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The speech And debATe
compeTiTion hAndbookor schools 2012-13
Guide to the Schools Mace and the
Public Speaking Competition for Schools
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CONTENTS
Welcome 03
Curriculum Links 05
Public Speaking 10
Competition or Schools
Schools Mace 31
Competition
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The English-Speaking Union (ESU) was ounded by Sir Evelyn Wrench in
1918. Today, the ESU is a global educational charity with its international
headquarters at Dartmouth House in London, almost 40 branches in the UK
and a presence in more than 50 countries worldwide. The aims o the ESU
have remained the same to promote global understanding through English,
to help build condence and eective communication skills and to help
people realise their potential. The Centre or Speech and Debate (now theSpeech and Debate department) was established in 1995 to coordinate the
work o the ESU in persuasive spoken English.
The Public Speaking Competition or Schools was started by ESU Brighton
branch in 1960 (now the Brighton & Hove branch). Since then, the
competition has been organised locally by the various ESU branches across
the UK, and centrally by the National Public Speaking Coordinator in London.
In 2010, the Speech and Debate department took over the Public Speaking
Competition or Schools; it now coordinates the competition on a national
level.
The Schools Mace was started by Kenneth Harris, a journalist with
The Observernewspaper, in 1957. His experience on an ESU debate tour
inspired him to start the competition, and it was initially known as
the Observer Schools Mace. In 1995, the competition was taken over by
the ESU and has since been organised by the Speech and Debate
department. Today, in addition to running the oldest and most prestigious
debating competition in the UK, the Speech and Debate department also
runs the corresponding competition or university students (The John Smith
Memorial Mace).
The Speech and Debate department provides training in public speaking
and debating to both primary and secondary school students through our
teaching programme, Discover Your Voice. It also runs an annual Summer
Debate Academy or school students to improve their debating skills with
expert teaching rom the ESUs mentors.
Welcome from the Speech and Debate Team
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Both public speaking and debating provide students with critical thinking
skills, as well as a range o other vital skills which enable them to speak
condently in public, think on their eet, persuade an audience and
deconstruct and respond to an argument. Not only do the ESU public
speaking and debating competitions oster and enhance these skills in
young people; they also give students the opportunity to showcase them in
a competitive arena, making the practice o public speaking and debatingengaging and exciting or everyone involved.
In this handbook you will nd the rules o both competitions, as well
guidelines and tips or students, teachers, adjudicators and organisers.
We are delighted to welcome you to these competitions and we hope your
experience is enjoyable and worthwhile. I you require any urther inormation
about the Public Speaking Competition or Schools, the Schools Mace, or
would like more inormation about the work that we do, please eel ree to
contact us on speech.debate@esu.org.
The Speech and Debate TeamOctober 2012
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cUrricUlUm links
Public speaking and debating skills can be
applied in many dierent areas across the
National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4.
ctz at ks4
1.1 Democracy and justice
a. Participating actively in dierent kinds o
decision-making and voting in order to
infuence public lie.
b. Weighing up what is air and unair in
dierent situations, understanding that
justice is undamental to a democratic
society and exploring the role o law in
maintaining order and resolving confict.
c. Considering how democracy, justice,
diversity, toleration, respect and reedom
are valued by people with dierent belies,
backgrounds and traditions within achanging democratic society.
1.2 Rights and responsibilities
c. Investigating ways in which rights can
compete and confict, and understanding
that hard decisions have to be made to try
to balance these.
1.3 Identities and diversity: living together in
the UK
a. Appreciating that identities are complex,
can change over time and are inormed by
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dierent understandings o what it means to
be a citizen in the UK.
b. Exploring the diverse national, regional,
ethnic and religious cultures, groups and
communities in the UK and the
connections between them.
c. Considering the interconnections between
the UK and the rest o Europe and the wider
world.
d. Exploring community cohesion and the
dierent orces that bring about change in
communities over time.
2.1 Critical thinking and enquiry
Students should be able to:
a. question and refect on dierent ideas,
opinions, belies and values when
exploring topical and controversial issues
and problems
b. research, plan and undertake enquiries
into issues and problems using a range oinormation and sources
c. interpret and analyse critically sources,
identiying dierent values, ideas and
viewpoints and recognising bias.
2.2 Advocacy and representation
Students should be able to:
a. evaluate critically dierent ideas andviewpoints including those with which they
do not necessarily agree
b. explain their viewpoint, drawing
conclusions rom what they have learnt
through research, discussion and actions,
including ormal debates and votes
c. present a convincing argument that takes
account o, and represents, dierent
viewpoints, to try to persuade others to thinkagain, change or support them.
eg at ks4
1.1 Competence
a. Expressing complex ideas and inormation
clearly, precisely and accurately in spoken
and written communication.
b. Applying and transerring skills in a wide
range o contexts, demonstrating fexibility
and adaptability.
c. Making independent judgments about how
to communicate eectively and sustain
ormal interaction, particularly in unamiliar
contexts.
1.2 Creativity
a. Making resh connections between ideas,
experiences, texts and words, drawing on a
rich experience o language and literature.
b. Experimenting with language,
manipulating orm, challenging
conventions and reinterpreting ideas.
c. Using imagination to create eects to
surprise and engage the audience.
d. Using creative approaches to answering
questions, solving problems and
developing ideas.
