SUMMARY AND FINAL FOCUS

Summary Basics  2 minute speech, after the rebuttals.  It’s a time to clear up for the judge what she should really be paying attention to and looking for  You choose specific arguments that you think are most important to win the round, explain why they are important, and why you have won those points

The Main Jobs of Summary Giver 1. If your opponent has a big argument that has done a lot of damage to your case, you have to attack that argument. 2. Identify 2 or 3 big, main issues in the debate round, and show why you are winning those points. 3. You set up the situation for your partner, so she can give a great final focus.

Other little jobs you might do in the Summary…  Mention your ideas or points that your opponents never attacked, or failed to attack effectively  Remind the judge of your most important evidence  Remind the judge of what your opponents never did or provided  Redirect the judge’s attention to the biggest point in the round, or what the round is really supposed to be about

Summary Map: Choose a Path  Cases (Constructives) and Rebuttals have allowed you to put many roads on the map for the judge, but the summary is a turning point in strategy, because in the summary, you have to choose which roads you will take to your final destination, and decide how you will lead the judge to follow you there and vote for you.

Funnel  The summary is like a funnel: it narrows down the debate, and only lets some information pass through to the final moments of the debate round.

A Volleyball Setup  3 possible balls up in the air, ready to hit and score  You could win with one, two, or all three  Keep the ball in the air… Don’t let it drop, or else you cannot score with it

Collector and Organizer  In the summary, you are a collector. You collect all the information, ideas, evidence, and arguments that relate to one theme. Then you review it all, summarizing why you were stronger than your opponent in that theme.  You do this with 2-3 different themes.  You basically organize all of the information and arguments into 2-3 main categories, grouping similar things together while you talk

Specific Summary Strategies when Comparing your side to their side  Pick your strongest point, and their strongest point, and compare them, showing why yours is bigger, better, and more beneficial.  Pick your main issues and explain why if you win these issues, this is enough for you to win the round. Explain Why.  Contrast your strengths against their flaws and weaknesses.

Final focus

The Final Focus  Your last speech  What do you need to do?

purpose  Explain why you’ve won the debate  Show how the arguments you’ve made beat the arguments they’ve made  No new arguments

structure  Short  Don’t discuss every argument in the debate  More an overview of the round than a specific argument by argument speech

content  Choose the argument(s) you want to go for  Explain why these arguments win you the round  Explain how these arguments are more compelling then the arguments your opponents go for

Questions to ask yourself  What arguments am I winning?  What arguments are my opponents winning?  How do these two sets of arguments interact?  How do the arguments interact with the Framework or story of the round?

ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES…  Comparison of two worlds, two sets of problems  Cost Benefit Analysis  Realistic Assessment of Each Contention and Last Ditch Effort  Even if they win all of their points, we still win because…  Storytelling  Go Lay

Other Tips and Strategies…  Proper way to manage short amount of time  Prep time  Set Up in the Summary, Have a Pre-Plan  1 ST SPEAKER TEAM v 2 ND SPEAKER TEAM  No New in the Final Focus!  Anticipating/Cutting off your opponent’s arguments before they make them.  Evidence or Argumentation Comparison

Put Yourself in Your Judge’s Shoes  Imagine What your judge is thinking and how they would see the round and decide  Pay attention to what they seem like, seem to think, seem to agree with, all during the round.  Guide them down the path that leads them to that final decision.