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The final focus picks up where the summary left off – getting down to the basics of the round, picking one or two issues to emphasize above all else, and showing why those issues are enough to win your side the debate. Since the final focus speech is only one minute long, you have the difficult task of summing up your strongest argument in a way that proves why it should be considered before the other team’s argument, making a lasting impression on the judge, and doing so in a very limited amount of time. Follow these steps to make your final focus fantastic!

1. Identify the Key Issues

Your final focus should only take on one or sometimes two issues in the debate. This means that even if you think you are winning several arguments, you should choose the best one to stake the debate on. There are several ways to identify your most important argument – sometimes it is the one with the biggest impact (millions of people die from preventable diseases every year because they lack health insurance, perhaps), or it could be an

argument that your opponents were particularly weak in answering (perhaps they conceded your argument that universal health insurance would lead to a better, more efficient health care system). Either of those arguments could be enough on their own to convince a judge to support a universal health insurance resolution. The trick is to choose your strongest

argument based on the rest of the debate and the way you think the judge will view your case. Once you’ve identified the most important issue in the debate, put everything you have into it.

2. Present Voting Issues

Once you’ve identified the one or two arguments that are most central to the debate, advance these arguments as “voting issues.” Voting issues are arguments that you think merit a judge’s ballot. You should phrase your most important and persuasive arguments as voting issues – don’t label an argument a voting issue unless it’s enough to win you the debate. “A national health insurance plan is feasible and could be implemented quickly” is probably not a strong enough argument to be a voting issue. Why? It doesn’t prove why national health insurance is needed or desirable – it merely proves that it could be done. Instead, your voting issue should be that “national health insurance will benefit millions of Americans and will have negligible drawbacks.” This is a better voting issue because it shows the benefits of national health insurance and compares these benefits to potential costs. It shows the judge the implications of voting for the resolution and proves why the resolution matters. Once you’ve identified which of your arguments should be the voting issue(s) in your final focus, spend as much time as you can showing why these voting issues are important enough to warrant the judge’s ballot.

3. Defend “Decision Rules”

A decision rule is a type of voting issue argument that can be very useful in your final focus speech. A decision rule says that the judge should support some particular goal or idea as an absolute priority no matter what the opposition says. For example, a decision rule on a resolution about affirmative action could be “we should do whatever we can to combat racism, no matter what.” This is a decision rule because it claims that a particular goal (in this case fighting racism) is something the judge should always support. Decision rules are useful in cases where you can prove that the resolution is simply the right moral thing to do. They are also strategic because they neutralize the other side’s arguments – even if affirmative action isn’t a perfect solution to racism, as the opposition might argue, it still must be supported simply because it’s the right thing to do. In this way, decision rules can cater to judges’ personal feelings about policy issues and can make your case resonate with their own views. This is a powerful way to persuade judges. Be careful not to overuse decision rules, however. Some judges dislike it when debaters use multiple decision rules – every issue in the debate can’t be something that overrides all other considerations. Some judges are also skeptical of decision rules because they perceive them as attempts to manipulate the debate and avoid discussing the issues by appealing to absolute morality. Only use a decision rule when your case has a clear method of addressing a problem that many people see as morally justified – racism, sexism, discrimination, environmental exploitation, etc.

4. Make a Strong Conclusion

Since your final focus speech is only one minute long, you will not have enough time for a long summary conclusion. Instead, make sure to conclude with a strong and succinct

statement that will make a lasting impression on the judge. Your final focus is the last thing in the judge’s mind before he/she makes his/her decision, so it should be memorable. Conclude with a short restatement of the fundamental reason that the judge should endorse your case and why your arguments should be valued above all else. A good

concluding statement for the con side’s final focus on a resolution ending the death penalty could be, “we have shown convincingly that the death penalty is necessary to deter crime and is the only possible just response to murder. For these reasons, we feel you must

endorse the death penalty by voting against the resolution.” The conclusion should leave no doubt in the judge’s mind that your side should win the debate. A strong conclusion can seal the other team’s fate and lead your team to victory!