Hey guys,

My name is Syd, I debated throughout high school in a variety of speech events, primarily extemp and public forum in debate and graduate in 2023 and am currently going to Utah State. I have watched and judged rounds of most events so overall I have a lot of experience and can follow all arguments and speeches. I will flow on paper but also keep track of things on my laptop.

Strictly for debate kids:

I can follow speed but please make your taglines clear. If I cannot understand you I cannot flow it :) please work on being clear over your speed. Your speed is not taken into consideration for speaker points. Speaker points are determined by how well of a speaker you are and how well you know your information.

Cross-examination

PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL!!! Debate is a game and there is no room for disrespect to your opponent (s) or anyone else present. I do not flow cx and questions/answers of cx will not be taken into consideration of a round if its not mentioned within a speech.

Time Management

Please use your time wisely and if you need me to provide a timer for you I will, however if you go over time things said after 10 seconds will not be taken into consideration of the final decision for the round and an individual may be docked speaker points. I will not give you time signals I suck at it

The why

Why do I care about what are you arguing? What are my voters??? What are the impacts?? Why do the impact matter? If you don't give me a reason why I should vote for you why would I vote for you? This is one of the most important parts of debate

Speech Kids

Extemp/Impromptu

Make sure to fill your time, don't go too far over and work on not using filler words. If I hear you say oaky, like or what if every two seconds I will tell you that in the ballot. Tell me who your sources are. It is essential that you have a source to back up your opinions, while hearing your opinions about your topics is important I still want you to have officials backing you up. Tell me why I should care about your topic and why you care about your topic. Why does this *insert random country here*'s problems matter to me. How does this effect me? Notice your audience and gear your speech towoards them. I will appreciate a speaker triangle and emphasis then a million statistics. While statistics are important I want you to show me what is important with your voice.

For Everyone :)

Respect

Please be aware of when others are talking, do not interupt others or speak while a person is giving a speech. Please make sure you are not being distracting with a partner or friend while another person is speaking. Speech and Debate is an amazing activity that provides you with great life skills, so please treat others with overall respect at all times within a round and outside of it. Overall please just be a kind human:)

Discrimination

Any type of discrimination or disrespect will not be tolerated before, during or after the round. Please have respect and show kindness to each other, while debate is a fun extracurricular, it does not give you an excuse to be disrespectful to another human. Please also let me know your preferred pronouns before the round :)

If you have any questions about my paradigm, how I judge or anything else please ask me before the round begins. Overall please remember to have fun because this is a fun activity :)

I’m a former speech geek. I competed in oratory, duet, poetry and student congress when I was in high school. I have judged before as well. Feel free to ask me any questions at the beginning of the round. For all events respect is extremely important. Any personal attacks or disrespect toward other competitors will impact ranking.

I have an autoimmune disorder that can lead to poor muscle movement. I may slur my speech or stumble. I often struggle with double vision so I frequently wear an eye patch. In addition, typing (while listening) is difficult for me. I take lots of notes and I will transpose my notes onto Tabroom.

Sources are very important. They add strength to your position and need to be cited. Not all sources are created equal. Please refrain from using Wikipedia, encyclopedias or the internet as primary sources. These are great resources and can lead you to more reputable sources.

I did debate all four years in high school so I know how tournaments go.

What I would like to see in round is just a well done, civil debate. I appreciate a good amount of clash, just don't become too disrespectful. Please make sources used very clear so I know where your information comes from.

Other than that I trust you to make the round go smoothly by timing yourselves (I will also be timing) and to be prepared to speak loud and clear, and sell your case to me.

I love debate and being able to judge after graduation. Just remember speech and debate is hard work but it is also so important and valuable in your lives; don't forget to have fun with it!

For my speech friends, all I ask of you is for your name, your prep time (if applicable), and your speech time. I ask that you do your best to not go over time, but I will respect the grace period given. That being said your final time will play into my final ranking and decision.