November 9, 2025
The Pros and Cons to Different Types of Interp Pieces
Written by Jason Stansell In Interp events like Dramatic Interpretation (DI) and Humorous Interpretation (HI), students can choose from a wide variety of performance pieces. For Program Oral Interpretation (POI), however, you get the exciting challenge of weaving multiple types of pieces together into one cohesive performance. While this blog focuses on the individual strengths…
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November 6, 2025
Student Leader Feature: Student Coach Sherry Lin
Written by Katherine Xue Hello everyone! As you all may know, our student leadership are a core part of our Potomac community; our four student coaches, nine team captains, and five brand ambassadors make up this year’s team of dedicated young leaders. As a new series, we’ll be featuring a member of our student leadership…
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November 4, 2025
How to Leverage Online Debate Classes for Applications
Written by Mahek Acharya When you’re working on college applications, charter school applications, or scholarship essays, every activity and experience matters. But it’s not enough to simply list what you’ve done. Admissions committees want to understand what you’ve gained and how you’ve grown. Online debate classes offer unique advantages that, when articulated effectively, can significantly…
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October 29, 2025
How to Write an Introduction for Speech Events
Written by Jason Stansell Writing an Introduction for a Speech Event can be both rather easy and also difficult at the same time. It doesn’t matter which Speech Event we are speaking of from Informative Speaking to Humorous Interpretation; in each, you have to find a way to make certain that the judge(s) understand your…
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October 26, 2025
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Debate
Written by Mahek Acharya Every debater, from novices to experienced competitors, makes mistakes. That’s part of the learning process. But recognizing common pitfalls early can accelerate your growth and help you avoid patterns that limit your effectiveness in rounds. At Potomac Debate Academy, we’ve seen these mistakes countless times and more importantly, we’ve seen debaters…
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