Public forum debate explained

Public forum debate is a form of competitive debate where debaters use their evidence and impacts to outweigh the benefits and harms of the opposing side. The topics for public forum have to do with current-day events relating to public policy. Debaters work in pairs of two, and speakers alternate for every speech. It is primarily competed by middle and high school students, but college teams exist as well. Invented in the US, public forum is one of the most prominent American debate events, alongside Policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate; it is also practiced in China and India, and has been recently introduced to Romania.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Individuals give short (2-4 minute) speeches that are interspersed with 3 minute "Crossfire" sections, questions and answers between opposed debaters. The winner is determined by a judge who also serves as a referee (timing sections, penalizing incivility, etc).[8] The debate centers on advocating or rejecting a position, "resolve", or "resolution", which is usually a proposal of a potential solution to a current events issue.[8] Public Forum is designed to be accessible to the average citizen.[9]

History

Public Forum debate was invented in 2002. It was initially called "Ted Turner Debate" for CNN founder Ted Turner. The "crossfire" period of PF is modeled after Crossfire (U.S. TV program), a political debate show on CNN.[10]

Comparisons to other debate forms

Public Forum debate is often described as more accessible than policy debate. Unlike policy, which has one topic per year, PF debate topics switch every month or every two months and are based on current events. In policy debate, participants tend to "spread", or speak very fast, something that is less common in PF, making PF more understandable to the average "lay", or non-debating person.[11]

Lincoln-Douglas debate tends to focus on philosophical questions, in contrast to PF.[11]

Parliamentary debate is much less structured than PF, and participants are not made aware of their topics until 15–20 minutes before their round, giving them little time to research, gather evidence, and prepare their arguments.[11] In Public Forum, topics are decided prior the month starting, giving debaters plenty of time to research and prepare.

Debate structure

A Public Forum debate consists of 8 speeches and 3 crossfires, each with a time limit.[12]

Speech NameTime LimitSpeaker(s)Team(s)
Constructive4 minAff 1Aff
Constructive4 minNeg 1Neg
1st Crossfire3 minBoth first speakersAff & Neg
Rebuttal4 minAff 2Aff
Rebuttal4 minNeg 2Neg
2nd Crossfire3 minBoth second speakersAff & Neg
Summary3 minAff 1Aff
Summary3 minNeg 1Neg
Grand Crossfire3 minAll speakersAff & Neg
Final Focus2 minAff 2Aff
Final Focus2 minNeg 2Neg

Constructive speeches (4 minutes)

The first speech, also known as a case, is pre-written and presents the team's "contentions," arguments either supporting or opposing the resolution. These contentions are backed up by warrants, evidence in the form of quotes, or citations from sources.[13]

The two speakers from each team who presented cases then participate in a 3-minute crossfire. The first speaker asks the first question in the crossfire, and the rest of the crossfire consists of each speaker asking their opponent questions.

Rebuttal speeches (4 minutes)

The first rebuttal speaker refutes the constructive speech for the opposite side (that is, the second constructive speech). Parts of this case are sometimes pre-written and are known as "answers to" (A/2s or ATs) or "blocks".

The second refutation speaker refutes the first constructive speaker, but must also defend the arguments of the second constructive speaker, which have just been refuted by the first refutation speaker.

The two speakers then engage in crossfire.

Summary speeches (3 minutes)

The summary speech, given by the 2 first speakers, is given to both reinforce arguments and to refute their opponents, as well as to try and tell the judge which points the debate should be judged on. The summary is often referred to as the most important speech. Competitors "weigh" their points in comparison to their opponents to explain why it is more important through the framework of scope, magnitude, prerequisite, etc.)

The summary speeches are followed by the grand crossfire, a crossfire between all speakers.

Final foci/focuses (2 minutes)

The final focus, given by the second speakers, is 2 minutes and is used to explain to the judge why the speaker's team should win the debate. Debaters are not allowed to bring up new material in final focus.

Preparation time

"Prep" time differs from tournament to tournament. The most common amount of prep in a debate are 3 minutes. This prep time can be taken in between speeches or at other times, but some tournaments or leagues may have rules about when prep time is allowed to be taken. Each team may use the other team's prep time for their preparation, however, the time is only taken from the team that decided to take prep time. Strategically, most teams do prep when the other team is prepping in order to maximize their own prep time. [14] Though it is not common practice, some national tournaments give teams additional prep time. For example, the Yale Invitational Debate Tournament provides both teams with 4 minutes of prep time.[15]

Topics

Topics are presented as resolutions, meaning they advocate for solving a problem by the means of a certain position. Resolution options and official topics are released by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) on their website.[16] Competitors are encouraged to focus on the "main issues" of the topic rather than search for obscure arguments.[17] The resolution changes frequently and focuses on current events. Some topics spread the length of two months, while others rotate monthly.[18]

Topics include:[19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Public Forum Debate. Institute for Speech and Debate.
  2. Web site: Middle School Unified Manual . National Speech and Debate Association.
  3. Web site: Asian Debate League History . Asian Debate League.
  4. Web site: About NSDA Membership . National Speech and Debate Association China.
  5. Web site: Speech, Drama, and Debate Events in India . Speech and Debate India.
  6. Web site: NYCUDL Students bring Debate to Romania . New York City Urban Debate League . October 28, 2019.
  7. News: Simona Anghel . Prima dezbatere „public forum“ organizată de Urban Debate League din New York (galerie foto) . Ziua de Constanta . July 27, 2019.
  8. "Guide to Public Forum Debates." University of Vermont. University of Vermont, n.d. Web. 6 October 2014.
  9. Web site: High School Competition Events Guide . National Speech & Debate Association . National Forensics League . 20 January 2019.
  10. Book: Fedrizzi, Mariann. Debate, Student Edition. Cengage Learning. 2010. 9780538449663. 24.
  11. Web site: Choose the right debate program & format : Stanford National Forensic Institute. 2020-09-16. snfi.stanford.edu.
  12. Web site: Competition Events . 2024-01-23 . National Speech & Debate Association . en-US.
  13. Web site: Home. 2020-08-09. PF Debate Info. en-US.
  14. Web site: Guide to Public Forum Debate . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20230325214856/https://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/PFNFL.pdf . 25 March 2023 . 27 January 2019 . University of Vermont.
  15. Web site: Yale Debate Association Twenty-Sixth Annual Invitational Tournament. Baxi. Shruti. Boyt. Dalton. Tabroom. Yale Debate Association. 24 January 2019.
  16. Web site: Topics . National Speech and Debate Association. 22 January 2019.
  17. Web site: Guide to Public Forum Debate . Debate Central . National Forensic League . 20 January 2019.
  18. Web site: High School Competition Events Guide . National Speech & Debate Association . National Forensics League . 20 January 2019.
  19. Web site: Topics . National Speech & Debate Association . National Forensics League . 20 January 2019.

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