Debate Guidelines
Each speech in a debate round has a different purpose. Typically, speeches alternate between affirmative and negative, beginning with the affirmative. Each side can be represented by one person or a team. Each speech is to be approximately 5 minutes in length.
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Speech One: |
The first speech, the "constructive," introduces the main arguments of each team. |
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Speech Two: |
In the "rebuttal," each team critically analyzes the opposing team's argument. |
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Speech Three: |
The final speech is a "summation" in which each team pulls their strongest arguments from all the previous exchanges and makes their strongest appeal to the audience. |
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Final Stage: |
In the final stage, the class is permitted to ask questions of either debate team. The debate team directly asked a question will respond first, followed by a rebuttal from the opposing team. |
As the constructive speeches take place, the opposing team should be making notes of potential rebuttal items that were not considered by their research. Speakers will have 1-2 minutes of preparation time to look over these notes and organize their speech before they deliver their rebuttal.
The final summation is to distill the arguments in both the constructive and rebuttal speeches and create a new speech that compares the two positions and highlights the strongest arguments for their team. Keep in mind that you will spend as much time listening in a debate as you will speaking. It is your listening skills, not your speaking skills, that determine the quality of debate performance as you need to listen actively to understand your opponent's arguments so you can develop a proper response.
Some tips to help you create a good rebuttal: