The Field Guide No. 04
Signpost everything
First, second, my main reason. Sound organized instantly and buy yourself thinking time.
Signposting is telling the room where you are before you get there. "I have two responses. First. Second." It is the cheapest way to sound organized, and it does quiet work for your nerves too.
What to signpost
Number your points: first, second, third. Flag the big one: "my main reason is this." Mark the turn from defense to attack: "that covers their case, here is mine." Each phrase is a road sign that tells the judge what kind of sentence comes next.
Two jobs at once
For the judge, signposts turn a wall of talk into a list they can follow and score. A point the judge can find is a point the judge can credit. A buried point may as well not exist.
For you, the same phrases buy time. "My second point is" takes two seconds to say and gives your brain a beat to load what the second point actually is. The structure carries you while you think, so a pause never tips into a freeze.
Keep it light
You do not need a signpost on every sentence. Three or four across a speech is plenty. Announce your map at the top, hit each marker as you reach it, and the whole turn sounds planned even when you wrote it on the fly.