“How are the roles of Leader and Member different, in speaking style and content?” -Benjamin S.

Great question, Benjamin! There’s a lot to explore here.

Team Policy, Too

This series will be written for parli debaters, so we’ll use words like government and opposition. However, almost all of it can be cross-applied to team policy debate or any other 4+ person style of debate. If you are a team debater, you should read this series.

No Wrong Answers

There are infinite combinations of different styles and personas that can be effective in parli. Some persona can be optimized in certain positions, but generally, anyone can succeed in any position. You shouldn't feel any limitations here. Have fun and play to your unique strengths.

Diversity is Strength

A good rule of thumb is to pursue a dynamic in which one partner compliments and balances out the other. That doesn't mean that one partner is mean and the other is nice; the speakers need to be effective on their own. But you might have a charismatic, passionate leader and a calm, reassuring member. Or the opposite. Having diverse speaking styles gives you the maximum flexibility to adapt to what your opponents are doing persuasively. You also increase your chances of having a speaker that the judge strongly connects to.

Along the same lines, if you two look similar - for example, if you are sisters - there's no need to coordinate outfits. You already look like a team. Dressing differently will help differentiate you and give you dynamic flexibility. On the other hand, if you two look different, like a 6-ft guy and a 5-ft girl of different races, coordinating colors can help build a visual unity.

The next consideration is the most important. We’ll be covering it in the next article.