"I'd
now like to call upon the Opposition Whip
to sum up this debate, reminding him/her
that while new arguments are not allowed,
new examples are always welcome."
The
speaker has just called your name. It's your
turn to speak and end this round by summing
up what has been said so far. Still, there's
this one thing that troubles your mind. This
thought that has been dancing inside your
head and won't leave unless you deal with it.
You have a new argument, a very good
argument, maybe even a winning argument. You
know it's too late to bring it in the debate.
You've done this mistake in the past and know
the judges don't like it.
"New
arguments are not allowed, new examples
are always welcome."
You
hear those words echoing in your ears, as
your mind desperately tries to find a way out
of this dilemma. You can hear the argument
talking to you, begging you... "Come
on! I'm one of the coolest things one could
ever think. If you don't bring me up, you're
a loser pal!" ...You shake your
head to fight it off...
"New
examples are always welcome."
Of
course! It's so simple. You'll bring in all
the matter you want, but do it in a way that
sounds like an example. Now that's a
relief... Relax, and go start your speech, no
one will ever notice...
Let's
see how this thing works. To do that, we
first have to analyse the nature of an
example. What are its properties and
characteristics? What does it look like? In
order for your disguise to work properly, it
needs to look and feel like the real thing.
Well, first of all, in order to be an
example, it has to be baptised as such. So
call it an example, regardless of what it
actually is. You can start by saying
something like "let me give you an
example about..." (See instructions on labelling).
This should give you a good starting point,
and prepare the judge's mind for the example
to follow. (Did I just say example? Great!)
Next,
you must remember that examples are never
complicated or abstract, whereas arguments
tend to be like that. Present your argument
in the form of a story, as you would with an
example. Instead of saying that a decrease in
the price of condoms would help reduce
abortions (which sounds quite argument like);
tell them about John and Mary, how they had
money to buy the reduced price pack for
Sunday, and how that saved Mary from an
unwanted pregnancy. Then move on into saying
that John was pro abortion and blah, blah,
you've got the entire argument in the form of
a story. I know it takes more time, but it's
a price worth paying considering that you'll
be doing something well beyond the rules of
debate. In any case, try to keep your stories
short.
When
someone uses an example, it's usually to
clarify and better explain an argument that
was stated earlier. The same thing should
apply for your argument; it should appear to
be exemplifying something previously stated.
If you can link it, in some far-fetched way,
to something your partner mentioned earlier,
then that's perfectly fine. If you can't do
that however, pretend your partner had said
something like that. You may say, "As my
partner most eloquently stated
earlier..." blah, blah and outline the
basic premise of your argument... Be careful
not to overdo it though!
Keeping
these guidelines in mind, you'll have to
watch out for the reaction of the judges.
Maintain constant eye contact, and watch for
any minor disturbances in their attitude. If
you see they're uneasy with what you're
saying, then it means you are not doing a
good job of hiding your argument. It's
usually that you get forgetful and your
argument starts sounding more technical than
it should. Maybe that's when you're trying to
draw something from your story. Or maybe it
happens when you're explaining what's being
exemplified by your "example". The
rule of the thumb is that such pitfalls are
unavoidable if you stick to the same thing
for too long. If you see any of the judges
catching on to your scheme, quickly move on
to something else, and start talking
emphatically about it. The judges will stop
thinking what they were, and concentrate on
writing down that new thing you're talking
about, hence you'll be saved.
In
conclusion, by following this method, you'll
be able to bring new arguments into the
debate without anyone penalising you for
doing so. You need to be careful when doing
so, and need to practice a lot before you can
pull this off in front of a good judge. Since
it wastes much of your time, which you should
be using summarising the round, only employ
this tool when you've got a really
strong argument to make. Lastly, remember,
this is an interactive process, you have to
go with the flow and adjust your method
according to the feedback you get from the
judges as you go along.
