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The presidential election cycle isn鈥檛 normally something that impacts Jennifer Talbert鈥檚 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鈥檚 Speech and Debate team has been very busy.

鈥淚鈥檝e done several media interviews with state, national, and international media outlets,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been interesting and fun.鈥�

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鈥檚 research agenda centers on political activism. Previously, she taught at William Carey University, Kent State University, Ball State University, and Wichita State University.

鈥淏efore 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,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淚 was also asked about how I thought the performances were going to be.鈥�

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

鈥淚 thought both candidates would be rusty. Trump didn鈥檛 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,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淏iden 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.鈥�

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

鈥淓lections are not decided based on presidential debate because most people who watch the debates, for them, it鈥檚 like watching football. They are fans of a candidate and tune in to cheer their person on,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淏ut Biden鈥檚 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鈥檛 prepped out enough. I think he did great for an 81-year-old. But at 81, it鈥檚 hard to be under that pressure and stress.鈥�

Talbert also did not think Trump performed well.

鈥淗e didn鈥檛 seem as prepared or prepped,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淗e kept repeating the same things over and over again and some of it was erroneous information.鈥�

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.

鈥淵ou cannot be successful on a wing and a prayer. You have to practice it over and over and over again,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淵ou also have to be able to take criticism. If you can鈥檛 take critique, it鈥檚 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鈥檛 have to agree with every critique, but you can鈥檛 think those critiques are wrong every single time.鈥�

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.

鈥淓ven 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,鈥� said Talbert. 鈥淚f she performs well, it鈥檚 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.鈥