OHIO Speech and Debate coach chimes in on the importance of debate in presidential election

The presidential election cycle isn’t normally something that impacts Jennifer Talbert’s workload. But this summer, because of the impact the recent debate has had on the upcoming election, and the potential impact of a future debate, the coach of Ohio University’s Speech and Debate team has been very busy.

“I’ve done several media interviews with state, national, and international media outlets,” said Talbert. “It’s been interesting and fun.”

Talbert is part of the School of Communication Studies in the Scripps College of Communication. Her full title is the John A. Cassese Director of Forensics. Before coming to Ohio University, she coached Speech and Debate at the collegiate level for 26 years. Talbert’s research agenda centers on political activism. Previously, she taught at William Carey University, Kent State University, Ball State University, and Wichita State University.

“Before the debate between President Biden and former President Trump, I was asked about the kinds of topics I thought would be covered in the debate. And I was pretty spot on, saying immigration and inflation and other pressing topics the American people say are important to them,” said Talbert. “I was also asked about how I thought the performances were going to be.”

Talbert told the journalists how important it is to be prepared for a debate and that practice is the key to success.

“I thought both candidates would be rusty. Trump didn’t participate in any of the Republican debates in the primaries. Neither had debated in a long time. I said that both candidates needed to have a strong debate to get the wind behind their sails,” said Talbert. “Biden needed to not have any gaffes and sound like he knew what he was talking about. I told the journalists that things could go awry for him, especially because of the age question.”

Biden struggled during the debate, and his performance eventually led to him stepping out of the race.

“Elections are not decided based on presidential debate because most people who watch the debates, for them, it’s like watching football. They are fans of a candidate and tune in to cheer their person on,” said Talbert. “But Biden’s age was already in question. He seemed very well prepped for that debate and had talking points, but he could not express them. He was not fully prepared. He wasn’t prepped out enough. I think he did great for an 81-year-old. But at 81, it’s hard to be under that pressure and stress.”

Talbert also did not think Trump performed well.

“He didn’t seem as prepared or prepped,” said Talbert. “He kept repeating the same things over and over again and some of it was erroneous information.”

Students on the Ohio University Speech and Debate team focus on being prepared. The students become critical thinkers who can pull things apart and put things back together. They run practice debates constantly because Talbert says the more you do it, the better you are.

“You cannot be successful on a wing and a prayer. You have to practice it over and over and over again,” said Talbert. “You also have to be able to take criticism. If you can’t take critique, it’s very difficult to get better. I think a key ingredient to being better at speech and debate is the ability to take criticism. You don’t have to agree with every critique, but you can’t think those critiques are wrong every single time.”

Talbert says if there is another debate, this time between former President Trump and the expected Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, it will be a bigger factor in the election than debates have been in the past.

“Even though Kamala Harris has been the vice president for the last four years, to many people she is an unknown entity. I think more people will watch, especially younger people and people of color,” said Talbert. “If she performs well, it’s an opportunity to get momentum behind her from younger people. I think this next debate is key for both candidates especially since the last one ended so poorly.”