Paradigm

Nancy Santana
Fort Lauderdale High School

I'm by all means a mommy judge, i've been in around 7-10 tournaments in the past, including Nat Quals last year so I do have a certain grasp of how I judge my rounds.

I primarily judge on 3 aspects: Content, Presentation, and Time management

Content:

I value structure highly in your speech, I want to be able to mentally follow through your content and not feel lost on what you are talking about
Include sources! If you have interesting statistics tell me where you got them from, whether that be an Organization, a Study, or University I want to know.
For people who read paradigms I give extra points to Harry Potter references (My house is Gryffindor and my favorite character is Severus Snape)

Presentation:

Walk with purpose! I can't stress this enoughI get hysteric watching competitors walk around aimlessly and it distracts me which has cost competitors the round. Yes movement is essential but do it with purpose, so 3 point walk techniques and things like that I like but if you're moving unnecessarily I will dock points
Eye contact. It's not as essential as purposeful movements, but it's nice to see and it's those little things that take you to the next level
Be engaging! Good speeches need to be engaging for me, if theres no voice inflection or you're too monotone, you're going to lose me in the first 2 minutes and it's going to be very hard to get me back

Time Management:

I have no issue with giving time signals I don't see it as unprofessional at all, just let me know before your piece and i'll be happy to help
Time management is essential. The saddest thing is seeing competitors have incredible pieces and do amazing for 90% of it, and then ruin it at the end because they're speeding up to make up for time

For Interpretation Events:

My biggest thing for Interpretation events like Duo, HI, or DI, is that I need to understand who's doing what.

If you have 3 different characters, I need something that tells me who's who. If everyone sounds the same, talks the same, and even moves the same, it will going to cost you the round.

Fun stuff:

- I like knowing my competitors read my paradigms, so if before beginning your piece you tell me your House or favorite Harry Potter Character i'll judge you in a better mood and more optimistically! (don't just say Harry Potter is your favorite thats lame)