Spreading is the act of speaking extremely fast during a competitive debating event, with the intent that one's opponent will be penalized for failing to respond to all arguments raised. It is a portmanteau of "speed" and "reading".[1] The tactic relies on the fact that "failing to answer all opposing arguments" is an easy criterion for judges to award a win on, and that speaking fast and fielding an overwhelming number of distinct arguments can be a viable strategy.[2]
Spreading dominated the US school debate circuit in the 1990s.[3] The public forum debate format was introduced in the early 2000s, with the intent of slowing speakers down by rewarding deeper arguments.[3] As of 2018, spreading was described as still being "de rigueur" at Lincoln–Douglas debate format events.[3]
Senator Ted Cruz, who was a national debating champion in his student days, described spreading as "a pernicious disease that has undermined the very essence of high school and college debate".[3]
The problem with Spreading in LD & Policy debate is it's actually trivial to counter; but since it's still primarily focused as the approach, people's usual response is to do it themselves. LD & Policy both 'require' a virtue and criterion being evaluated, and spreading has the unintentional effect of spreading an argument too thin and ignoring that base virtue/criterion, leaving it weak and unsupported.
The easiest way to not get burried in shit isn't to dig yourself out or fling it back, but to side step it...
But tactics like this are actually at the core as to why I don't believe the author of the article is actually talking about debate (instead about discussions, dialectics, etc); since debate - at least how we establish it in both school and what we'll generously describe as 'debates' at the legislative level - is solely about 'winning' the argument, even if there's no win to be had.
Spreading is the act of speaking extremely fast during a competitive debating event, with the intent that one's opponent will be penalized for failing to respond to all arguments raised. It is a portmanteau of "speed" and "reading".[1] The tactic relies on the fact that "failing to answer all opposing arguments" is an easy criterion for judges to award a win on, and that speaking fast and fielding an overwhelming number of distinct arguments can be a viable strategy.[2]
Spreading dominated the US school debate circuit in the 1990s.[3] The public forum debate format was introduced in the early 2000s, with the intent of slowing speakers down by rewarding deeper arguments.[3] As of 2018, spreading was described as still being "de rigueur" at Lincoln–Douglas debate format events.[3]
Senator Ted Cruz, who was a national debating champion in his student days, described spreading as "a pernicious disease that has undermined the very essence of high school and college debate".[3]