assignment 20 - debate? - cole

This blog post sorta gave me a complex. It reminded me of how remarkably untalented I am. There's nothing that I feel uniquely qualified to give advice on moreso than anyone else in the class. There's not really much of anything I'm particularly good at at all. This isn't just me being all quirky, saying I "suck so hard at everything lol;" I just don't have any particular forte. The closest thing I have, though, is debate. To demonstrate ethos (and flex), I just want to let everyone know I've placed the highest in the history of Henry Clay debate at two separate national tournaments, including the national championships, but it's basically impossible to give a how-to on debate. I'm gonna have to try though.

There are 4 key steps that I've identified to being able to win a debate round. They are as follows.

1. Write a good case. If your case is made up of research everyone else is gonna use, you'll lose. I tend to come up with four or five arguments that, if I can find evidence for, will be basically impossible to beat. I then research, research, and research, adjusting those points as the evidence presents itself. Good points with good evidence take a while to create, but it's super worth it if you wanna win.

2. Blocks. Think of arguments you expect to encounter on the opposing side. These include offense for their cases and defense against yours. Find evidence to take them out. This helps you not only be able to argue specific rounds, but it helps you get to know the topic really well, too.

3. Be confident. If you expect to lose, you will. You won't be able to formulate effective critiques of you opponent's arguments if you don't think there are any. Remember that your opponent is human, and that their evidence was written by a human, and that no humans are unbeatable.

4. PERCEPTUAL DOMINANCE. You need to seem like you're winning. The easiest time to do this is in cross-examination. Ask and answer every question with confidence and with a clear knowledge of the topic. I guarantee you that if you win cross-ex decisively, you'll win the round. It also helps if you're tall, and, sadly, male.

This was really long, sorry. :)