Verbatim Plugin - Analytics DEBATE

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Verbatim Plugin - Analytics

Go to c:\Users[Your Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\ and right click Debate.dotm and select Open -- this is different from double-clicking.

Create Analytics style from Word Styles menubar, then save Debate.dotm. You can also repurpose Emphasize style to use its key shortcuts and button.

Before sending speech docs, right click your Analytics style in the menubar and click Select all instances, press Delete.

Arguments In Favor of Hiding Analytics

https://www.reddit.com/r/policydebate/comments/12wtovh/keyboard_shortcut_for_removing_analytics/
if you sent 100% of your 2AC, other large teams could easily prep out every point that you made on a specific flow and crush you in the block. if you sent out all of your 2NC extensions of an argument, your opponents can just ctrl+c them and use them themselves without any substantive research.

also, if your opponents are relying on the document to flow you, they should be punished. debate should be an auditory speaking activity, and if people are just writing down what's on the document, what's the point of giving the speech?

lastly, if a judge is struggling to flow a debater, that's probably because the speaker is unclear or the judge is terrible, which are separate problems.

i am not arguing that the judge is always in the wrong. however, it is important to acknowledge that some judges are objectively not great at judging, and that they should be flowing by ear and not off the document. yes, of course there are judges that are physically unable to do that, and yes debaters should adapt, but they are the minority.

i am also not justifying the removal of evidence from speech documents, my original comment was only in the context of analytics. apologies for the confusion.

in the national circuit, where large schools like MBA, peninsula, and berkeley prep debate, the vast majority of 2ACs are mostly pre-written because their coaches have the resources to make frontlines for every conceivable negative positions. blocked-out overviews and extensions of 1NC off-case positions for the block are common as well.

yes, i do acknowledge that many debaters speak too unclearly or too quickly to flow auditorily. i agree that those debaters should be punished by losing. but on the other hand, those debaters should also not be using the existence of speech documents and their blocks as an excuse to continue to be unclear, and expect their judges to flow off the documents.

Arguments Against Hiding Analytics

https://docs.paperlessdebate.com/verbatim/faq#how-do-i-make-security-prompts-and-protected-view-warnings-go-away

The reason that people want an Analytics style is almost exclusively so they can write a macro to delete the analytics before sharing with their opponent or judge. While I understand this impulse, I think that it's misguided and should be discouraged.

Any time you make the arguments made in your speech less accessible to your opponent, you're running away from clash and encouraging worse debate. Removing content from your speech document is anti-competitive, anti-educational, and damaging for people who may need the written document to engage with your arguments.

For similar reasons, Verbatim will never support shrinking text smaller than 4pt (which is already probably too small), or versions of Invisibility Mode which actually delete text from the document.

Debaters should win with superior argumentation, not cheap tricks.