Last changed on
Thu June 20, 2024 at 7:55 PM EDT
Hello there, everyone!
My name is AmandaLesly Miranda, and I am a debater from Wildwood, Florida. I am a debate alum, three-time Nationals Qualifier for World School Debate, and I do mostly debate events. I want to ensure that my judgment is good enough for you and that your expectations are met and hopefully exceeded. There is no need for a debater to be worried about who their judge is and what their qualifications are, so hopefully these qualifications are good enough for you.
For my judging, I always like to go based on the rules, but I will also add my personal opinion. My opinion does not affect your score unless there is a tie, and then I will consult myself to see which one I liked more and which I felt met the standards in a better way, however, I have yet to encounter a tie. If there are any discrepancies with my judgment, I always want to improve, and I will happily take feedback.
For clarification, I wanted to specify what I look for in rounds. For any event, regardless if it's a debate or speech event, I look for appeal during your speech. Whether it's appealing to your judges, audience, or competitor, or appealing to the story that you're saying, you want to keep everyone engaged during your performance.
When it comes to interpretation events, I like to see the fluidness of your speech. Of course, you may stumble or stutter, and I personally don't judge too harshly for this unless it's excessive. But, memorization of the speech, long pauses during its delivery, etc. will definitely affect your score in my eyes. I'm also looking heavily at its delivery, such as speaking tone, speed, and interaction. For me, eye contact is a huge portion, as it gives you a connection to your audience, but I would definitely let it slide if eye contacttechnicallydoesn't fit into your piece. Other than that, I stick with the other general rules given by the NSDA.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, concerns, or anything else about my judging, there are two ways to reach me: Skimmy425@gmail.com (Primary email) and Mandawritesall@gmail.com (Work/Secondary email).
Thank you, and good luck!