mackenziem0318 Dear Mac

Dear Mac: Trouble With POIs

Every month, Mac answers your questions about debate, all while giving wise advice. Submit a question to her here!

Dear Mac,

I know that POIs are an important component to a debate round. However, I have issues coming up with any that are strategic and add meaning during rounds. How do you come up with good POIs that are actually productive in rounds?

Thanks,

Trouble with POIs

Dear “Trouble with POIs”,

I agree that POIs, or points of information, are very important to the round. They allow a debater to interject in a speech without fully interrupting. POIs are especially important for clash, which creates a more engaging and lively debate. However, I understand that thinking critically on the spot can be difficult. 

There are many ways that you can improve your critical thinking skills and formulate POIs. One way that I prepared myself for rounds was by running drills. In one drill that I often practiced, at least one other person read off arguments for a certain topic. After listening to the arguments, I would formulate a POI based on what they said within a given period of time (mostly 5-15 seconds). This drill prepared me for the upcoming topics and gave me more experience for the tournament. 

If you are still unconfident with your ability to think on the spot, there are other ways to practice saying POIs without using this drill. Another method I would use to compose POIs was to have a list of evidence and pre-written POIs beforehand that I used during a round. That way if I found a piece of credible evidence to prove my opponent wrong or if I had a POI that was effective for the most recent argument, I was able to not only respond quickly but also sound persuasive–my POIcould even be supported by evidence. The only issue here is that this method can cause you to read from your papers during rounds, so take this advice with a grain of salt.

In conclusion, while POIs may seem difficult to come up with, there are many ways that you can prepare yourself, such as running drills with your teammate or coach, or just pre-writing them. Ultimately, POIs are so important to a good round, so just try your best. Hopefully after reading this, you can improve your POIs and use them meaningfully in your debates!

Sincerely,

Mac

orangecountydebate Blog, Dear Mac

Dear Mac: Trouble with Teammate

Every month, Mac answers your questions about debate, all while giving wise advice. Submit a question to her here!

Dear Mac,

I have a teammate that does not appear to be doing his best or putting in his best effort. I think my teammate could do a better job in his AREI’s, such as using two pieces of evidence and making his impacts more than one sentence long. However, I don’t know how to tell him. Can you help me?

Thanks,

Trouble with Teammate

Dear “Trouble with Teammate,”

Debate is an activity that is supposed to be centered around teamwork, so I am sorry that you are having issues with your teammate. In regards to your teammate putting in more work, sometimes debaters just have work ethic issues while doing research and writing cases. Sectioning off certain parts of a case can worsen this issue. I have found that sitting down and working with your teammates at the same time has helped me in the past. Collaborating with your team will lessen each debater’s workload and allow you to create a strong case while doing an equal amount of work. 

Team collaboration can also help increase the bond between your teammates and create friendships! Forming friendships is always super fun and can also help solve this issue by creating an environment where your teammates feel safe enough to ask for help and questions. This way, instead of not doing the work, your teammates will come to you to ask about any questions they have. You can also turn to them and ask them to improve on something if you need it. 

If this issue worsens even after you have tried these methods, consider speaking to your coach or teacher. Let him or her know that there is more work being done by yourself and that you would like your teammates to help more. Your coach or teacher can ask them to put in more of an effort or change the arrangement of teams. 

In conclusion, teamwork is a tricky thing but it is all about communication. Whether it is working and speaking to your teammate directly about it or asking your coach or teacher, it is crucial that you talk to someone. I hope that after this you are able to speak to someone and maybe the work will become easier. Good luck!

Sincerely, 

Mac