Introduction to Public Forum Debate PFD Fall 2019

Introduction to Public Forum Debate (PFD) Fall 2019

Today we will talk about: 1. 2. 3. 4. Basics of PFD Resolutions Teams and Speaking Order Basic Descriptions of Speeches

Today we will talk about: ● Most popular debate in Philadelphia ○ One of three main debates - Lincoln Douglas, Policy, Public Forum ● Shortest debate - 45 minutes ● “Layman’s Debate” - meant to be easily understood by anyone watching ○ Can be compared to the Presidential debates

Resolutions (Topics) ● New topic each month ○ https: //www. speechanddebate. org/topics/ ● Usually politically or culturally relevant ○ Debaters can vote online ● Debaters will prepare a case for each side of the topic ● September/October Topic - Resolved: The European Union should join the Belt and Road Initiative.

Teams and Speaking Order ● Each team will have two debaters - one will be “first speaker” and the other will be “second speaker” ○ The two speakers will take turns giving speeches ○ Speaking order can be determined however the debaters want ● There will also be a speaking order for the teams within each round ○ A coin flip is traditionally done at the beginning of the round ○ The winning team can choose if they want to pick the side they debate on or which order they speak in

Debate Structure Begins with coin flip to determine pro/con sides and first speaker Each team has 3 minutes of prep time to be used between speeches

The Speeches ● Constructives - the first speaker from each team presents their case ● Rebuttal - the second speaker from each team will attack their opponent’s case ● Summary - the first speaker from each team will summarize the round into a few key points that they want the judge to focus on ● Final Focus - the second speaker from each team will weigh the most important points in the round and tell the judge why they’ve won