Roadmap

Sunday, October 2, 2011

When The Other Team Urges A Ballot In Your Favor

Back when I was non-debater, I jokingly wondered if anyone had ever urged a ballot for the other team. A bunch of people told me that this happens a lot, which surprised me. I found this kind of strange and kind of hilarious. Now that I've been debating for like... 2 months, I know it's true. Even in my limited experience I have had my opponents practically beg the judge to vote for me, to which I offer no objections.

Would it be bad to take advantage of such a slip of the tongue? Probably, but it would be fun too. "Judge, even the negative team agrees: an affirmative ballot is warranted." Hmm... Maybe I'll try that in a practice round sometime.

The very idea that you can tell people to you vote for you still seems odd to me. We don't do that in speech. Can you imagine ending an impromptu by saying, "By the way, I deserve a first place and the guy that went before me should get a Fifth & Below." You would probably get kicked out of the league or something.

You're homeschooled. I'd vote for you.

2 comments:

  1. This is exactly why I stopped ending my speeches with "Thank you and I urge a ____ ballot". I just end them with "Thank you".

    It kills two birds with one laser.
    1) Judges are sick and tired of hearing things like "Thank you and I urge a ____ ballot" or "I'm going to start off by going down the flow starting with..."
    2) You don't accidentally urge the judge to vote for the other team.

    HUZZAH!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hehehehe

    ;)

    ReplyDelete