Stories. Stories are how our minds interpret the world. Facts, statistics, and bullet points are impactful to an extent, but a compelling, captivating, and colorful narrative is what truly wins rounds. If you don’t enjoy listening to your case and the story you present, what makes you think your judge will? Hello, my name is Jacob Kolb, and I am a student at Taylor University studying Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics. I want to teach you how to tell a great story. I competed in Stoa speech and debate for three years, participating in Lincoln-Douglas and Parliamentary Debate, as well as every speech event category. I won multiple tournaments in both forms of debate, and my success culminated in my senior year when I finished 5th in Parliamentary and 2nd in Lincoln-Douglas at the National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC), as well as having an overall Lincoln-Douglas record of 40-9. I believe the key to my success lies in prioritizing a clear narrative, or story, throughout my cases rather than relying on scattered statistics. I come from a background in the performing arts, and I learned that a judge wants to be entertained as much as they want to be persuaded. I hope to teach you not only how to become a better thinker and debater, but also an improved entertainer and storyteller. As your coach, I will help you construct cases and teach debate theory for both novice and advanced debaters, polish presentations, give feedback, and, most importantly, help you develop YOUR persuasive and entertaining story that will capture the judges' attention as well as their ballots.
