Still, the tournament has an oft-repeated slogan: “The points are not the point — the point is the poetry!” When fellow competitors hear a thought or line they appreciate, they murmur or whoop their approval, or snap their fingers. When a nervous student stumbles, the room fills with cries of “C’mon, you got this!” And when a performer receives a low score from a judge, teammates and opponents alike holler, “Listen to the poem!”