Thread by @nwprogressive

A debates best practices thread

Things that the Spokane #wasen debate with @LWVWA, @SpokesmanReview, and @GonzagaU got right in what was a superbly organized event.

@LWVWA @SpokesmanReview @GonzagaU 1. There was one moderator, @LaurelDemkovich. Having one moderator is simpler. Large panels of moderators have been seen in past #wasen debates. But as we saw tonight, having one moderator works well.

2. Rebuttal time was provided. It's really important in a debate to offer time for rebuttals and the organizers did so.

3. There were follow-up questions. It can be very useful for the moderator to follow up, especially if both of the candidates ignore the premise of a question.

4. Gimmicks that might sound attractive to an organizer but rarely work well in practice (such as letting the candidates ask each other a question) were avoided.

5. A range of issues were covered and important issues that have been ignored in the past were thankfully not ignored this time. There was actually a climate question this time around, which wasn't the case in 2018 in Tacoma with Cantwell and Hutchison.

npi.li/2hc

6. The mics were inactivated when the candidates weren't speaking. This kept the debate on track and prevented anyone from pulling a Trump. Tiffany Smiley tried interrupting Murray several times but couldn't talk over her effectively due to the inactivation of her mic.

7. Time limits were enforced gracefully. The moderator spoke up when the candidates ran over but didn't totally shut them down as they tried to finish. That's important because trying to articulate one's thoughts in a thirty-second stretch can be tough. Some flexibility helps.