2.1 Speaking and listening
Students should be able to:
a. speak fuently, adapting speech to a wide
range o amiliar and unamiliar contextsand purposes, including those requiring
condent and fuent use o standard
English
b. present inormation clearly and
persuasively to others, selecting the most
appropriate way to structure and organise
their speech or clarity and eect
c. select rom strategies to adapt speaking and
listening fexibly in dierent circumstances
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d. refect and comment critically on their own
and others perormances
e. listen to complex inormation and respond
critically, constructively and cogently in
order to clariy points and challenge ideas
. synthesise what they hear, separating key
ideas rom detail and illustration
g. judge the intentions and standpoint o a
speaker
h. listen with sensitivity, adjudicating when
intervention is appropriate
i. take dierent roles in organising, planning
and sustaining discussion in a range o
ormal and inormal contexts.
3.1 Speaking and listeningThe range o speaking and listening activities
should include:
a. prepared, ormal presentations and
debates in contexts where the audience and
topic are unamiliar.
Ggay at ks3
1.7 Cultural understanding and diversity
a. Appreciating the dierences and
similarities between people, places,
environments and cultures to inorm their
understanding o societies and economies.
b. Appreciating how peoples values and
attitudes dier and may infuence social,
environmental, economic and political
issues, and developing their own values and
attitudes about such issues.
hty at ks3
1.2 Cultural, ethnic and religious diversity
a. Understanding the diverse experiences and
ideas, belies and attitudes o men, women
and children in past societies and how
these have shaped the world.
1.6 Interpretation
a. Understanding how historians and others
orm interpretations.
icT at ks3
2.1 Finding information
Pupils should be able to:
a. consider systematically the inormation
needed to solve a problem, complete a task
or answer a question, and explore how it will
be used
b. use and rene search methods to obtain
inormation that is well matched to
purpose, by selecting appropriate sources
c. collect and enter quantitative and
qualitative inormation, checking its
accuracy
d. analyse and evaluate inormation, judge its
value, accuracy, plausibility and bias.
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icT at ks4
1.5 Critical evaluation
a. Recognising that inormation must not be
taken at ace value, but must be analysed
and evaluated to take account o its
purpose, author, currency and context.
b. Reviewing and refecting critically on what
they and others produce using ICT.
pshe at ks3 a 4
1.5 Diversity
a. Appreciating that, in our communities,
there are similarities as well as dierences
between people o dierent race, religion,
culture, ability or disability, gender, age or
sexual orientation.
b. Understanding that all orms o prejudice
and discrimination must be challenged at
every level in our lives.
rgu uat at ks3
1.6 Values and commitments
a. Understanding how moral values and a
sense o obligation can come rom belies
and experience.
b. Evaluating their own and others values
in order to make inormed, rational and
imaginative choices.
2.2 Learning from religion
Pupils should be able to:
a. refect on the relationship between belies,
teachings, world issues and ultimate
questions
b. evaluate belies, commitments and the
impact o religion in the contemporary world
c. express insights into the signicance and
value o religion and other world views or
human relationships personally, locally and
globally
d. express their own belies and ideas, using
a variety o orms o expression, including
creative orms and reasoned arguments.
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esU
pUblic speAkinG
compeTiTion or schools
A Note rom Last Years Winners 11
Glossary 12
Rules 14
Organising a Round 15
Format 16
Preparing a Team 17
The Role o the Chairperson 19
The Role o the Speaker 21
The Role o the Questioner 25
Adjudication 27
Mark Scheme 29
conTenTs
10
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A Word rom lAsT YeArs Winners
eu Gatt a sa da w at
t wg ta t pu sag
ctt. eu wa t sa a sa
t Qut.
Wat wa yu avut at t tt?
Edmund: The act that someone would actually
listen to me or ve minutes. Meeting so many
other great competitors, many o whom I am still
in contact with.
Sam: My avourite part o the competition was
mixing with the other teams. There was a diverse
group o people rom around the country all o a
similar age, so it was interesting to meet them.
The ESU members were also an interesting
group, and so the conversations we had with the
people we met at the competitions are oten as
memorable as the presentations themselves.
Wat wa t t fut at t
tt?
Edmund: Writing the speech, without a
doubt. Everything hinges on the validity and
persuasiveness o your argument, as well as your
ability to keep the audience entertained and
engaged.
Sam: The most dicult part o the competition is
the rst round we had no idea what to expect,
and in a strange way there was more pressure to
win than in subsequent rounds.
hw wu yu av ta t a?
Edmund: Spend a long time perecting your
speech, and then getting to know it really well. Try
perorming together to get an idea o how to react
etc.
Sam: As a questioner, its impossible to prepare
or every motion on the list, so try to tackle the
more let-eld ones even i you dont end up
acing them youll have had good practice in
thinking around a motion. As a team, the best
thing to do is to run it together in the timed
ormat, and also to make sure youve posed and
discussed as many questions as possible with the
speaker, as the period o questioning is where a
well-rehearsed speech can oten be lacking.
T T t ya tt:
Edmund: Try to engage with your speaker/
questioner/chairman. An easy fow o banter
makes you all look good.
Sam: Be ormal. Looking smart, being polite and
using an appropriate orm o address can set youout among a talented eld, as well as seeming
relaxed and in control it creates a better
atmosphere in the presentation.
