Verbal presentation concerns the way that you enunciate and deliver your words to your audience.

Unquestionably, the biggest issue concerning vocal presentation is speed, and the biggest problem is going too fast. That is, what may seem a perfectly normal speed to you, the speaker, can in fact, be unbearably fast to your audience and judges.

Initially, it can be difficult to recognize this as a speaker, so it is important to pay attention to what judges or audience members say about your speed of delivery. If you do need to slow down, there are at least two good ways of doing it. First, remember to start slowly, to reinforce the feeling of speaking at a measured pace to your audience. Second, many speakers like to write ‘SLOW DOWN’ on their notes. This can be a useful technique, as long as you don’t read aloud those forbidden words! A third method is a little drill that I incorporated (which may be slightly excessive), download a metronome app on your phone, and try pacing yourself at different tempos. Record yourself doing this exercise. It gives you a general sense of what might be your best speaking speed.

It is also possible to have a speed problem of going too slow, but this is unlikely. Usually, this is simply the result of not having enough content generated during prep time, or not properly understanding your own contentions. From a debater’s perspective, it is a matter of content issue, ensuring you have enough to discuss, and that you understand it in sufficient detail.

Volume is a significant component of vocal presentation. Perhaps the most important element of volume is that your volume should be appropriate for the context of your speech. For example, if you are speaking to a large crowd in a big hall, it is important to project your voice loudly; if you are addressing a small group in a classroom, it is far more effective to adopt a conversational tone.

Some speakers feel that they always need to speak loudly and aggressively in order to appear confident and forceful. There is no question that this can be worthwhile, but if used continuously, it can have the opposite effect—the speaker can appear flustered and out of control. It is often more effective not to give the impression of taking your argument and “shoving it down your audience’s throat,” as it is more effective to speak softly, almost as though you are letting your audience in on an important secret. This style has the advantage of forcing your audience to concentrate harder on what you are saying, and can itself give the impression of force and confidence, because you are comfortable enough to deliver your message in a more relaxed and subdued tone.

I would also like to add a note here about vocal care—although this is a presentation and style guide, it is also absolutely crucial that vocal care comes first, and pursuing habits such as shouting and being aggressive all the time can be extremely damaging in the long run for your vocal cords and voice box. It is also a common misconception that whispering when your voice hurts is good for preserving it. This is simply wrong. Whispering is actually quite damaging for your voice, and you should resort to a soft humming to relax your vocal cords instead.

The ultimate goal with volume should be to present a confident speech that is appropriate to the context, and to be confident enough to vary your volume where appropriate. Whether or not variety is indeed the spice of life, it can certainly help your manner mark! Of course, you can always have variety in your visual presentation, by using different kinds of gestures, for example. However, variety in manner is essentially an issue of vocal presentation. This is because, as a speaker, the monotone poses the greatest risk of all—boredom.

Perhaps the most important way to avoid a monotone is to use your notes effectively. Simply reading them is the easiest way to fall into a comfortable and boring drone of a monotone. Therefore, it is important to vary your style of presentation throughout. For example, you can vary the pitch of your voice by speaking in an expressive and animated style, rather than being monotonous. You can also vary your natural speaking rhythm by pausing. Ironically, the best way to regain your audience’s attention on what you are saying is often to say nothing—to pause quite deliberately between sentences, arguments, or ideas. Finally, always consider making variations in volume.

The way that you actually use words to express those ideas and concepts is best understood as being a component of manner—verbal presentation.

Clarity is by far the most important element of verbal presentation. You should be concerned with the actual content and words used to convey ideas rather than their pronunciations. Too many debaters use long or difficult words and convoluted sentences in order to sound impressive. In reality, this just makes it harder for the audience to follow and painfully difficult to understand.

Instead, the opposite should be true. You should always aim to express your ideas as simply and clearly as possible, using simple language and short sentences wherever possible. The underlying principle should be clear: you should aim to present an impressive case, not impress your way out of a non-existent one. Hence, some general rules of thumb to consider: don’t use long words, acronyms, or technical terms in isolation, always take the time to explain them. Assume your audience is intelligent but uninformed, and take the time to clearly explain what models you mean. And, always answer your own rhetorical questions. Too often, debaters leave rhetorical questions unanswered, letting the audience fill in the blank, but this just opens up the possibility for your audience to disagree with you. Don’t let this be an option.

The use of clever verbal techniques. In other forms of public speaking, speakers are often encouraged to use various devices when writing their speeches. For example, the frequent use of metaphors, triplets, or alliteration. There is nothing inherently wrong with these techniques, but they do sound scripted. Therefore, in debating, they should be confined to those areas of your speech where the audience expects to hear well-crafted prose, that is, your conclusion and formal introduction. A debater who presents substantive arguments or rebuttals in cleverly crafted language will almost always suffer because they lack sincerity and natural expression.

Humor can truly be a double-edged sword, so use it with care. It can either significantly improve your connection with the audience, or reduce your credibility and seriousness. Also, the key thing to remember is that cultural, personal, or otherwise targeted attacks or attempts at jokes are never funny.

There are some key things to remember when incorporating humor. Firstly, don’t feel the need to incorporate humor! There are lots of other ways to effectively persuade, without having the audience crack a smile once. It is better not to use it than to mess it up. However, if you are using humor, make sure it is appropriate for the context of the round. Use your situational awareness and judgement! If your round is about terrorism or violence, it is not the time or place to be cracking jokes. There is also rarely any need for isolated jokes, if they do not add to the round. Finally, always keep in mind that laughter is not a rebuttal! Jokes are great to lighten the atmosphere, but they do not take the place of logical argumentation or contentions. Always remember to return to the original purpose of the debate.

(Example at timestamp 41:34)