Public Forum Debate Format

Introduction to Public Forum Debate

Public forum debate format is one of the most popular debate formats in the world, particularly in the United States where many American public schools practice it, but also in many East Asian countries. Public Forum (sometimes known as PF debate) is designed to be accessible to new students while also rewarding diligent preparation and research. Read on to understand some of the nuances of this common debate format.

Public Forum Format

In Public Forum debate, each team has two debaters in it. At the start of the round, there is a coin flip to decide which side each of the two teams will speak on. Whichever team wins the coin toss may choose either the side (Pro or Con) or to speak first or second.

Once the debate has started, the first speaker will introduce the team's case, presenting 2-4 arguments in favor of or against the resolution. After the other team have also introduced their arguments, the second speaker of each side will give a rebuttal speech, responding to the key points of the opposing team. The two speakers will then give a second speech each; a summary speech that summarizes the key points of the round, before a final focus that will make a final attempt to persuade the judges of their arguments.

The two debaters will also engage in three rounds of crossfire. In crossfire, two debaters take it in turns to ask and answer questions with the other side for three minutes. Unlike cross examination, which involves one speaker asking questions of another, in crossfire both speakers are asking and answering questions at the same time! However, like cross examination, crossfire rewards debaters who have a deep and nuanced understanding of the issue. Teams may also take advantage of an amount of prep time during each round, normally taken before the rebuttal speech or the summary speech in a round..

Public Forum Debate topics

A public forum topic will be debated for months at a time, typically an entire summer or semester. This rewards deep research and engagement with the topic, which is usually referred to as a resolution. New students sometimes find the prepared nature of PF debate reassuring, particularly because the two speakers can share the burden of getting ready for debating the topic. Resolutions vary widely; recent topics have included debates on immigration reform, foreign policy issues like Russian aggression in Ukraine, whether or not the federal government should significantly increase military spending, or whether illicit drugs should be legalized. Since the two teams have prepared both sides of the resolution, even though the teams can choose either the side they debate or the order the teams debate in, the coin toss at the start of the round is normally used to decide who will speak first or second in the debate.

Conclusion

These are some of the key elements of public forum debate. It's a popular and accessible debate format that is particularly recommended for new students, with lots of competitive opportunities provided by the US National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) among others. We encourage everyone interested in debate to check it out!