here - College of Arts & Sciences - Bethel University

Relative importance of presentation/communication skills to the critic in decision-making
:
Presentation Preferences: 'Good speaking is often overlooked. Good speakers will gain
an edge with me. Those that aren t so refined won t be punished. Teams should focus
on key issues. Rebuttals should all present voting issues. The line by line should already
have been done in the constructives. MO and LOR should not split duties. A few extra
moments here and there don t bother me. 20 seconds would warrant a "Let s get going"
from me but I wouldn t punish the team. Speakers can finish their last sentence over
time. They should not make a new point. I ll say stop if it gets out of hand but won t
punish the team. New arguments in rebuttals should never be made. New positions in
the MG and MO aren t terrible as long as its not 5 new positions.'
Relative importance of on-case argumentation to the critic in decision-making:
Approach to Deciding: 'I focus on comparison. I ll vote on any issue you bring up in the
round. Be prepared to explain counterintuitive arguments in greater depth than others.
Sensitive issues should be treated with a degree of sensitivity appropriate (abortion
nuclear war euthanasia etc.).
Openness to critical/performative styles of debating:
Go for it!
Any additional comments:
Myers, Sarah
Rocky Mountain College
Background of the critic:
Theater Tech Professor - Rocky Mountain College - 3 years
IE coach for RMC - 2 years
Approach of the critic to decision-making (for example, adherence to the trichotomy,
stock-issues, policymaker, tabula rasa, etc.):
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