Team Dynamics 3: Opening Speeches
This is part of a series on team speaker dynamics. Read the other articles here:
Again, any speaking style can work in any position. But each speech has specific goals that can lend themselves to particular speaking styles.
Persona Diamond 101
In the next few articles, we’ll be discussing styles in terms of the Persona Diamond, a personality profile for speakers that outlines what you primarily offer the judge emotionally. There’s a lot to say about the diamond; if you’re not already familiar, here’s a very brief overview:
Pastor: Passion. North. Cares deeply about the topic and doesn’t trust the judge to make the right decision.
Teacher: Credibility. East. Knows everything about the topic and “deserves” to win.
Counselor: Empathy. South. Cares deeply about the judge and builds a personal connection through calm reassurance.
Rogue: Likeability. West. Seemingly doesn’t care who wins; takes risks and defies conventions in ways that inspire judge adoration. This is the funny/cute persona.
Lawyer: Balanced. Center of the diamond. Cares about the topic, willing to use theatrics when needed, trusts the audience to vote for the truth. Very dynamic but no unique strengths.
Now, let’s look at the parli speeches.
PMC: The Oracle
The PMC presents the government case, making it look complete and infallible.
At the forefront of a PM’s mind in the first speech is the idea of completeness. You want the PMC to feel like it contains everything you need to win. It should feel so authoritative that if the government team promptly left the room after the PMC, and the opposition got an hour to speak, the judge would still vote for you.
Teachers are a perfect fit for this speech. Since they exude credibility, they give the PMC the gravitas it needs to shine all the way through the round.
The end of the PMC is the strongest the government will ever be. That’s important to remember. In the next two government speeches, it’s almost impossible to build momentum. The goal of the government is to start strong, survive the opposition assault, and remain standing at the end.
LOC: The Mastermind
The LOC presents the opposition case, seizing strategic control.
In debate, strategy isn’t about who wins a specific argument, it’s about which arguments the judge votes on. All major debate formats give the opposition a strategic advantage to offset the government’s persuasive advantage from speaking first and last.
Opposition has a strategic advantage because of the block (two back-to-back speeches later in the round). But the real strategic moves need to happen right off the bat, in the LOC. A good LO will move quickly across the flow, dismissing strategic liabilities, and then settle on the main offensive arguments with lots of passionate speaking time. Think about the core opposition arguments here, like the disadvantages or an aggressive value.
Pastors shine in this role. They come across as deeply invested in the topic; they can pour sincerity into the offensive arguments so they hit as hard as possible.
In the next article, we’ll continue our way through the parli round.