Run a K and get an automatic win, if you have to settle for theory that will doc you speaker points.

couple of quick notes

• I have already decided the round before you walk in
• I weigh only on cross fire
• having less than 3 contention is really weak in my mind, so please read 4+

I debated public forum in high school, and I'm pretty traditional. Clash with your opponents, weigh arguments, don't spread, and clearly roadmap your speeches. Please be courteous to your fellow debaters.

TL;DR, be clear be confident be kind

I competed in policy for 2 years and PF my last 2, I’d rather not see PF develop into a shortened CX

I am very traditionalist. Everything you say should be fairly easy to comprehend by a person off the street as this is an educational event. I won’t vote on generic or off-the-wall impacts unless dropped or explained really well. Probability>magnitude I'm not a huge fan of extinction impacts. I only vote FW if your opponent completely drops it. Don't be abusive, anything that goes against the educational and fair nature of the event is a good way to lose my vote. Make it clear where the card ends and the analysis starts.

Constructive: Don’t have something in your case as a time filler you plan on kicking later. Don’t push the pace and please show emotion while reading your case.

Cross: Be firm but don’t be rude, if your opponent asks for a follow up allow it but after 1 it’s your job to cut them off. This time is completely yours, I’ll never vote on it. Also, you need a good poker face, try to hide your reactions to your opponents.

Prep: Use it, even if your speech is ready you should look over your flows and see if there is anything you could add. You don’t need to save 1:30 of prep for the final focus.

Rebuttal: I’m still very policy-like here, blocks are more than OK but don’t act like it’s your first time reading them. Go down the flow in a consistent manner, I love it when teams cross-apply cases but make sure it makes sense when you do it. If something is dropped point it out, otherwise, I cannot vote on it.

Summary: Start crystallizing, and try to avoid new args, especially as 2nd speaker. Don’t spend all your time on clashed args it's okay to drop them if it's unclear, use your speech to point out areas you’re clearly winning. I vote really hard on weighing so please be clear with that.

Final Focus: Voters, Voters, Voters. It’s ok to drop at this point, go all-in on the args you’re winning. Tell the story of the round, act human, and show emotion.

I've been in varsity debate for 2 years, and I am also the president of Washington's Chemistry Club.

Constructive: I'm ok with speed

Cross x: I like a heated crossfire, but be nice

Rebuttal: Try to use up all your time, use evidence, and be organized

Summary: Same thing as rebuttal AND don't bring up new evidence/points

Final Focus: Don't bring up new evidence, focus on the main topics debated

Debate is supposed to be fun, make it fun!

I am a traditional public forum debater, so don’t spread or try any Nat. Circuit methods because they won't work in PF for me. Go join Policy debate if that’s your style.

I currently debate for JHS, so I am pretty well-versed on the PF topic.

Evidence clash and warranting are essential to me, and good speaking skills will help you a lot.

LD: I had a very brief stint in LD my first year; I don't do it anymore. Treat me like a lay judge.

Good luck if you have me in LD.

Pray to god if you have me in Congress.

Do both if you have me in Policy.

If you are in novice please run a K I think it’s funny. Intense XC is fine but just don’t be rude. I do not like long rambling in XC, please refrain from doing so.

I am a senior at Washington High School, this is my 3rd year doing debate. I Compete in Public Forum. I love clashing rounds, but make sure you are respectful!! My main focus for the round is showing your major impact plus why your opponent's impact does not matter to the extent of yours. I like seeing cross-applying and will flow that. Pointing out dropped points is really helpful and will flow ONLY IF IT'S TRUE tho. Do your best and do not be nervous!!

When it comes to debate I am a flow heavy judge, I look to see the arguments that are left at the end of a round to see who won, it’s pretty simple.

I prefer tech>truth HOWEVER I am a traditional judge. So, unless you are able to convince me won’t by an outlandish argument.

Signpost! I can’t stress this enough ESPECIALLY in the rebuttals speech.

Throughout the round PLEASE PLEASE flow your impacts through and tell me what your opponents DROPPED.

Be respectful, kind and have fun :) Good Luck

I am a three year Public Forum debater at Jefferson High School. So I am very familiar with PF debate. As a debater, in order to win me over please do the work for me. Weigh the impacts said in the round and make it clear through the flow why as a judge I should vote for you. Please keep the round respectful and be kind to your opponents.