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GlossArY
Speech: A short oral presentation given on a
particular topic.
Topic: The subject or issue to be discussed,
usually phrased as an aspirational statement
(e.g the death penalty should be reintroduced)
or as a declarative statement (e.g politics and
corruption are inextricably linked).
Presentation: A ormal display given by a
chairperson, a questioner and a guest speaker,
with the chairperson introducing the speaker andthe topic or discussion, the questioner putting
questions to the speaker ater the speech and
the chairperson summing up the speech and the
questions.
Chairperson: The person responsible or
introducing the speaker, the topic or discussion
and the questioner, as well as calling on members
o the audience or questions when required and
keeping order generally.
Speaker: The person speaking on the topic which
is the subject o the presentation. The guest
speaker represents one school (the guest school),
with the chairperson and questioner representing
another school (the host school).
Questioner: The person responsible or asking
questions o the speaker ater their speech. It
is not the role o the questioner to rebut, reute,disprove or otherwise undermine the speech
or the speaker. The role o the questioner is to
elicit more inormation about the topic rom the
speaker.
Adjudicator/Judge: An observer o a presentation
who is responsible or deciding which team has
won. Where there is more than one adjudicator,
they sit as an adjudication panel.
Timekeeper: The timekeeper times each section
o the presentation and provides signals to the
participants indicating how much o their time has
elapsed.
Floor: The members o the audience.
Summary Speech/Conclusion: The short speech
given by the chairperson at the end o the
presentation. The speech should summarise the
presentation, including the speech, the questions
rom the questioner and the questions rom the
audience.
Adjudicators Marksheet: A document on which
the adjudicator(s) record the decision, as well as
the points awarded to the individual teams and/or
speakers (i applicable).
Status Quo: The state o aairs which currently
exists, the course o action currently pursued or
the present system.
Manner/Style: The collective term or a range o
mechanisms employed by a speaker in the course
o a speech including but not limited to emotion,
humour, vocabulary, tone o voice and body
language.
Matter/Content: The substance o a speakers
speech, including the strength o the individual
arguments and the extent to which those
arguments are supported by empirical evidence,
logical analogies and reasoned analysis.
Appeal to Authority: Using quotations or
reerencing credible proessional bodies, reports
or academics which support the arguments made
in a speech, thereby adding weight to that speech
and making it more persuasive.
Appeal to Emotion: Using anecdotes and
narratives to appeal to the audiences sense o
emotion (rather than sense o logic), helping
the speaker to engage with the audience on a
personal or human level and win the support o
the audience or their position.
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ety t t tt
The UK competition is open to schools in
England and Wales only. ESU Scotland runs
its own public speaking competition or
schools, details o which can be ound at
www.esuscotland.org.uk.
Schools wishing to enter the competition
should register online at
www.esu.org/publicspeaking .
Online registration opens in May/June and
closes in September/October each year.
Late entries may be accommodated at the
discretion o the competition organisers.
The entry ee or the competition is payable
to the English-Speaking Union. Discounts are
available or schools entering both the Public
Speaking Competition or Schools and the
Schools Mace. Schools that withdraw rom
the competition prior to the rst round will
not receive a reund o entry ees paid.
Schools may enter more than one team at the
organisers discretion. I more than one team
enters the competition rom the same school,
only one may be awarded the position o
winner or runner-up at a branch nal.egty
Teams consist o three students rom years
10 or 11 (key stage 4). All three students
must be in ull-time education at the same
school.
Team members cannot be changed between
rounds. In exceptional circumstances,
exemptions rom this rule may be granted.
Applications or exemptions should be madein writing to the competition organisers.
Any team in breach o the eligibility
requirements may be disqualied.
ct ta
Each team member takes one o three roles:
chairperson, speaker and questioner.
When competing, each presentation will
involve the chairperson and questioner rom
one school (the host school) being joined by
the speaker rom another school (the guest
speaker). The adjudicators are looking or the
best school team, not the best presentation,
(i.e the speakers marks count towards their
own school not the team with whom they
appear on stage).
T
For the rst rounds and the regional nals
o the competition, speakers choose their
topic rom a list issued by the competition
organisers.
For the UK nal, the competition organisers
may assign a topic to each speaker.
Speakers may speak or or against their topic.
T 30 ut aat
The chairperson and the questioner are inormed
o the guest speakers topic 30 minutes beore the
presentation. During that time, the chairperson
and the questioner prepare or the presentation
by asking the speaker questions such as why they
chose the topic, whether they have any personal
connection with or interest in the topic, how they
have interpreted the topic and how they intend to
approach the topic in their speech.
RULES
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Parents, teachers, coaches and other supporters
may not be consulted with during the 30 minute
preparation period.
The speaker is NOT required to: Deliver their speech or the chairperson and
the questioner in advance o the presentation
Show the text o their speech or any excerpts
or quotations rom it to the chairperson and
questioner in advance o the presentation
Provide the chairperson or questioner with
details o any particular examples or other
pieces o evidence which they intend to use
in support o their speech
Inorm the chairperson and questionerwhether they are speaking or or against the
topic.
