Tone: the mood of your speech that communicates emotion and personality towards the subject. Speak as if you are excited about the topic. Smile when speaking excitedly, delivering an introduction, or telling a joke and sound happy. When debating more serious topics involving the loss of human life or proximate disasters, it might be ebst to avoid smiling and keep your tone of voice serious. The takeaway is this: I should be able to tell the mood you’re conveying without actually listening to the words. For great examples watch Original oratory Finals linked here. Notice the way there are ups and downs in the speech. 

Word Choice

 In congress, clarity is key so you want to make as big of an impact in as few words as possible. Use action verbs and show not tell what the impact of your side is. Avoid fluffy words and overuse of “congress vocab” like “constituents”, “the fact of the matter”, “principally” and “why’s that so important”. Nothing wrong with the phrases, but chances are everyone is using them and you want to stand out so limit them if you can. Try to write as little as possible on the pad like shown above, that helps with avoiding excessive words. Use colors to your advantage like shown above. There are alot of great drills linked here.

Inflection

Inflection: the manner in which you move your voice up and down and emphasize words

Inflection exists to make your speech sound dynamic because no one wants to listen to a monotone speech. On that note, be aware of if your personal pattern of inflection gets repetitive. For Example, some debaters tend to lower their voices at the end of every phrase/sentence. Even though they are inflecting their voices, it comes off monotone because it's being repeatedly done in the same way. Something that might help if highlighting specific words to emphasize to make sure their impact comes across. The video above is a little over the top but helpful to grasp the concept of inflection.

Speed

DO NOT SPREAD IN CONGRESS, this will result in your judges and competitors being confused. Speak at a conversational pace and slow down when you need to emphasize something. As a general rule, you can read evidence and analysis slightly quicker, while slowing down on impacts and rhetoric.  When we're nervous, we tend to speak quicker, try these tips if you're struggling.

Volume

The key to good consistent volume and tone is something called your chest voice. This involves breathing from your diaphragm and projecting which allows you to project without voice cracks. The video linked on the left provides a good explanation as well as the video linked here. Be mindful of the difference between this and head voice. The latter typically results in a more shallow tone and inhibits your ability to project clearly. Remember there is a difference between project and yelling, nobody wants to be yelled at so make sure you are loud and clear.

Eye Contact

AVOID SPORADIC EYE CONTACT. Sporadic eye contact can make you look frantic and disheveled. What do I mean by this? When you make eye contact, hold it in various areas of the room for a few seconds. Don't repeatedly look down at your legal pad then back up for a fraction of a second. When you can go over 10 seconds over pad, put it by your side and make lasting eye contact to ensure you get your point across. A few techniques are found above.

Movement

If you want a general template to follow, do your intro in the middle, first idea on the left, idea on the right and conclude in the center. I say idea instead of point because your speech should all be connected. If you're using Status quo solvency impact (SSI), you can separate you speech into those three sections and walk accordingly. 

Articulation

Articulation: emphasizing syllables of words to ensure clarity

One of the biggest things that can be lost in congress is articulation. When we’re nervous we tend to speed up and not fully pronounce every word. Don’t worry this is normal but its important to be mindful of how well you can articulate. Drills to help with this are on the next page. Use tounge twisters to help you improve this aspect of delivery.

Body Language

 Body Language: the movements you make to enhance your speech

Gestures are good when they’re not repetitive, beware of constantly gesturing in the same way. Secondly, keep your head up and back straight. You’d be surprised how many people lean over or look down when reading off their legal pads. Try videoing yourself speaking and take note of you body language or other exercises found here

Adaptability