What are some tips to improve your shorthand and symbols when flowing?
Flowing is a skill that every debater needs to master. It is the practice of taking notes of the arguments, evidence, and responses in a debate round, using a system of shorthand and symbols. Flowing helps you keep track of the flow of the debate, identify gaps and weaknesses, and plan your strategy. In this article, we will share some tips to improve your shorthand and symbols when flowing, so you can be more efficient, accurate, and organized.
One of the easiest ways to save time and space when flowing is to use abbreviations and acronyms for common words and phrases. For example, you can use CP for counterplan, DA for disadvantage, K for kritik, T for topicality, and so on. You can also use initials for authors, cases, or organizations, such as SC for Supreme Court, UN for United Nations, or HS for Hegel and Smith. However, make sure that your abbreviations and acronyms are clear and consistent, and that you can remember what they stand for.
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ROBIUL C.
Head of Marketing @ Dhaka Plastic & Metal | Business Development, Social Media Marketing
In my experience, leveraging abbreviations and acronyms is crucial for efficient shorthand. I often create a personalized shorthand system where common words or phrases are represented by a few letters or a symbol. For instance, "communication" might be abbreviated as "comm" or "comm." and "information technology" as "IT." This not only saves time during note-taking but also helps maintain focus during fast-paced discussions or lectures.
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Simah Khalid
Chief Business Development Officer
I found it extremely helpful whilst abbreviating to not only use acronyms but also mathematical symbols at times. E.g. arrows pointing up or down for increase & decrease, > greater or < lower, an = sign to define something. You can adopt as many or as little as you're comfortable with.
Another way to speed up your flowing is to use symbols and shapes to represent different types of arguments, evidence, or responses. For example, you can use a star (*) to indicate an impact, a plus (+) to indicate an advantage, a minus (-) to indicate a disadvantage, a circle (O) to indicate a turn, a slash (/) to indicate a takeout, and so on. You can also use arrows, brackets, lines, or boxes to show the direction, connection, or grouping of arguments. Again, make sure that your symbols and shapes are simple and consistent, and that you can understand them at a glance.
A third way to improve your flowing is to use colors and highlighters to differentiate and emphasize different aspects of the debate. For example, you can use different colors for different speakers, different arguments, or different flows. You can also use highlighters to mark important or new arguments, evidence, or responses. Using colors and highlighters can help you visually organize your flow and make it easier to find and review information.
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Dalton Neto
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Aprimore seu fluxo de debate incorporando cores e marcadores. Por exemplo, use cores distintas para diferentes oradores, argumentos ou fluxos. Além disso, marque pontos cruciais com marcadores para destacar argumentos, evidências ou respostas importantes. Essa prática visual não só organiza seu fluxo, mas também facilita a revisão e localização de informações durante o debate.
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Simah Khalid
Chief Business Development Officer
Using colours and highlighters has helped myself an enormous amount not only in sorting data into like for like sets, but also in the ability to retain that information in my mind where I can see the information because of the variance in colours.
A fourth way to improve your flowing is to use templates and formats to structure and standardize your flow. For example, you can use a spreadsheet or a word processor to create a flow template with columns, rows, or cells for each speaker, argument, or flow. You can also use a standard format for writing down arguments, evidence, or responses, such as claim-warrant-impact or tagline-citation-analysis. Using templates and formats can help you save time and space, and ensure that your flow is clear and complete.
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Simah Khalid
Chief Business Development Officer
Templates and formats allow for consistency especially with intermittent or large flow of data. The templates and formats can be applied to a smaller data set first to group and sort. However, there are many instances where changes like sub-sets would have to be made.
A fifth and final way to improve your flowing is to practice and review your shorthand and symbols regularly. You can practice by flowing along with recorded or live debates, or by flowing your own speeches or arguments. You can review by checking your flow for accuracy, completeness, and readability, and by comparing it with other flows or feedback. Practicing and reviewing can help you refine your shorthand and symbols, and identify your strengths and weaknesses.
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Simah Khalid
Chief Business Development Officer
In this case Practice = Ease = retention + time save = more time to do other things. Plus, it allows for innovation and creativity whilst working on this mental wavelength.