The speaker is required to:
Co-operate with the chairperson and the
questioner, providing sucient inormation to
allow them to prepare their remarks
Bear in mind that insucient engagement
between the three participants during
the 30 minute preparation period will
inevitably diminish the quality o the
entire presentation, refecting poorly on all
participants including the speaker.
Breaching the rules applicable to the 30 minute
preparation period may result in disqualication.
Auat
Adjudicators must not be connected with any
school that is participating in the round being
adjudicated. This includes parents, relatives,
teachers, coaches, students, governors and
other employees o the school. Where there is a tenuous connection which
may give rise to bias or the perception o
bias (e.g an ex-student or an ex-teacher),
the connection must be disclosed to all
participating schools beore the competition
and all participating schools must agree to be
adjudicated by the person in question.
It is the responsibility o the adjudicator
himsel or hersel and the competition
organisers (i they have knowledge o theconnection) to ensure that this disclosure is
made.
Adjudicators must ollow the adjudication
guidelines contained in this handbook and
must make their decision in accordance
with the mark scheme contained in this
handbook. It is the responsibility o the
competition organisers to ensure that the
adjudication guidelines and the mark scheme
have been made available to adjudicators in
advance o the competition.
Notwithstanding the possibility o time
constraints and other external actors,
adjudicators should endeavour to give at least
some constructive eedback to all schools
ater the competition.
At all stages o the competition, the
adjudicators decision is nal.
RULES
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sttg u t
Atableforthreeshouldbeplacedatoneend
o the room. The chairperson should sit
between the speaker and the questioner.
Theadjudicatorstableshouldbeplacedatthe
rear o the room, or halway down i the room
is particularly large.
Theadjudicatorsshouldhaveanunobstructed
view o the competitors, preerably with a central
aisle as in Fig. 1.
Tg
Atimekeepershouldbeappointedbythe
organiser to keep a record o timings. Once all
the teams have spoken the timekeeper should
give all the timings to the adjudicators.
Anaudiblesignal(e.gabell)shouldbegiven
ater ve minutes o the speakers speech, and
another at the end o the 14 minutes only.
Guest Speaker Chairperson
Adjudicators
Timekeeper
Questioner
Aut t w a gttg
a t auat
Following their deliberation, the adjudicators
announce the winning team. They may also
give individual prizes or the best chairperson,
questioner and speaker, and an outstanding
personality. Following the announcement o the
result, adjudicators will usually give some general
eedback to all competitors.
At the end o the competition, competitors are ree
to approach the adjudicators to ask or individual
eedback. This is a great opportunity or teams to
get suggestions about their perormance.
Fig. 1
orGAnisinG A roUnd
Audience
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ormAT o A
pUblic speAkinG
presenTATion
1:00
5:00
4:00
2:00
2:00
ToTAl
14:00
Introduction
The chairperson opens the
proceedings, introducing thespeaker and the topic.(1 minute)
The speech
The speaker (who comes
rom another school) deliverstheir prepared speech or oragainst the topic. (5 minutes)
Audience Questions
The chairperson invites members o the audience to put questions to
the speaker relating to the speech and the speaker has the opportunityto respond. (2 minutes)
END OF PRESENTATION
The total time alloted or each presentation is 14 minutes. The adjudicators may penalise any participant
where the presentation overruns its alloted time.
Summary
The chairperson thanks the
speaker and the questioner,
and summarises the
presentation. (2 minutes)
Questioners Questions
The questioner puts questions
to the speaker relating to thespeech and the speaker has theopportunity to respond.
(4 minutes)
Guest Speaker Chairperson Questioner
Questioners Questions
The speaker responds to
questions put to them by theQuestioner. (4 minutes)
Timings
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prepArinG A TeAm
stg ta
I you have a public speaking or debating club at
school, tell them about the competition. This isoten the best way to nd willing and able team
members. We recommend using the competition
to build a squad o public speakers not just
nding three specically to take part in the
competition. This is both more rewarding or the
coach and gives the squad members something
to aspire to. There are many other public speaking
competitions that you might also have entered
you can choose the right team or the right
competition rom a larger squad.
Remember that you can pick students rom
Years 10 and 11. It may be a good idea to pick
at least one student rom the younger year,
who could then pass on their experience as a
potential member o next years team. I your local
organiser can accommodate more than one team
you might consider entering separate Year 10 and
11 teams with this years junior team learning
everything they need to know rom the experienceto really shine as the senior team next year!
Tag a ta
There is lots o material to help you prepare
(including the ESUs training handbook and DVD).This handbook includes detailed notes on all
three roles which provide a good oundation on
the essential skills.
It is important to strike a balance between
sucient practice and becoming stale. While
practicing your delivery is important, those who
read a script or give the impression o reciting a
memorised piece o text are likely to be penalised
by the adjudicators. The use o prepared sheets,palm cards or notes made during the presentation
is entirely appropriate or a competition o
this kind, but competitors should not appear
over-dependent on them. The ollowing are
some specic tips or preparing the speaker,
chairperson and questioner.
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pag a sa
Ater you have discussed initial ideas, get all
three o your team members to do an initial drat
o a main speech on the chosen topic without
conerring any urther. One competitor could write
a speech against the topic, while the others write
a speech in avour o it. This will also help identiy
potential questions. Ater everyone has delivered
their version, the team can discuss the variations
and pick the best ideas.
