REBUTTALS (the second speech for your team…) David Childree

The Note taking process 1.Flow as much as possible. 2.The least words possible, the most information possible. 3.Organized with numbers and bullets. 4.Abbreviations and Symbols. 5.Leave room for more speeches on your paper.

The Organization Process 1.Look at the opponent’s speech. 2.Group similar ideas together. 3.Make an overview where you talk about general things. 4.Attack the most important point in every idea. Do not attack every sentence. 5.Use numbers and tell your judge where to look. Lead your judge to see the right things and look at the big picture and the important details.

Writing Responses 1.Start with a new color! 2.Make sure your responses are in line with what they respond to. 3.Decide what is most important and least important in the opponent’s arguments. Put more responses on the most important ideas. Put less responses on the least important ideas. 4.Number your responses. 5.Remember, write with abbreviations, not full sentences. 6.Add evidence when you can, as much as possible.

Saying your rebuttal 1.Have a polite but demanding attitude. 2.Sound like a politician delivering propaganda, or a reporter delivering the truth after the people have been fed a lie. 3.Be concerned and emotional and real to connect with your judge. 4.Be a guide for your judge. Tell him when to turn left, when to turn right, be clear step by step, make his way home to be very clear. It’s like you are guiding him “home” to the correct decision, which will be voting for you to win.

Other Tips 1.You can make the judge pay more attention to certain ideas by saying… “The most important thing” or “The biggest problem” or “The most harmful consequence”

Going First or Going Second If you go first, you have 4 minutes to respond to their first 4 minute speech. 1.Make sure you cover EVERYTHING in their case. You do have enough time. 2.Overload them. 3.If you have extra time, don‘t waste it! 1.Put burdens on them 2.Expand or defend your own case points. If you go second, you have 4 minutes to respond to 8 minutes of your opponents talking: their constructive and their rebuttal. 1.You can not cover all 8 minutes, so try to cover the most important ideas! 2.Spend about 2-3 minutes on attacking the opponent’s case… and then defend your own case, because your opponents already attacked it.

When do you do what time would not allow you to do in your 4-minute rebuttal? If you still need to rebut some ideas, you can do it in: 1.The crossfire before your rebuttal (Your partner) 2.The crossfire after your rebuttal 3.At the beginning of the summary (Your partner)

Keeping things clear for your Judge 1.Talk slowly 2.Speak with pauses and divisions 3.Make an outline for yourself and speak to your judge in outline form 4.Clearly identify main ideas, main responses, and the big picture. 5.Look at your judge. See if the judge seems to understand you or be confused. Adjust to help him understand.

Budgeting Your time 1.Tell yourself you will use one minute per contention, for example. 2.Decide what point you will spend the most time on. 3.Watch your timer many times. 4.Move on… don’t spend too much time on one little point. 5.Use boxes for each minute. 6.Don’t be afraid to abandon or sacrifice some tiny unimportant ideas. Focus on what is most important. 7.Use your time wisely. You can never get time back after you use it!

Mentality and Behavior during the Rebuttal. 1.Make it seem like you are attacking the evil. 2.Be polite and professional. 3.Have gestures so you can keep the judge attention and you can keep the judge focus awake and on you. 4.Be explanatory and presentational. Don’t be angry. 5.Try to explain your points as the truth that everyone can agree with.

Rebuttal Practice and Improvement Demo Debate Case…