Hi all!

Some debate background about me: I'm familiar with many styles of debate, and have competed in Lincoln Douglass, Parli, and Public Forum. For the past five years, I've been debating on Hunter's team.

Some things I look for in round:

1) Eye contact and confidence:Try your best to maintain eye contact! Though eye contact will not have any impact on my ballot or speaker scores, I still believe that maintaining eye contact is really powerful and makes your argument seem more compelling and reasonable. Being confident, which could be standing firm in your position or a variety of different things, shows your judge that you know what you are talking about and reaffirms your position in the debate.

2) Respect for everyone in the round:I do expect that all debaters in the round are respectful to each other, as well as myself and any spectators in the round. If I notice that a specific speaker is being disrespectful during the round, I will deduct speaker points and may have to notify Tab.

3) Weighing!!: Many debaters that I have watched in the past have often overlooked the importance of weighing. Personally, I am a very firm believer that weighing is one of the most important things in the round. I don't expect debaters to use debate jargon while weighing. However, I do think having the ability to compare two arguments and explain why one should be preferred over the other is very powerful. Weighing makes it clear to your judge why they should prefer your argument over the opponents, and generally clears up the round and makes decisions for the judge easier.

4) Off time roadmaps, as well as ones during speech:It's always helpful for a judge when a speaker announces the order in which they will be speaking before they give a speech. An example: I am about to give a rebuttal speech and my opponents have three arguments: 1) pizza, 2) ice cream, and 3) sushi. My roadmap could look like, "Hi Judge and opponents! My name is Julia, and I would like to start off my speech by addressing my opponent's first contention about pizza, then move to their second contention about ice cream, and finally address their third contention about sushi before moving onto our case." Obviously, all roadmaps are different! Yours does not have to look like this at all! Do what you are most confident doing. It's also especially helpful to use phrases like, "My opponent said ____, my response to this is ___" and "Their first contention was ____. They stated ____ and here's my response." This makes organizing my flow much easier, and helps me flow the round cleanly. It also makes sure that I flow each of your responses.

5) Extend anything your opponents haven't responded to: Whether this is an argument, a specific piece of evidence, or something said in crossfire, pointing out things that your opponents haven't responded is really helpful. It ultimately makes your side stronger, as your opponent's likely cannot come back from this, and then you have evidence to weigh on in your back end speeches.

I am SO excited to be your judge for this upcoming round! Honestly, try to have fun. Debate is a stressful environment at times. I understand completely. Try to relax, as stressing yourself out will not help you in round. Do your best and you will be fine. This is an opportunity for you to learn, and every tournament you do helps you grow as a debater. Stick with it and don't stress!

If you need to contact me about anything at all, please email: juliamichaels890@gmail.com