Styles Of Debate Differ Widely

Imagine you are in a college classroom. There are two teams of two students at the front of the room sitting at tables, and there is a judge in the middle of the room. One of the four stands, walks to a podium, and proceeds to read at about 90 miles an hour. Welcome to debate.

Competitive debate has two styles, each vastly differing from the other. Lincoln-Douglas debate, is a slow, deliberate discussion on the different values that ought to be placed on ideals. It includes only two people, one on each side, arguing the worth of an idea (such as capital punishment). The participants back up their beliefs with value criteria and excerpts from philosophers.

The other style, cross-examination (policy) debate is a fast, technical attack on the brain. Two teams of two people take an affirmative or negative side on a pre-determined topic (this year’s topic is “Resolved: That the United States should substantially change its foreign policy with Russia.”). The affirmative team presents an eight-minute plan on how we should proceed to change our foreign policy with Russia. The affirmative team reads this plan as fast as it can in order to get as many pieces of evidence (cards) in its “case” as possible. The negative retaliates by reading as many cards as it can as to why the “case” will fail. The negative cards are strategically grouped together into disadvantages, of debate assumptions and rhetoric, and any other dirty tricks the team members know.

In each style, a judge makes a decision as to whose arguments are most persuasive.

Aside from these debates, a tournament also consists of individual events. There are four interpretive and four speech events to choose from.

Humorous Interpretation/Dramatic Interpretation: Competitors choose eight minutes of a comedy or drama play and interpret all the characters. Dual Interpretation allows for two people to work together to interpret the work.

Interpretive Reading is the only scripted event where competitors choose a combination of about three or four pieces of prose and poetry linked by a theme and read them.

Oratory is an eight-minute memorized speech that tries to persuade the listener on topics ranging from child abuse to emotional intelligence.

Expository speaking is also an eight-minute memorized event, but instead of being persuasive, it is simply an informative speech on abstract topics with visual aids.

Extemporaneous speaking: The competitor is given 30 minutes to prepare on a topic related to current events. The competitor must then give a seven-minute speech with quotes from various sources as well.

Impromptu requires the least amount of outside preparation. The competitor chooses between three topics and has a total of six minutes to prepare and give the speech.