Once the main speech is nearing completion,
experiment with another speaker (perhaps
someone rom outside the team) delivering it.
The real speaker may discover some interesting
new possibilities, or the speaker could deliver it
completely without notes and ad-lib improvised
ideas where necessary. It is important that the
speaker does not get bored delivering the same
speech prior to the competition.
pag a ca a Qut
Although the chairperson and questioner have to
be spontaneous on the day, there is still scope or
preparation.
The chairperson can drat an outline o their
welcoming remarks, leaving gaps to ll in with
details o the topic and speaker on the day.
They can also rehearse the last ew seconds o
the session where they thank all the participants
and draw the session to a close.
Questioners have a harder time, but could still
drat a number o generic questions that they
can all back on i they get nervous or run out
o ideas on the day or example a question
like Which o the many issues you raised today
was the most important in leading you to your
conclusion? could saely be asked o almost
any speaker.
Ask the speaker to give impromptu speeches
on other topics to give the chairperson and the
questioner a chance to develop the spontaneity
that is essential or their roles. The speaker could
recite a book report or an essay they have written,
or could simply speak about their holiday or
hobby.
Make sure the whole team gets a chance to
practice in ront o an audience beore the
competition. They could speak in ront o
their class or a year assembly. Your rst round
audience will be much smaller than a whole year
group so i they can do this the team will eel
entirely condent in their initial heat.
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The role
o The chAirperson
paat
Beore you leave or the competition, make sure
you have a stopwatch, a pen and some paper, as
well as any notes you have prepared. Your role
starts as soon as you arrive. Once you know which
speaker you will be introducing, ask them or
inormation about themselves (name and school
are the very basics) and their chosen topic so you
can prepare your opening remarks.
Yu a ag t tat
You may need to wait while the adjudicators makenotes on the previous team. Act as host to the
speaker and questioner by oering them water
i its on the table or making sure you have the
speakers name correct, while keeping an eye on
the adjudicators / organiser to know when they
are ready to start.
It is your job to set the tone and run an ecient
meeting, so make sure you know the rules,
especially about timing, and have your stopwatch
ready beore you start.
Ta: t u t tat
s suayStartwithafriendly,clearandcondentopening
line.
Rememberyouareincharge.
Tellyouraudiencenotjustaboutthespeaker,
but why they are interested in the topic.
Makethetopicsoundinterestingandrelevant
but dont give your own opinion.
Youareincontrolofthetimingsogivean
indication to the speaker or questioner i they
overrun.
Actwithcondenceduringtheopenquestion
period. Repeat or paraphrase only i the
question was too lengthy, dicult to hear or
overly complex.
Summarisebygivingthekeyelementsofthe
presentation, especially points o contention
raised by the questioner or the audience. Do not
simply give a chronological account o what was
said.
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itut
First impressions are important. Be sure to start
with a condent and riendly introduction.
You do not need to outline the procedure or the
presentation. The audience really only needs the
basic inormation: who and what.
First, introduce the speaker by name ace the
audience, not the speaker. Then give the topic.
Next, the audience needs to know the speakers
qualications or speaking on this topic: perhaps
they have a job which links in some way; a
particular hobby or experience that is relevant.
They do not need a lot o irrelevant biographical
detail. I you have time you can say a ew wordsabout the topic i you are condent that you can
make a relevant and unbiased comment. Then
hand over to the speaker and sit down. (You
should also lead the applause or the speaker
when you ask them to begin).
lt t t
You are still in charge during the speech. Your
job is to keep order during the presentation (not
usually a problem) and to support the speaker by
paying close attention. Perect the art o looking
at both the speaker and the audience. React to
jokes with a smile. Remember you have to give
a Summary, so be sure to take brie notes. I the
speaker over-runs, wait or about 15 seconds
and then wait or a pause to stay seated but say
quietly to the speaker could you wrap up now?
(or subtly indicate it to them some other way).
Qut
I the speaker has over-run, do not just stand up
and cut them o. Give them the chance to nish
their speech; even asking i they are nished i its
not clear. Then stand up and invite the questioner
to begin their questions. Keep an eye on the time
and subtly warn the questioner when they are
close to their our minutes by saying time or one
last question or similar.
Ater the our minutes are up and the questioner
or speaker has nished speaking, stand up again
to invite the audience to ask questions. Start by
saying something like:
The speaker will now take questions rom the
audience. Please raise your hand i you have a
question.
You should not take questions rom the speakers
own team or group o supporters.
This is a competition or students. As such, you
should not eel obliged to take questions rom
adults in the audience. It is perectly acceptable
(and encouraged) to give preerence to questions
rom students.
I someone tries to ask long and involved
question, ask them to state their question
briefy. Similarly, the speaker should be given
about 30 seconds or so to answer or there will
be no time or urther questions. You have to
use your judgment here. You also have to use
your judgment to decide whether to rephrase a
question or repeat it. I so, do it as briefy as you
can. Always make sure to keep an eye on the
time. You may want to have a question o your
own ready in case the audience is not orthcoming
with questions.
cu
You have two minutes to sum up the speakers
main arguments and some o the areas raised
by the questioner and the audience. You shouldhave noted key themes in the speech as it was
delivered, and any important issues raised in
the questions, particularly any that were not ully
answered or let in dispute. Remind the audience
o these and then thank the speaker and
questioner. Lead the applause and only conduct
the speaker and questioner rom the stage as this
dies down.
