This is part of a series on team speaker dynamics. Read the other articles here:

Team Dynamics 1: General Considerations

Team Dynamics 2: Leaders Should Lead

Team Dynamics 3: Opening Speeches

Team Dynamics 4: Member Speeches

Team Dynamics 5: Rebuttals

In the last five articles, we explored the many different considerations for speaking styles in parli. Here’s how you synthesize it all into a decision. Move in order through these choices:

Sort by Experience

If one speaker is substantially more experienced than the other, he should lead for government and opposition because he will probably make the best decisions.

If speakers have comparable experience, you may want to alternate so one leads on government and the other leads on opposition. This helps protect the feeling of equality within the team. 

Identify Personas

Draw the Persona Diamond and mark each of the corners. Then mark each speaker’s point of origin - the most natural speaking style; the way you deliver when you’re not thinking about your delivery. 

Identify the closest and second-closest personas to the point of origin for each speaker. This indicates your primary and secondary personas, or the ones that come easiest to you. Example:

• Sarah: Lawyer/Rogue

• Michael: Teacher/Pastor

That’s a diverse team with lots of options. 

Optimize Personas with Speeches

Go through the speeches and identify who is naturally strongest in each one. From here, you should have enough information to make a call. 

Here’s an example, with the suggested roles on the left:

• PMC (Teacher) Michael

• MGC (Rogue) Sarah

• PMR (Pastor) Michael

• LOC (Pastor) Michael

• MOC (Counselor) Sarah

• LOR (Lawyer) Sarah

On the government side, we’ve got an easy decision. Michael is optimally suited to PM, and Sarah to MG. 

There is no optimal arrangement for opposition, since Sarah can shine in either role. 

Since Michael and Sarah both have 3 years of experience, we want Sarah to have a turn leading. Michael is already PM, so we make Sarah LO.

Throw it All Out

As you can see, there are lots of ways to improve your performance and get small advantages with your speaking arrangements. However, there are no wrong answers. Any persona can shine in any position; anyone can do a good job leading a team. These are guidelines. If you have personal reasons to go a different way, or you just have a gut feeling, go with it. Don’t feel like you’re penalizing yourself with an MO pastor.

Debates are not won with personas. They are won with good arguments, compelling emotions, and strategic discipline. But against a tough opponent, little advantages can make a difference. The tips in this series will help you build those advantages over the course of the debate, potentially winning you that sixth round when you’re 3-2, or tipping a close outround loss into a close outround win. 

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