Prep Time Strategies; Four Minutes of Glory!

Posted by Kasey

November 15, 2007

Prep time is the nectar of the LD debate gods. In fact, properly using prep time is probably one the most important LD only skills that you can learn. With no further ado, four minutes of glory.

Make NO mistake, prep time exists before the tournament begins. This is where you highlight down all of cards, get them organized, and read them. Reading your evidence prior to use is key; first you know what is says, second you don’t look like a clown mispronouncing things, and third you will get it done faster and clearer.

Prep time has the following roles (these are based on my uses while competing)

1) Locating and selecting cards. This should be done first because what evidence you have should influence your strategy.

2) Strategically designing my approach. I used prep time to think about what the other debater was going to say about my arguments. For example if I turn the Space Weapons D/A in the 1ar and the other debater answers with Hegemony then I get the last word on Hegemony which makes my turns golden in the 2AR.

3) Proof your arguments. Don’t make doubleturns or bad defensive arguments. LD speech time is poorly concieved, especially in the 2ar. Being efficient on the Negative allows you to further take advantage of that.

4) Read their evidence. LD evidence on the whole is of very poor quality. Most of the time the tag doesn’t even resemble the warrant and the portion they read may not even be the relevant portion of the card. Read it for quality and read it for contradictions, pointing out the flaws in their evidence is devastating in front of lay critics and in front of flow critics.

5) Collect yourself. Big round have lots of people watching, and important rounds have a lot of stress on you. Take some deep breaths and if your me drink a red bull if your Joelle Perry drink a Dr Pepper and then rock their world.

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Coaching, Competing, Instructional

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