LD Training Week 12 - Your First Debate Round!

Welcome to week 12 of The Great Debate's introduction to Lincoln-Douglas Value Debate. Today is your chance to put everything you've learned into practice and participate in your very first debate round.  Again, we won't have a video lesson today, you're the stars of today's show.

Before you start debating you need to set up the room.  The best set-up is to have either 3 desks or two tables with seats facing each other.  The two debaters sit on one side of the room facing the judge.  The affirmative debater should sit to the judge's left, and the negative debater should sit to the judge's right.

Debaters usually speak from behind a podium or simply by standing up behind their desk or table.  The judge flows the round and in some cases will also keep time for the debaters.  Just in case your judge isn't going to keep time for you, it's a good idea to bring your own time piece and be prepared to keep your own time.

When you enter the room, be sure to tell the judge your name or competitor code.  Introduce yourself to your opponent as well.  Get out your case and prepare your table with your flowpad, pens, post-its, and any evidence you expect to use (evidence may also be kept in a box on the floor if you prefer).  Once the judge is ready, the round will begin.

Flowing - many debaters find it extremely helpful to "pre-flow" their own first constructive speech.  You already know what your case is about and so you can set up a template in excel to put each of your points on printed paper you can cut out and paperclip onto your flow pad.  That way, you don't have to spend any time flowing your own arguments either before the round starts or after you opponent starts addressing your arguments.

Once the round begins, you should feel right at home.  As you listen to your opponent's arguments, be sure to flow them so that you can address them using 3-point refutation.  Also, look for weaknesses in their arguments you can exploit during cross-examination.  Finally, think about why your value and value criterion are preferable and why that matters to the resolution.

The pace of your speaking should be reasonable.  At no point should you speak so quickly that your judge is not able to follow you.  Also, check with your coach and other local debaters to identify how quickly people are permitted to speak in a debate round.  The faster you go the more arguments you can raise, but the more likely you are to have a judge find you impossible to understand.  Look for a balanced approach.

If at some point you realize that you no longer have anything to say to fill your speech or cross-examination time, it is perfectly acceptable to say "thank you" and sit down.  There is no requirement that you stand up there with nothing more to say until time expires.

Pay careful attention to your limited prep time.  Don't use too much in the beginning, and be sure to have at least 30 seconds to prepare you final speech.

After the round, shake your opponent's hand and congratulate him or her on a job well done.  Thank the judge for his or her time, pack up your things, and leave the room.  In some leagues the judge will provide verbal feedback.  If so, take out a fresh sheet of flow paper and jot down the comments your judge gives you.

After you leave the room, the judge will be filling out a ballot and selecting which debater won the round.  The judge will also award "speaker points" for each debater.  Speaker points are a way for the judge to identify which debater presented strong arguments and gave a great presentation, regardless of whether those arguments ultimately carried the day and won that judge's ballot.  The judge will also typically provide written feedback on the ballot which is quite helpful to you as you learn debate.

Congratulations!  You have completed your very first full debate round.

Now comes the fun part.  As homework, make a list of every argument you heard in your debate round.  Go back through your flow and identify which arguments you had good responses to, which refutation you should have had, and which questions in cross-examination stumped you.  For each of these things, look for supporting evidence for your position.  This week is a vital week in your training to become a great debater.  The more time you spend in the week after one round preparing for your next round, the more likely you are to win your rounds in the future.  Each of the responses you create should be in 3-point refutation format.

Have a great week and we'll see you next week for our thirteenth debate lesson, "Clash of Values" where we'll discuss how values can really come into conflict in a debate round.

If you haven't already, be sure to visit The Great Debate website to request your free packet of outlines. If you are a student, you can request the student packet and coaches can request a coach packet with additional resources including a syllabus and answer keys.

By now you should have read all of Coach Marko Djuranovic's Ultimate LD Handbook. Keep the book handy as a reference if you need it throughout the rest of your debate career.  I'd suggest skimming the discussion of the debate round just to be sure you're ready for your first full debate round!

If you are interested in learning a form of debate other than Lincoln-Douglas value debate, The Great Debate is a wonderful textbook for policy debate written by the teacher in these videos. The Great Debate provides training in the basics of debate and includes information for debaters who have already learned the fundamentals and are looking for more intermediate level training. The Great Debate has a teacher's guide (coming soon) which includes lesson plans and additional material for coaches. For more information about The Great Debate, visit our website. We also have produced a video training series for Public Forum Debate. The public forum series is another free resource from The Great Debate.