forensicating with strangers

Good Morning,

Well, at the "forensics" tournament this weekend I did not find any CSI criminal activity. What I found was a young woman talking to a plant...and it wasn't even a real plant. She was standing in the hall giving "the preponderance of evidence and sub point F..." to a 6 foot plastic tree with no one else around and no one seemed alarmed.

My second observation was thus...the art of the performance is in the details. Without a reliable frame for judging arguments my mind became stuck on WARDROBE!!!

When great communicators hit the real world they understand this and come prepared to influence the untrained mind subtly through appearance. The young snappy lawyer enters the courtroom in the finest wardrobe she can afford. Somehow the young college forensics student does not get this...

I will only briefly mention here that it was a SATURDAY and voluntarily dressing up in anything that is not warm and fuzzy on the inside and marked with a jersey number on the outside seems INSANE! I remember this from Middle school days. When I was in the middle school band, a forced activity that marked the low light of a compulsory education. the dress code was black SLACKS (no jeans)...We marched in TWO parades where no one actually wanted to go out and buy black pants for two parades...

perhaps in this same spirit? a majority of the young forensicators wore:

Ill-fitting black suits. They appeared to have been stuffed in a van, removed from the suitcase and worn. Young men favored dark solid colored shirts and bold striped ties... The womens' suits snug and painfully buttoned made me uncomfortably gasp when accompanied with high heels, hairpins and pantyhose.

Third observation- My first "judging" event was the Prose competition. Breathtaking, captivating when performed well. Each performer had 10 minutes to introduce a selected piece and then interpret it through voice, emotional build and resolution...

These fine young competitors had no one to clap for them. Interestingly, contestants quickly ran from room to room when finished. There was no bowing or marching back out onto the stage (which seemed fitting) to cries of ENCORE!!!

I felt bad judging or critiquing them so I sat and tried to listen with full-attention and open heart. The happiest moment of my day came when I was able to track one or two down in the hall and compliment them on their performances.

Fourth observation- The significance and importance of formal argument and debate is completely lost on some people.

Twenty minutes before the "Duo" (two-person debate teams) started, Full teams gathered and were given the topic:

"The Nobel Peace Prize committee got it right."

They had 20 minutes to prepare before breaking off into rooms...

My attitude? okay yes, i agree. Now why do we need to argue about this?

Fifth observation- Sometimes the best of the best like to "buzz the tower" or hot dog it a little bit by throwing bones to the audience. Thusly...

During the Persuasion event, an overly polished young man from a Bible college managed to alienate no less than three minority groups in one breath.

He sought to inform us that he was championing the causes "girls" in the sex trade, he had great knowledge of the lives of the Afro-Americans and...knew of the great gains we've made toward the handicapped.

I was sitting in my chair...

i sucked in my breath. oh no, you just didn't...(it's people with disabilities!!!...we're really not doing that well...)

my ears perked. maybe the expert judge had missed it? i heard the pen scratching down the evaluation sheet...i smelled smoke rising from the judge's ears. he'd just tried to wield his weapon of influence on a judge with 20 yeas of national championships coaching experience...and a handicapped girlfriend.

baaaaad idea : ).

okay, have a great day. happy monday.

Amanda