Nick Matthews's blog

Taking Bad Decisions in Stride

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 17:57
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Last weekend at a college tournament, I happened to be on the wrong side of a flow judge's decision. It wasn't just a questionable or debatable sort of decision - it was a decision that was just utterly incorrect. It also knocked me out of the tournament.

Debating Paperless - Interview with Alex Gulakov

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 18:14
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Hey folks. I apologize for the unexpected hiatus - I'm back now so I'll kick things off with a little venture into the world of paperless debating.

Ennui

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 00:03
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If you're an experienced policy debater, chances are you've felt it. That dreaded sensation you have where you cease all semblance of productivity and utterly fail in your attempts to motivate yourself to reboot. Where you just want to take a nice long sabbatical and be done with it.

Line-by-Line Analysis

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Sat, 12/19/2009 - 02:33
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As a policy critic, one of the things I always tell both debate teams before rounds is that I want to hear good clash and line-by-line analysis. Sadly, a lot of teams fail to meet my expectations. Why? They’ve never been exposed to what it looks like.

Five Steps for Tournament Preparation

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 15:33
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It's a Friday afternoon, and you've just gotten out of school. You have an entire weekend free in front of you; and next weekend you will be jetting off to the biggest tournament of the year. If you're a mediocre debater, you will choose not to spend extra time preparing for this tournament.

Winning the Debate in the 2NR - Forming a Coherent Strategy

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Sat, 11/28/2009 - 04:12
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(Please note - this entry is best served to those who debate circuit style. It is not necessarily appropriate for lay style debate)

Five Forensicators to be Thankful For

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Thu, 11/26/2009 - 03:47
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The holiday season is upon us! For many policy debaters across the country, the month ahead will be filled with exciting debate opportunities, with big tournaments being held in Minneapolis (The Blake Tournament), Salt Lake City (Alta), and countless other locales.

Cross-Examination: Using Closed-Ended Questions

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 21:59
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The art of cross-examination is probably one of the most under-appreciated aspects of policy debate. It is the only opportunity you have to directly interact with your opponent, yet a majority of debaters do not know how to optimally utilize their three minutes. Not only do most debaters fail to ask the right questions, they also neglect to phrase their questions strategically.

Five Simple Rules for Making Witty Debate Remarks

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 02:37
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You’ve probably seen it before. You are sitting at a desk watching a varsity policy elimination round when suddenly, an experienced debater cracks an outrageously funny analogy and the entire room explodes in laugher. You probably admire these debaters for their ability to produce snarky, witty, and/or sarcastic remarks at almost any juncture, and always at the right moment.

Bonjour

Submitted by Nick Matthews on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 22:01
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Hello everyone!

For those of you who aren't familiar with me, my name is Nick Matthews. Michael Sarill has brought me on here as a blogger for the website and I'm very excited to become a part of the forensics community here.

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