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The role o The speAker
Ta: t ua t au t utyu t vw
s suay
Startbygrabbingtheaudiencesattentionwith
your opening words: perhaps with a rhetorical
question, a quotation, or a relevant story.
Varyyourtoneandpaceduringyourspeech
to help keep the audiences attention. The
adjudicators are at the back o the room so
project your voice clearly.
Trytohaveonlyafewkeypointsandstructure
your speech around these. Dont rush take
pauses to let each point sink in.
Considerbothsidesofthetopicbutultimately
show that your line o reasoning leads to one
clear conclusion.
Bringinsomehumourwhereappropriatebut
make sure it is inoensive and relevant.
Useyournoteswiselyneverreadyourspeech
in ull but learning the words by heart can make
you a less engaging speaker.
Leavetimeforagoodconclusion.
Givebriefbutrelevantanswerstoquestions.In-
troduce new material that wasnt in your speech
where appropriate.
T
In the early rounds o the competition, your
team coach will be sent a list o topics. Choose a
topic that you are interested in either one you
already have knowledge o or one you would like
to learn more about, then you will enjoy doing the
research.
Then, prepare a statement o intent or your
speech. This is where you decide what overall
message you want to convey to your audience
and, eectively, which side o the topic you will
promote. Try to complete the sentence: At the
end o my speech I want to have persuaded my
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audience that.... Make sure your statement
o intent only ocuses on ONE key objective
and is reasonable to cover in the ve minutes
available. Avoid taking too trivial or too technicalan approach, so you will hold the audiences
attention.
stutug yu
Your speech should have a good structure, so the
audience can clearly ollow the issues you address
and see how they build your case to reach the
desired conclusion rom your statement o intent.
Your speech should separate into three parts:
1. Introduction seizes the attention o your
audience, tells them what the main point o
your speech is and puts your topic into context.
2. Main points the evidence or the sub-topics
which support your case.
3. Conclusion ties the speech together or your
audience, and reminds them o what it is you
wanted to achieve by speaking to them.
Having done your research, arrange theinormation you have into a reasonable structure.
Dont try to cram in too much, ve minutes is not
long!
itut
People make snap decisions about whether
they want to listen to you and whether you have
anything interesting to say within about the rst
30 seconds your speech. This means you should
invest time and energy in making sure that your
introduction is as perect as possible. Here are
some ways to ensure that your introduction grabs
the attention o the audience:
Relatethetopictotheaudience:considerwhat
the priorities and interests o your audience are.
Then work out why your topic ts in with these
themes or how it relates to those ideas.
Showtheaudiencetheimportanceofthetopic: or example, how many thousands o
people it aects, how much money is involved,
how many people are hurt or saved etc.
Surprisetheaudience:youcouldstartyour
speech with a quotation, question or statistic.
Tellastory:listenersrespondwelltoanarrative
- they can be a very eective way to relate your
topic to your audience. Successul speeches
have used nursery rhymes or airy tales which
embodied the principle o the topic they were
speaking on as an oratorical device. I you have
personal experience, use that too.
pua
The main part o your speech must be structured
to persuade the audience o the merits o yourargument. You will best persuade them i you can
demonstrate credibility and your evidence and
reasoning is compelling. They need to believe
that you are telling them this inormation or the
right reasons, not because you want to sell them
the idea, or because you have a hidden agenda.
You are not discussing the subject hypothetically,
nor are you talking about a subject which you are
unqualied to speak on.
Make sure o this by doing research. Rumour,
hearsay, My mum said ... and other such orms
o anecdotal evidence are not very persuasive.
Choose your evidence rom a reliable source, and
tell the audience what it is when you use the act
or statistic. When making links rom your actual
research to opinion or conclusion, make sure
you avoid logical jumps, errors or assumptions.
Present the evidence you have ound so it leads
to a logical conclusion, orming a good deductiveargument. Try to avoid presenting a series o
seemingly disconnected acts.
A good deductive argument runs:
1. all men are mortal
2. Socrates was a man
3. thereore, Socrates is mortal
A bad deductive argument runs:
1. all men are mortal
2. Socrates was a man
3. thereore, all men must be like Socrates
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Also, think very careully about the emotional
impact o your speech. An overly emotive speech
will sound articial and insincere, but you should
avoid the absence o any eeling whatsoever.
dvy
Good delivery is absolutely vital. Unortunately, i
your audience is distracted by slips o grammar
or style, such as changing tense, then they will
be less likely to recognise the impact o your
message.
Volume: i you can, arrive early or the
competition, stand at the ront o the room andget riends to stand where the adjudicators will be
(normally at the back) to tell you whether they can
hear you or not.
Speed: are you speaking too quickly? A good thing
to ask yoursel is Am I speaking too slowly? I
you think the answer is yes, then you are probably
speaking at the right rate.
Pauses: use pauses to add impact to your speech.
Racing through it might be an indicator that youhave too much material.
Variety: do you vary your voice? Does the pitch o
your voice rise during questions? Does the volume
o your voice decrease when you are describing a
subtle or sensitive idea?
Pronunciation/Articulation: i there are any
words in your speech that you nd dicult to
pronounce, ask a riend or teacher or help or
replace them with another word. It may help towrite the word phonetically.