My internal speaks scale:

• Below 25 - something offensive or very very bad happened (please do not make me do this!)
• 25-27.5 - didn’t use all time strategically (varsity only), distracted from important parts of the debate, didn’t add anything new or relevant
• 27.5-29 - v good, some strategic comments, very few presentational issues, decent structuring
• 29-30 - wouldn’t be shocked to see you in outrounds, very few strategic notes, amazing structure, gives me distinct weighing and routes to the ballot.

I am a lay judge with no debate experience except with my own children. I judge by common sense, comprehension, organization, pace, volume, and sometimes gut reactions. I do not like to be consistently told "Judge you should find that....." or "put this down on one side". I will pay attention if the debaters are looking at me or their opponents when they are speaking.

First off, I have done VPF, INF, SC, and VFX. With all of that in mind, take a grain of salt with anything I say if I am judging you in any other field of speech and debate.

GENERAL INFO

PF: I am a stickler for signposting and trying to carry as many arguments (with clashes) as possible. Don't make the round a series of "our claims are better than your claims". Clashing arguments mean their claims directly oppose one another. E.g. "The sky is grey" vs. "the sky is blue". Flowing is the most important skill, use it and you are sure to please me. Also, I view prep time strictly. If you have shown competence I will be strict, if it's your first time debating I'll be more lenient. CX should NEVER be an argument session. CX is only for answering and asking questions, nothing else. I have seen it in rounds and experienced it as a debater. It gets nobody or the debate anywhere and cuts down on useful time that could be better spent answering questions. Arguing and debating should never mix. Keep your cool and simply answer and ask questions. Being professional in the future will also help you win over a judge if you run into a team that isn't polite in CX. And for newer debaters, NEVER ASK HOW OR WHY QUESTIONS IN CX. This allows your opponents to rabble on and on about their cases and cards. Rephrase any question you have into a straight yes or no. How and Why Questions will be docking any person who uses them. Marginally of course but you will still be docked.

INF: Dropping boards when setting up is not a big deal to me. However, when you are giving your speech you should have everything in order. Even new speakers to the scene have to have their visuals in order otherwise it takes away from the speech. Now if you do make a mistake, it's not like I judge you unfairly, you'll probably get docked 1-2 points for major slip-ups. However, I judge on a scale. If I know you're an experienced speaker, I will judge you harsher than a newcomer. In order to improve when you are already a great speaker, you need even the smallest mistakes fixed. (Sidenote: I'm not going to be really harsh with the speaker's points if you are experienced, but I will notice smaller mistakes and point them out.)

FX/DX: (Even though I did FX and not DX, Extemp and its format are the same anyway.) Try to maximize the amount of time you are speaking. But do not spend unusual amounts of time on a single argument, I will catch it and dock you. Maximize time by either bringing in another back argument you have or making previous arguments longer as a failsafe. A proper extemp speech should be 7:30 on the dot with 3-4 main arguments that support a thesis. Also, have a decent hook/opener. Intros shouldn't be any longer than 1:30.

NEW DEBATERS

Look towards me, not your opponent (If you're not in an IE), I don't mind it too much but in future rounds, if you decide to stick with debate, lay judges (without knowing it) will care very much. Making eye contact is a major help in ensuring the judge feels engaged in the debate. Don't be afraid to say your speech and if you have a speech impediment I won't hold it against you. Your arguments are what I will focus on. Consistency within your arguments or statement lets a judge give you higher speaker points as well as make your claims feel stronger to the judge. NOT EVERY JUDGE IS THE SAME. But a majority of us will give debaters the benefit of the doubt if they an obvious mistake. But again not all of us are the same. I know a number of judges who judge very harshly because of outside factors a debater can't control. Try your best with all judges and you should be good.

More importantly, have fun!

i do pf

I participated in Public Forum debate from 2014-2018.

• Flow: I try to maintain a solid flow and jot down points, subpoints, impacts (numbers/why the point matters). I am listening for solid arguments with evidence, links, and warrants. Avoid speed reading.

• Framework: If presented and uncontested, I will use it to weigh the round.

• Rebuttal: Provide a line by line response. You can group points/subpoints if responding the same to both arguments.

• Summary: Address both sides of the flow, whether line by line or focusing on voting issues. Be organized and clear in your debating.

• Final Focus: Condense the debate into 2-3 major voting issues backed by evidence. Respond directly to opponents' arguments. I expect to hear lots of weighing in this speech.

• Weighing: Compare the Pro/con world and explain why you win. Make sure to weigh in Summary and Final Focus, I also like to hear weighing in rebuttal if you have time.