- 2 vs 2Pro and Con
- 8 speechesplus 3 crossfires
- 4 minconstructives and rebuttals
- 3 minprep time per team
- 1 coin tossdecides side and speaking order
Speech order
Before every round, one team tosses a coin and the other calls it. The winner picks either the side (Pro or Con) or the speaking position (first or second). The other team gets the remaining choice. The team that speaks first is called Team A, and it can be either Pro or Con.
- Team A, 1st speaker: Constructive4 minutes
- Team B, 1st speaker: Constructive4 minutes
- Crossfire3 minutes, the two 1st speakers
- Team A, 2nd speaker: Rebuttal4 minutes
- Team B, 2nd speaker: Rebuttal4 minutes
- Crossfire3 minutes, the two 2nd speakers
- Team A Summary3 minutes
- Team B Summary3 minutes
- Grand Crossfire3 minutes, all four debaters
- Team A Final Focus2 minutes
- Team B Final Focus2 minutes
Prep time: each team has 3 minutes in total to use between speeches, in any amounts it likes. Summaries are usually given by the 1st speakers and Final Focus speeches by the 2nd speakers, so each debater gives two speeches. Every team gets the same 13 minutes of speaking time.
What each speaker does
Constructive
- Reads the team's prepared case: usually two or three arguments called contentions.
- Backs each one with evidence, cited by author and year.
- Explains the impact: who is helped or harmed, and how much.
Constructive
- Reads the other side's prepared case.
- Does not have to answer Team A yet; the case is written before the round.
Rebuttal
- Attacks the other team's case, contention by contention.
- Uses evidence and logic to show why their arguments are wrong or small.
Rebuttal
- Answers the other team's case.
- Because it speaks second, it should also defend its own case against the attacks it just heard ("frontlining").
Summary
- Narrows the debate to the arguments that matter most.
- Extends your best argument and answers the attacks on it.
- Starts weighing: why your impact is bigger, more likely or comes sooner.
Final Focus
- The last two minutes: tells the judge exactly why your team should win.
- Covers only what was in the Summary. No new arguments.
- Compares the two sides' biggest impacts head to head.
Crossfire
Crossfire is a question period in which both debaters "hold the floor" at once. Either one can ask or answer, so it feels more like a conversation than a cross-examination.
- In each crossfire, the speaker who spoke first asks the first question.
- In Grand Crossfire, all four debaters take part, and the 1st Summary speaker asks the first question. Teams should take turns asking and answering.
- Use crossfire for questions and answers, not for reading evidence or giving a mini speech.
- Many judges do not count what is said in crossfire unless it comes up again in a speech. If you win a point there, repeat it in your next speech.
Topics and evidence
PF topics are about current events and change often. The NSDA sets topics for September/October, November/December, January, February, March, April and the National Tournament. Each is written as a resolution that starts with "Resolved:". Real examples:
- Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its military presence in the Arctic. (September/October 2023)
- Resolved: The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union. (September/October 2025)
Neither side may offer a plan or counterplan (a formal, detailed proposal for how to carry something out). Teams argue for or against the resolution as a whole, though they may mention general, practical solutions. Evidence must be cited out loud with at least the author's last name and the year, and the other team can ask to see it. Paraphrased evidence is held to the same standard of accuracy as a quotation. Browse more topics in the Motion Bank.
How judges decide
PF was built for "citizen judges": parents, teachers and community members who may have never seen a debate. The NSDA ballot asks judges to decide the round as it was debated, not on their own beliefs, and to reward arguments that a non-specialist can follow. Debaters should explain their ideas clearly, use evidence and show clash with the other side.
Each judge picks one winning team and gives every debater speaker points. On the NSDA ballot the scale looks like this:
| Points | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 29 to 30 | Outstanding |
| 27 to 28 | Above average |
| 24 to 26 | Average |
| 20 to 23 | Below average |
| Below 20 | Only for unethical or inappropriate behavior |
Speaker points and the win are separate: a judge can give the losing team higher points (a "low-point win"). In elimination rounds, a panel of three or more judges decides by majority. Many invitational tournaments use their own point scales, so check the tournament's rules.
Tips and common mistakes
- Talk to a person, not a robot. Your judge may be a parent. Speak at a normal pace and skip the jargon.
- Collapse. By Summary, pick your one or two best arguments and go deep, instead of covering everything thinly.
- Weigh. Saying "our impact is bigger" is not enough. Compare size, probability and timing out loud.
- Keep Summary and Final Focus consistent. Anything in Final Focus should have been in Summary. Judges ignore new arguments at the end.
- Stay calm in crossfire. Talking over your opponent loses the judge, even when you are right.
- Have evidence ready. If the other team asks to see a card, you need to find and show it quickly.
Key terms
- Resolution
- The topic being debated, written as a statement that starts with "Resolved:".
- Contention
- One main argument in a team's case.
- Card
- A piece of quoted evidence with its citation.
- Impact
- Why an argument matters: the real-world result it leads to.
- Extend
- To carry an argument forward into a later speech so it stays in the round.
- Frontline
- To answer the attacks made on your own case.
- Weighing
- Comparing two impacts to show which matters more.
- Flow
- The notes a debater or judge takes to track every argument.
Where it is used
Public Forum was introduced in the United States in 2002 and first called "Ted Turner debate"; its crossfire is named after CNN's old show Crossfire. Today it is a main event at NSDA district tournaments and the National Speech & Debate Tournament held every June, at the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament and at the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky. Local invitational tournaments across the US hold PF throughout the season, and it is also popular in classrooms because each round takes under an hour.