Paradigm

Emily Bezold
Dr. Phillips High School

As a predominately speech-focused judge, my rankings are based both on the content of your presentations (organization and structure, evidence included, logical cohesion, defined points, etc.) and on the mode of delivery (movement/use of stage space, volume, pacing, eye contact, tone, posture, comedic timing, etc.). The content part is obviously cut for Declamation events. My feedback will usually address these areas, both for kudos for jobs well done and for areas to work on.

Additionally, for Congress, you'll get 5 speaker points if I can point out nothing wrong with your initial speech and if your Q&A session is mostly satisfactory. Speeches that go above and beyond in all factors get a 6. If I can provide areas for improvement per speech, you'll get a 4 or a 3 depending on what can be worked on. I don't give less than a 3, unless there's a serious issue. Please wait for your judges to be ready for you to speak, so we can make sure we have the right person and have noted whether you are aff/neg and which number in the discussion (Aff 2, Neg 4, etc.).