Language: is your language appropriate? Avoid
slang terms that may not be understood by your
audience. I there is any technical language
which is appropriate to your topic make sure the
audience know what it means and then use it.
Gestures: do you gesture eectively? This would
include making some arm movements and
moving around the space on stage. Do youover-gesture? I you nd yoursel out o breath
or making a lot o noise moving around, you are
probably over-gesturing.
Appearance: are you appropriately dressed? Your
appearance is part o the impression you make on
the audience. It is easiest to wear school uniorm
i you have it, or agree with the rest o your team
to wear smart clothes. Whatever you decide,
make sure each team member knows the dresscode.
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Movement: is there a point in your speech where
you should move in order to emphasis some
aspect o what you are saying? Do not stand in
ront o the chairperson while delivering your
speech.
Eye contact: do you maintain good
eye-contact with members o the audience and
the adjudicators? Using notes to speak rom,
rather than memorising your speech will help this
considerably.
cu
Your conclusion is your chance to remind the
audience o your main argument. You might
choose to end with a quotation. This is a orm o
appeal to authority. By indicating to your audience
that someone else has thought about your topic
you gain credibility and weight to your own
speech.
Reer to your introduction and statement o intent.
This can serve to draw the speech to an eective
close because it demonstrates the unity o your
arguments. It is oten a good idea to plan your
introduction last in order to achieve this.
Even i you run out o time and are interrupted by
the bell, take just a ew seconds to sum up in one
sentence; dont just stop talking and sit down!
Awg Qut
During questioning, you have the opportunity
to demonstrate that you have thoroughly
researched your topic. The audience will notice
i you contradict yoursel or avoid answering the
question. I a question was complex or you did
not hear it, ask or it to be repeated rather than
guessing. Introduce new material where relevant,
but dont try to make a second speech. Keepyour answers brie and give the questioner time
to respond. Try to build up a good rapport with
the questioner, remember it is not meant to be an
adversarial exchange.
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The role
o The QUesTioner
Ta: t qut t a t t
gt at a ay t u
s suay
Makesureyoulookattheaudienceaswell
as the speaker.
Bermandchallengingtoyourspeaker,
but always be polite and build up a rapport.
Strikeabalancebetweenaskingquestions
and giving the speaker time to answer them.
Askamixtureofclosedquestions(onesthat
can oten be answered with a simple yes orno) and open questions (ones which orce the
speaker to elaborate such as Why)
Strikeabalancebetweenqueryingmaterial
in the speech and probing new aspects o the
subject.
Dontjumptoanewtopicwitheachquestion
sometimes ollow up on the answers.
Donotgiveaseparatespeech
You have our minutes in which to ask or
elaboration, clarication and correction to develop
alternative lines o argument. This should be in
the style o an inormed interviewer rather than
an adversary. In developing alternative lines o
argument you should not give a separate speech.
The questioners role is to seek more inormation
on behal o the audience rather than to engage
the speaker in discussion. But remember youraudience; you should look at the audience too!
paat
Although you wont know exactly what the speaker
will say until you hear their speech, you will know
the topic 30 minutes beore the competition
starts.
Use this time wisely to think o questions that
are most likely to be relevant. I you can think oseveral possible angles then you will be able to
pick out the most relevant ones as you listen to
the speech.
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G tg a t tag
Good listening is vital or all members o the team
but especially or the questioner. Below are some
tips or improving your listening skills, so that you
can pick out the main points o what the other
speakers are saying.
Here are some common pitalls or you to avoid:
Not listening careully: dont let your mind be
distracted by other tasks during the speech. You
need to ocus on the details o the arguments.Make sure you dont ask a question you prepared
in advance i it has already been answered or is
not relevant to what the speaker actually said.
Writing too much detail: trying to note dates,
times, places, indeed all the inormation in the
speech will overwhelm you. Try to extract the main
themes which the speaker is using and just one or
two o their key points which you wish to reer to
in your questions.
Jumping to conclusions: dont assume that the
speaker has said something which they have not.
Focusing on delivery rather than content:
concentrate on what the speaker is saying, not
how it is being said.
To avoid some o these pitalls, practice taking
notes while people are delivering a speech.
Use the news, or a documentary programme to
nd speeches. Compare what you got out o the
speech with someone elses notes. See where you
dier, and discuss why you diered. I you can,
compare your notes with someone who has a lot
o experience taking notes (parents, older siblings
or teachers), and see how they structured their
notes. Dierent colour pens can also be useul
one colour or the points made by the speaker
and another or the question you want to ask.
G qutg
Here are some good techniques that you
should build into your questioning:
Be spontaneous: dont rely on prepared
questions. Reer directly to things the speaker
has just said. I you are interested in something
particular which the speaker has talked about
then chances are that the audience and
adjudicators are interested too.
Seek clarication: could you explain in moredetail what you meant by ... ?. However, you
should avoid letting the speaker make another
speech; otherwise you might never get to your
second question.
Ask the speaker or more evidence to support
a claim they have made. In particular you should
ask yoursel whether the inormation is
(a) accurate, (b) objective is it biased by the
source?, (c) relevant or (d) sucient?
Suggest an area or discussion that has not
been covered.
