How to Flow

There is a moment in every novice’s life when they watch a varsity round for the first time. The speaker starts talking at 300 words per minute. The judge is nodding. And the varsity debaters are scribbling on sheets of paper (or pounding on spreadsheets). The numbers jump up if you are watching a circuit debate and the writing paradoxically either becomes much slower or much faster.

This is Flowing.

Flowing is not "note-taking." Note-taking is akin to, say, summarizing a lecture. Flowing is mapping a debate. In debate, the "Flow" is the official record of the round. If an argument is dropped (not answered), it is conceded as true. If you don't write it down, you don't answer it. If you don't answer it, you may very well lose. The flow is the only version of reality that matters to the judge.

The good thing is that whether you are in Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, or Policy, the fundamentals are the same. Here is how to build your map.

You have two choices. In all honesty you should choose based on what you feel like you’ll do best with:

There is a tactile advantage to paper. It forces you to be concise. It also allows you to draw physical arrows connecting arguments. It, perhaps, may even help you recall arguments better

In Policy and Circuit LD, Excel is king.

Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets (or Docs, if you can use it wisely,) works well. Most debaters use a "Template" (like the Verbatim template) that has pre-formatted macros. The biggest advantage here is speed and legibility. You can type faster than you can write, although, do note this comes with the danger of"Transcripting." Digital flowers tend to mindlessly type every word they hear without processing the meaning. This is counterproductive. You have to be strategic and focus on the biggest points.

Don’t just write a list of arguments down the page! The Flow is structured spatially to track the progression of time.

The Columns

Imagine your paper is divided into vertical columns. Each column represents a speech.

As the debate progresses, you flow horizontally.

If the Aff says "Economy Collapses" in Column 1, the Neg writes their answer ("Economy Resilient") in Column 2, right next to it.

This creates a "Line-by-Line" visualization. You can see exactly where the clash is.

Never flow the whole round on one sheet of paper.

You need a separate sheet (or Excel tab) for each major position.

If you try to cram everything onto one page, you will run out of space, your arrows will look like spaghetti, and it will make it much harder for you.

You cannot write full sentences. By the time you write "The United States should sanction," the speaker has already read three more cards. You need a code. We list some courses of action below

"Government" to "Govt"

"Economic" to "Econ"

"Military" to "Mil"

Mathematics and Logic symbols are your best friends.

As an illustrative example, instead of writing "The economy is going down which causes war," you write: Econ ↓ → War. Now, of course, this can’t work for everyone; it is only supposed to be a helpful example. The best thing is trial and error to see the best thing that works for you.

Flowing is 90% listening. You are listening for Structure. Good debaters "Signpost." They tell you where to put your pen. e.g. "On the Disadvantage, Point One is Uniqueness...” When you hear "Point One," you write "1."

The Hierarchy of Information:

This is where you win. When you flow the rebuttal, you must match their answers to your arguments.

In your next speech, you circle that blank space. You stand up and say: "They dropped the Link. Conceded that the plan causes the economy to crash. That is 100% true for the rest of the round."

If you don't flow the gaps, you won't see the opportunities.

The 1AC / 1NC Shell:

If you are the Affirmative, you should have your own case "Pre-Flowed" (written out in the first column) before the round starts. Do not write your own speech while you are speaking.

If you are the Negative, and you have a generic Disadvantage you run every round, pre-flow the shell on a designated sheet.

You cannot learn to flow by reading this article. You have to do it. Go to YouTube. Find a "TOC Final Round." Get a pen. Do your best to keep up. You will fail. You will get lost.

Do it again.

Eventually, the chaos of the speech will slow down. You will stop hearing words and start hearing the substance of the debate. Indeed, this will happen sooner than you think.

Further Reading / Watching:

Did we miss a shorthand symbol that saves your life? Or are you a psychopath who flows in blue ink? Let us know.

Stay Brilliant.