Public forum debate is a form of competitive debate which centers on current events and relies on both logic and evidence to construct arguments. 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]
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]
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.
A Public Forum debate consists of 8 speeches and 3 crossfires, each with a time limit.[12]
| Speech Name | Time Limit | Speaker(s) | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constructive | 4 min | Aff 1 | Aff |
| Constructive | 4 min | Neg 1 | Neg |
| 1st Crossfire | 3 min | Both first speakers | Aff & Neg |
| Rebuttal | 4 min | Aff 2 | Aff |
| Rebuttal | 4 min | Neg 2 | Neg |
| 2nd Crossfire | 3 min | Both second speakers | Aff & Neg |
| Summary | 3 min | Aff 1 | Aff |
| Summary | 3 min | Neg 1 | Neg |
| Grand Crossfire | 3 min | All speakers | Aff & Neg |
| Final Focus | 2 min | Aff 2 | Aff |
| Final Focus | 2 min | Neg 2 | Neg |
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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 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]