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Re: clothing as communication

I would have to agree with this view on nonverbal communication.  Oral
communication and nonverbal communication are directly linked.  If you
achieve a balance between them, you will do better.

Scott Luchetti writes: 
> Maybe it does have an impact, my my point is, should it?  I've said it 
> before, and I'll say it again: debate is an oral communication activity.  
> s/he who wins is a judgment based not on how s/he looks, but how s/he 
> speaks.
 
I have to disagree with Scott's interpretation of debate.  It is not only an
oral communication activity.  Rather it is, in general, a communication 
activity.  While oral communication is a large part of this, so are aspects
such as the overall way you carry yourself.  Debate doesn't just teach oral
ways of communication, it teaches research skills, confidence in
presentation, and effective argumentation.  All of these are embedded into
the oral/visual presentation in front of the judge.  If they weren't
important, we wouldn't need to show up physically at debate tournaments.

Also, I hope to take something from debate that can be used in the real
world.  Nonverbal communication is a vital tool to have in the real world. 
I think debate teaches this.

Expanding debate will not happen if we limit it to only one goal, in this
case, only oral communication.  Hey, last semester a team from Syracuse
debated and won rounds.  However, one of them _never_ said a word.

Later,
Angela Watterworth
University of Rochester
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