Dear Jasmine: Part One, November 5th, 2021
By Jasmine Stidham, Teacher and Coach at Harvard-Westlake and Assistant Coach at Dartmouth College
This is our first installment of Dear Jasmine responses. For this wave, I received ten total questions. Because these questions were so good, I decided to break this post into two parts. In this article, I will answer first five questions I received, and tomorrow I will post part two.
Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. If you would like to ask a question for next time, please visit the Dear Jasmine tab on our website, girlsdebate.org.
The next installment will be published two weeks from now, November 19th.
Happy debating!
Q: What's the best way to get better at debate quickly?
A: Well, this is a tough one because it largely depends on the style/format you do, but I'll try my best! Truthfully, there is no secret recipe for becoming a better debater overnight. If there was, debate would be significantly easier and there would not be a market for debate camps, private coaching, selling files, etc. This is one of the many reasons why debate is so challenging yet rewarding. Instead of trying to become the best debater in a short timeframe, you should focus on identifying specific skill sets you currently struggle with. These could include your speaking abilities, judge instruction, topic research, cross-examination, strategic decision-making, and so much more. Next, reflect on the feedback you're receiving from judges. Are there any common themes from their decisions? If different judges are giving you similar feedback, it's probably a good sign for you to work on those skills. You should outline specific, but achievable goals. If your "big" goal is to get better at debate, you need to first set smaller goals to help you get there.
There are no shortcuts. The best debaters know the only tried-and-true method for success is consistency.
Q: What trends in current debate do you enjoy/think are genuinely good?
A: Oooh, this is a fun question. Hmmmm. Here are my thoughts:
1. Online debate: I'm not sure if this counts as a trend per se, and I know that many people will gasp when they read this. To be clear, I am not suggesting that online debate should replace in-person tournaments, nor am I saying that I prefer online tournaments. I do believe in preserving some form of online debate for students who are unable to attend in-person national circuit tournaments for a variety of reasons. As we all know, tournaments are expensive. Traveling to tournaments is bonkers expensive. It's also exhausting! While I do look forward to attending an in-person tournament as soon as it's safe to do so, I hope the community continues to make space for virtual tournaments.
2. Policy-ification of LD: Yes, my bias is clearly showing here. No, I do not hate traditional LD, nor do I think it should be eliminated or discouraged. I just happen to prefer policy arguments and I hope the trend continues in national circuit LD. Flame wars, ignite!
3. The Cap K: This may not be a super recent trend, but back in my day, the good ole capitalism critique was considered old news. Teams still read it, but it wasn't very interesting or innovative. Judges weren't exactly thrilled to vote on it because it was perceived as a bad, old, generic, or unresponsive argument. In recent years, however, the tide has turned. Many teams now read various flavors of the capitalism critique, the evidence is infinitely better than it used to be, and judges seem to vote for it more often. Just my two cents.
Q: If there was a professional debate league for adults would you join? Why or why not?
A: Another fun question. I would never join an actual debate "league" for adults because that seems like a cry for help. If I wanted to dunk on some other adult coaches, I have the NDCA Facebook group for that. I'll do demo debates at camp and I'll practice with my students, and that's sufficient for me.
Q: My personal debate coach is ghosting me during a time when I really need help, but I don’t think I can be successful without them. What should I do?
A: Whoa! First of all, I am so sorry your coach is ghosting you. This is unacceptable for so many reasons. Here are some things to consider:
1. Contract/Payment: if you have a contract with this coach, they are clearly violating it. If you've agreed to a payment plan with this person, you should obviously stop paying them until they stop ghosting you. If this is a private coaching arrangement where these things are hashed out on an informal basis, we run into some logistical issues. If your parents are aware of this coaching arrangement, don't be afraid to get them involved. You should also keep records of your communications with this coach so you have evidence of them failing to meet their end of the bargain.
2. Time to move on. I know this might be hard to hear, but if your coach is ghosting your emails/messages for a long period of time after they agreed to coach you, then they clearly are not the best mentor for you right now. Maybe they are struggling with personal issues like mental and/or physical health, or a family emergency, all of which are very valid. However, that's not a reason why you should continue to suffer in their absence. It's not fair to you and you deserve better.
3. Let's find you a new coach. There are plenty of awesome people out there who can help you improve AND they won't ghost you. I know you said you don't think you can be successful without them, but my gut tells me you can absolutely succeed with a new coach. The alternative is to sit and wait endlessly for the ghost to answer your messages, which is not a sustainable strategy.
If you need help finding a new private coach, I wrote more about this here:
https://www.girlsdebate.org/general-resources-1/2020/5/2/hiring-a-private-coach-what-to-look-for-and-what-to-avoid
I hope you find someone! Sending you a virtual hug.
Q: Dear Jasmine, how do I feel more comfortable with sitting on panels? I’m always so scared I’m going to sit and I second-guess myself a bunch. I want to make the right decision, but I’m not always sure what it is. I can get so insecure about my decisions as a judge.
A: This is a great question, and one that so many young judges ask themselves. First things first, you are not alone in this feeling. I can promise you that every single coach/judge has at some point experienced anxiety related to sitting on panels, myself included.
My best piece of advice is to try to focus on making what *you* think is the right decision. Don't worry about what judges 1 and 2 are doing; you can't control them, their decision-making processes, or how they end up voting. The more time you spend thinking about what the other judges are doing, the less time you spend evaluating the actual debate that just occurred.
Second, the fact that you're asking this question shows how much you genuinely care about the students. This means you are already better than like 80% of judges who could not care less about making a good decision.
Third, I'm here to tell you that sitting is inevitable, and it's okay! Sitting is not always bad and it does not always mean you were wrong. In some situations, the judge who sits ends up giving the best decision on the panel. By "best" I don't necessarily mean the "right" decision. There are many ways for judges to make reasonable and justifiable decisions, even if they are not unanimous. I've been on plenty of 2-1 panels where I did not disagree with the judges who voted differently. Most elimination debates are incredibly good, and therefore difficult to decide. It's really easy for a panel of three judges to evaluate those debates differently. It doesn't always mean the person who sat is objectively wrong or a terrible judge, it just means they narrowly decided in the other direction.
Here are my tips for giving a decision:
1. Always write out your decision. I typically type out a paragraph explaining how and why I voted the way I did, and then I'll leave myself bullet points for other comments I want to mention. By writing out your decision, it ensures you can clearly deliver it in a way where the students understand your decision-making process.
2. Project confidence: so much of debate is about faking it until you make it, and judging is no exception. Even if you are truly not confident at all, if you at least *sound* confident delivering your decision, most people can't tell the difference! Students and coaches are far less likely to ruthlessly post-round someone who sounds confident in their decision, trust me.
3. Tell the losing team what they could have done to win your ballot. This step is important because when most teams lose, they are often thinking, "What more could we have done? I thought we made those arguments! What did this judge expect us to do?" So, after you've explained how and why you voted the way you did, try to conclude by saying, "And, for the [aff/neg] team, you will win my ballot next time if you.... [explain what they should do]." All students and coaches appreciate it when judges provide tailored pieces of advice, and it usually makes them trust your decision more too.
There is not one way to be the best judge, but there are many ways to be a good judge.