ADAPTING TO JUDGES AND AUDIENCES
The essence of audience analysis involves making judgments about the audience and then trying to understand them. See your message as they would see it, not as you perceive it. Evaluate your ideas and strategies based on their perspective, not yours.
ALWAYS ADAPT TO THE ROLE OF JUDGE/CRITIC
Always make judgments about your judge(s) using basic audience analysis concepts:
-Well informed, generally informed, poorly informed about an idea.
-Highly motivated, moderately motivated, poorly motivated.
-Agrees, no opinion, disagrees with an idea.
Realize that a judge is always:
• Another person listening. They know less about your spoken argument than you do, even if they understand the issue better.
• Watching the entire debate. Watching you before the round, before you speak, working with your partner, etc.
• Comparing you with your opponents. If they do something irritating, make sure not to. Be strong where they are weak. Make the choice clear between you.
• Expecting a dignified and tasteful performance. Be professional and there for a reason. Don't be silly, irreverent, or too chummy with the judge or opponents. Be task oriented.
• Interested in the debate, not your ego. Sell the issues in the debate, make them your focus, not your desire to win.
• A lot like you. If you didn't get a card or a tag line or the thesis of a disadvantage, the judge probably did not either.
• A sender of non-verbal signals. These can tell you what they like, what they don't like, and whether they are lost or not.
• Aware that some of your arguments are better than others, and the same goes for your opponents. Don't claim to"win everything,"make a real and credible call on how things are going.
• Correct. It is your job to please them, not the other way around.
PERCEIVED ROLE TYPES FOR JUDGES
This is a simplistic way to categorize judges. However, it does help understand some of the variables. The type is set by the role the judge sees herself in. All judges deserve our respect and our effort to adapt to what it is they are looking for. Being able to adapt to different audiences will help you all throughout your life.
TYPE A - JUDGE OF ACADEMIC DEBATE CONTEST
This is the judge we prepare you for. The judge is open minded about debate, works hard during the round, wants to make an unbiased decision, has decent knowledge of the topic and debate procedures.
TYPE B - EDUCATOR COACH OF LEARNING DEBATES
All judges are there to educate, but Type A does it through making a good decision. This judge wants to"teach you"something and you had better be ready to learn. This judge is generally an older or more traditional teacher who also coaches debate. They may have not judged in a while or at your level. Make them think they have something to teach you and you can win.
TYPE C - ESTEEMED JUDGE OF ENTERTAINING DEBATES
All judges like to be entertained in the round, but Type C expects you to put on a show that they will enjoy, and thus call it a"good debate."This is often a lay judge ("Here's a ballot, go judge a debate"), or a judge who is disenchanted with the current form of debate, or someone who hasn't judged in a LONG time, or someone who is burnt out as a debate coach and just wants to get through the judging obligation. Make the round enjoyable and make yourself look articulate and you can win.
TYPE B ADAPTATIONS
Delivery:
1. Slower than usual. Pace your delivery based on their flow and non-verbals.
2. Speak in more complete sentences, fewer fragmentary tag lines.
3. Give summaries about major arguments (case contentions, disadvantages, etc.) as you finish with them.
4. Better sign posting for pages of the flow, pause before moving to another major point.
5. Watch carefully for non-verbals of agreement/disagreement or understanding/misunderstanding.
Content:
1. Give a thesis statement before presenting a major argument in order to create context.
2. Avoid debate jargon. Explain debate concepts in words everyone would understand (link turn becomes"we solve that problem,"while permutation becomes"you don't have to vote against us to gain the advantages of the counterplan.").
3. Give reasons for theoretical requirements ... explain why a non-competitive counterplan is"not a reason to vote against our case."Don't just say"reject the counterplan because it is not competitive."
4. Emphasize the line-by-line argument less than with Type A.
5. Use fewer arguments and issues, develop them more completely.
6. Use internal summaries. As you exit an issue, explain why you win it and why it is important.
7. Use external summaries. Summarize and weigh the issues in the debate carefully, leaving time to explain their interaction.
8. Assume the judge accepts the current American conventional wisdom and work from there.
9. Use less evidence than with Type A and explain it more.
TYPE C ADAPTATIONS
Delivery:
1. Everything for Type B but more so.
2. Speak slower, be more colorful, be more complete.
3. Develop a finite number of themes and apply them liberally to arguments in the debate.
4. Focus on major points only, not on flow specific arguments, although you must not be perceived as ignoring issues.
5. Try and create a personal relationship with the judge -- that you and the judge understand what is going on and the other team does not.
Content:
1. Everything for Type B but more so.
2. Focus on major concepts and ideas. Make an extra effort to explain HOW an argument or idea works.
3. Assume the current American conventional wisdom and stay there.
4. Explain all theory issues as being"logically required"and then explain why. On competition, for example, say that"Since you do not have to choose between the counterplan and our plan, it is not a reason to reject our affirmative case."
5. Use fewer pieces of evidence, emphasize qualifications, focus on reasons given inside the evidence.
6. No jargon at all. Replace it with real words.
7. Realize that the judge will not so much vote on the issues as decide who should win and then sort the issues out based on that. The overall impression is essential.