited preparation meant no preparation.” But that wasn’t really true. I spent a lot of time preparing for limited preparation speeches, just not in the same way as for platform or interpretive speeches. Remember our Online Extemp Group starts in less than two weeks. Join Now!
When you are doing a duo, your prep involves picking a book, memorizing, and practicing blocking with your partner. For persuasive, you need to spend most of your time researching and writing your speech, and then fine tuning your delivery. In Limited Preparation speeches, you don’t need to memorize anything, work with a partner, or plan out your hand motions, body movements, or pauses ahead of time. Instead, the best use of your time is to be an inquisitive and fully present person. What do I mean by this? Let’s break it down for three limited preps- Extemp, Apol, and Impromptu… (Isabelle Clausen will break down the Mars Hill binder next week)…
Continue reading “Limited Prep Breakdown by: Catherine Alles”
Have you ever walked into a debate round wondering in the world are you doing? Have you ever walked out of a round thinking you won that round, but ended up pathetically losing? Or have you ever walked out of a round thinking that you lost pathetically but actually won by a huge margin?
I’ve been there before, feeling inconsistent in my debate rounds, not knowing how I won or lost. We either go through a debate round feeling rushed and nervous, or confident and pragmatic. But regardless of how we feel, sometimes the judge votes for what we least expected. Why is this? Why can’t we find consistency in our competition? How is it that the really good people keep on winning tournament after tournament and we are just chilling here getting 3-3?
If you’re in this boat and want more consistency in your debate rounds, then I have 5 tips to share with you that will lead you down a more successful path! Join me, on Thursday for my LD Online Workshop, or keep reading…
Continue reading “Top 5 Things Every LDer Should Do (Workshop Thursday)”
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