Guide

Guide to Public Forum Debate

Public Forum Debate (PFD) is a team event that advocates or rejects a position posed by the monthly resolution

topic: Resolved: The United States should end its arms sales to Saudi Arabia"

The job of a debater is to do the following things:

! Display solid logic, lucid reasoning, and depth of analysis

! Utilize evidence without being driven by it

! Present a clash of ideas by countering/refuting arguments of the opposing team

(rebuttal) ! Communicate ideas with clarity, organization, eloquence, and professional decorum

The Topic ~ Topics are worded as resolutions,

meaning they advocate solving a problem by establishing a

position. Teams must understand the meaning of

terminology in a consistent manner so debates have a clash

of ideas. If the topic were “Resolved: Free trade benefits

all nations,” it would be vital to understand the concept of

free trade. An expert definition from an economics or legal

dictionary or encyclopedia would be preferable to a

standard dictionary. If the topic, “Resolved: NATO

countries should act together on international matters,”

the more common terms ‘act’ and ‘together’ could be

appropriately defined by a standard dictionary. Given the

limited time of a round, debate should not center on

obscure claims of minutia.

Case Development & Evidence

A team must develop both a pro and con

case, persuasively supported by evidence

and reasoning. Given the short nature of a

Public Forum round, cases should center on

a few quality arguments. A team, however,

should research several arguments on both sides

of the issue, so it can adapt its case to the opposing team’s

claims as necessary. Having arguments in direct

contradiction with each other will enhance clash in

rebuttals. Organization of speeches through effective

communication and clear outlines is important so both

judges and the opposing team can follow each of the

arguments and their supporting evidence. Effective

persuasion requires credible, unbiased, quality supporting

evidence, which may include a mix of facts, statistics,

expert quotations, studies, polls; but it may also be real-life

examples, anecdotes, analogies, and personal experience.

Since topics are based on current events, research should

be accessible through periodicals, Web search engines and

think tanks. Teams should not overwhelm their case with

evidence; rather, they should select the best evidence to

represent their claims.

The Coin Flip FOR MIDDLE

SCHOOL DCDUL IS DIFFERENT ~

The round starts with a coin toss; the

winning team selects either:

! TEAMS WILL GO PRO AND CON

THE COIN FLIP WILL CALL FOR 1st or 2nd speaker

The team that loses the toss will then

decide their preference from the option

not selected by the winner (i.e., if the

winning team decides to speak last, then the losing team may

decide which side they will argue). The debate, therefore may

begin with the con side, arguing against the topic. Teams

might consider: Is one side of the topic more acceptable

to citizen judges? On which side is the team stronger?

On which side of the topic are the opponents stronger? Is

the first speaker position critical to “sell” the case by

making a good first impression? Is the final focus speech

critical for the last word to the judge(s)? Are the

opponents so effective in either the first or last speaker

position that our team needs to select speaker position

rather than side? The first team sits to the judge’s left.

Speeches and Time Limits

Speaker 1 (Team A, 1st speaker ).........................4 min.

Speaker 2 (Team B, 1st speaker)...........................4 min.

Crossfire (between speakers 1 & 2).................3 min.

Speaker 3 (Team A, 2nd speaker ) .......................4 min.

Speaker 4 (Team B, 2nd speaker )........................4 min.

Crossfire (between speakers 3 & 4).................3 min.

Speaker 1 Summary ..................................................2 min.

Speaker 2 Summary ..................................................2 min.

Grand Crossfire (all speakers) ........................3 min.

Speaker 3 Final Focus...............................................2 min.

Speaker 4 Final Focus...............................................2 min.

Each team may use up to two minutes of prep time.

First Pro Speech ~ This speech constructs

arguments advocating the resolution’s worthiness. The key

analysis will be to present major reasons why there is

a problem.

First Con Speech ~ This speech constructs

arguments showing disadvantages of the resolution and

why it should not be adopted. If the pro speech has the

advantage of a changing future, the con speech has a

track record of experience (status quo) and why change is

ill-advised The rest of the speech elements will be the

same as the pro speech.

Third & Fourth Constructive Speeches

Both of these debaters have the primary burden of refuting

the other team’s arguments by analyzing and explaining

flaws in the opponent’s position. The debater should

identify the opposition’s key arguments and attack their

legitimacy by: turning the analysis to the other side;

presenting evidence that destroys or reduces the opposing

position; presenting alternate causes that are not

accounted for by the opposition argument; exposing

argument inconsistencies between the speakers or

between the opponents and their statements during

crossfire.

2 Guide to Public Forum Debate

Summary Speeches ~ These are complicated

speeches because each debater has to find a way to explain

issues in the light of all that has happened so far – in just

two minutes – without speaking too rapidly. New

evidence, but not new arguments may be presented, except

responses (refutation). This means that a limited number

of issues can be addressed. For example, perhaps develop

one to two issues from the debater’s side on the

resolution and one from the opponent’s side of the

resolution. The speech should have a brief

overview. On each key argument,

try to add a short original quotation,

anecdote, or fact. Wrap up each

argument by stressing its importance

in arriving at a fair decision.

The Final Focus ~ This frames, with clarity, why

your team has won the debate. Again, no new arguments

may be presented, however, new evidence may be

introduced to support an argument made earlier in the

debate. Before the final focus, ask, “If I were judging this

round, what would I be voting on?” Strategies may include:

! Choose the most important argument you are

winning, and summarize the analysis and evidence that

make it so important.

! Turn a major argument from your opponent into the

winning analysis and evidence of one of your

important arguments; this technique clinches two

arguments.

! Answer the most important argument you may be

losing by summarizing the analysis and evidence that

you believe takes out the opponent’s argument.

! Choose an argument that you believe the community

judge will most likely vote on.

! Expose a major inconsistency made by your

opponent—two arguments that contradict each

other—at least one of which the opponent is focusing

on to win the debate.

Crossfire ~ Questioning periods give debate

interactivity and a change to build clash. In crossfire, both

debaters have equal access to the floor, but the first

question must be asked to the debater who just finished

speaking by a debater from the other team. After the initial

question and answer, either debater may question or

answer. A debater who attempts to dominate or be rude

to his opponent will lose points.

Good questions are brief and

good answers must meet the

question. In the first two

crossfires, only the

corresponding speakers may

participate, and they stand

next to each other.

Grand Crossfire ~ Seated, all debaters interact

with one another. The first question is asked to the team

that just ended its summary by the other team. After the

initial question and answer, any debater may question or

answer, and all should participate. The same guidelines for

rudeness and stalling apply to the grand crossfire. Resist

rushing questions or answers, or trying to do too much in

crossfire; desperation is not persuasive.

Prep Time ~ Each team has two

minutes of prep time. For very

practical reasons, a team should not

use prep time until their summary

speech or final focus speech. Being

prepared on the arguments is the best

way to avoid using prep time until it is vital to select the

key arguments and issues.

Evaluation & Judging ~ The judge is the

chairperson of the round (facilitating the coin flip and giving

time signals if requested), and may halt any crossfire lacking

civility. S/he may not interact in the crossfire.

SCORING IN DCUDL

For scoring, each debaters gets up to 30 points

The team may not exceed 60 points

There are no fraction of a point scores, only whole

numbers.

If you feel both teams did great, and you can't decide,

just tie the scores.

Scores average between 21 to 26 lower than 20 is

unusual unless students did not speak or froze up.

30s are rare, so use them sparingly!

FILL OUT THE ENTIRE BALLOT! DO NOT

FORGET YOUR REASON FOR DECISION. (RFD)

SIGN THE BALLOT.

CIRCLE THE PRO AND CON AFTER THE COIN

TOSS