The Surprising Reasons You’re Not Winning Close Debates

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

Lately there’s been some stirrings in the Twitter-sphere about how difficult it can be to win in front of certain judges. At Debate Central, we absolutely understand that some judges may be more challenging to persuade than others and we’re here to help. Below the fold, we’re re-posting an older article from the forum days about how to debate so judges will want to vote for you. The strategies might surprise you! Continue reading →

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Free Card Friday: Attorney-Client Privilege!

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

We’re hard at work on our topic analysis of the new Lincoln-Douglas topic, Resolved: In the United States criminal justice system, truth-seeking ought to take precedence over attorney-client privilege. Today, we’ve got a sneak-peek card to help jump-start your research while you’re waiting! Continue reading →

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NSA Topic Paper Sneak Peek!

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

Yesterday, the November Topic for Public Forum was released – it’s, Resolved: The benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms. We’re hard at work on our full topic primer for each side, but we hate to keep you waiting. We cut a pretty good card we’re releasing as a sneak peek! Find it below: Continue reading →

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Do You Struggle to Beat Non-Traditional Teams? Read this now.

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

Two days ago, HSImpact published a fairly in-depth post about debating non-traditional teams. With many more teams talking about the topic in unconventional ways (employing poetry, personal stories, changing frameworks, or even new angles on time-tested tricks) it’s especially important to have the conversation about how to deal when you see something in a debate round that you’ve never seen before. This got us thinking – what is the single most important way for debaters to address something new and potentially intimidating? Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-Examination, Learn, Lincoln-Douglas, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Are Debaters Better Lawyers?

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

The short answer: Maybe. The longer answer can be found in a new article in the Houston Law Review by former debaters (and current lawyers) Tom Fulkerson and Wes Lotz. Get into debate because you’re looking forward to a career in law? Continue reading →

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A Crazy-Easy Way to Get a Better RFD

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

A few days ago, we noticed the debate Twitters-verse buzzing about one of the worst parts of competing – the unhelpful reason for decision [RFD]. What do we mean by that? Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-Examination, Lincoln-Douglas, Public-Forum | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Big Changes for Debate Central!

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Lauren Sabino

As many of you have noticed, Debate Central has undergone a serious makeover in the past year. Don’t worry; your favorite features aren’t going anywhere! We’re still doing all of the same topic analyses, free files and skills-based lesson plans that make Debate Central the # 1 completely free resource for high school debaters in PF, LD, and CX! Recently, however, we’ve shifted our emphasis and want to know how you feel about it! Continue reading →

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