Debate Terminology 2

Speaker points - presentation skills of debater, verbal and nonverbal communication

Ballot - the judges record of the winner and loser, speaker points, ranks speakers 1-4

Case - the contents of the constructive speeches, overall arguments made by debaters

Context - the surrounding information of a quote in an article, can be challenged by opponent “out of context”

Empirical evidence - information supported by a study, scientifically proved, can be empirically denied

Impact - the effect of an action or policy, can be neg or pos, refuting is called an “impact take-out”

Impact calculus - the equation of harm vs good, drone strike - does the harm outweigh the good, magnitude (large), timeframe(quick), probability(likely)

Probability - how likely something is, often used with magnitude to show the significance or size of an event or outcome, requires specificity or examples of analysis

Turn - arguing with an opponent's point, reverse an argument, reversing the logic of the argument to align with one’s own side

Internal link turn - a logical connection within an argument

New arguments - prohibited to introduce new arguments in the last speech, rebuttal, opponents have no chance to respond

Underview - a summary of points at the end of the debate, complements an overview at the beginning

Voting issue - a compelling issue in the debate, guiding principle of your side, freedom, safety, prosperity

Final focus - last speech of the debate, short, reiterate Apriori issue, why your side should win

Press - to challenge an opponent’s point particularly during crossfire

Burden - requirement to prove a point, side making claim or advocating for change has burden to proof, use evidence to support the points

Procedural - a foul, an argument or action not allowed, going over time limit

Ad hominem - a personal attack on an opponent, draws attention away from issue

Slippery slope - one small step allowed, it will lead incrementally to a disastrous conclusion

Circular argument - reasons that restate the argument rather than prove it

False dichotomy - provides an either or choice that is not true

Ad populum/bandwagon - appealing to the desire to belong to a group

Gaslighting - convincing someone that something that is obviously true is false or vice versa

Straw man - setting up a weak version of your opponent’s argument to debate

Sunk cost - the belief that something should be continued because of money, time, or other resource already invested

Jargon - using complicated terminology to deliberately confuse and dominate an opponent or audience