Point out contradictions or faws in the logic o
the argument: this should be done politely though
rather than as a matter o point scoring.
Suggest areas o disagreement, perhaps oer a
counter-point.
Good questioning is most eective when it isntcombative. A good questioner should raise issues,
circulate ideas and point out areas in which the
speaker could develop their ideas urther. It is not
the purpose o the questioner to embarrass the
speaker, or to highlight mistakes or ignorance o
particular issues. Politeness is key, barracking or
debating-style questioning should be avoided.
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AdjUdicATion
ky t auat
The ollowing are ve key elements that
adjudicators should be looking or in a public
speaking presentation:
Appearance Does the competitor have a
condent and commanding presence on the
platorm or at the podium?
Audibility Can the competitor be heard? A good
public speaker will speak slowly, clearly and
loudly.
Argument Has the competitor presented a
coherent, logical, persuasive and well-structured
speech?
Audience Has the competitor eectively
engaged with and built a rapport with the
audience? A good public speaker will employ
a range o techniques (varying pitch and tone
o voice, humour, eye contact, body language,
movement etc.) to enhance their abilities.
Adaptability Has the competitor demonstrated
an ability to think on their eet? A goodchairperson will demonstrate this skill with a
comprehensive but succinct summary which
draws all strands o the presentation together
at the end. A good speaker and questioner will
demonstrate this skill with a lively question and
answer session which fows naturally, rather than
one which sees the questioner reciting prepared
questions and the speaker repeating sections o
their speech verbatim or responding with generic
prepared answers.
The use o notes or prepared palm cards is
entirely appropriate, but competitors should
not appear over-prepared or too reliant on any
notes they use. Spontaneous comments are to a
speakers credit.
All three roles are challenging and require
the ability to listen, think and respond. The
competition oers students an opportunityto develop and demonstrate a style o public
dialogue that is lively but not adversarial. This is
not a debate.
T ta g auat
Competitors, teachers, coaches and spectators
must be condent in the competence o the
adjudicators i they are to accept their decision.
Adjudicators should remember that the majority
o teams only compete in the rst round o the
competition. For that reason, it is essential that
adjudication is as proessional and thoughtul
as possible, particularly at this stage o the
competition, to ensure that all competitors leave
eeling that they have achieved something positive
and worthwhile.
As well as taking part in the competition, teachers
and coaches are encouraged to oer their
services as adjudicators or rounds other than
those in which their own team is taking part.Not only does this give teachers and coaches an
insight into how their own team can be successul
rom the adjudicators point o view, but it also
hones their skills as public speaking coaches
and enhances their ability to deconstruct the
composite parts o a public speaking presentation
and give constructive eedback.
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a
Beore announcing the winners, the panel oadjudicators or the chair o the adjudication panel
should give eedback to all the competitors. Each
member o the panel may wish to take one o the
three roles chairperson, speaker and questioner
and conne their comments to that role.
Adjudicators should also make themselves
available, where possible, to give more detailed
eedback to individual teams/competitors ater
the competition is over. Constructive criticism andadvice, given in as positive a manner as possible,
is crucial i students are to get the most out o
the competition and maximise their learning
experience.
rv ta
Adjudicators should always pick a runner up
as well as a winner. I the winners are unable to
participate in the next round o the competition,
the runners up will act as a reserve team and
participate instead o the winning team.
cta
Adjudicators should assess teams principally by
reerence to three criteria, which are expanded
upon in the mark scheme: Content, Eectiveness
in the Role and Style.
T auat at
Teams are marked out o 100 marks, divided as
ollows:
30 marks or the chairperson
40 marks or the speaker
30 marks or the questioner
As a general guide, the marks should be
distributed in the ollowing way:
Excellent 85-100 marks
Good 70-85 marks
Average 55-70 marks
Below average 40-55 marks
Poor 25-40 marks
While the guide above is valuable when rankingteams, adjudicators should not eel constrained
by their initial allocation o marks. Adjudicating
is an inherently subjective pursuit, which cannot
be reduced to a purely mathematical process.
It requires careul consideration o the elements
discussed above, coupled with an ability to
balance strengths and weaknesses o dierent
teams and/or speakers in dierent areas.
Adjudicators should write explanatory andconstructive comments on their mark sheets,
bearing in mind that the competition is an
opportunity to learn and improve public speaking
techniques and that adjudicators are an integral
part o that educational process. Completed
mark sheets should be given to the competition
organisers at the end o the round.
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mArk scheme
ctt
15 marks out o 30 or chairpersons and
questioners, 20 marks out o 40 or speakers
Chairperson
Chairpersons should be rewarded or providing
relevant introductions that demonstrate the
speakers expertise on the topic. Time spent
providing irrelevant inormation on themselves
or other participants should be penalised.
Chairpersons who attempt to give their own
speech should be penalised.
Chairpersons should be rewarded orsummarising the key themes o the presentation,
interweaving observations rom the speech
and question periods. Verbatim reports o the
speaker said... and the questioner replied... will
not be highly rated.
Speaker
It should be evident that the speaker has
careully considered the topic, demonstrating
an understanding o the issues and an ability toconstruct a logical argument. Arguments should
be supported by empirical evidence, logical
analogies and/or reasoned analysis. Relevant
evidence and analogies should be rewarded and
irrelevance should be penalised. The speaker
may speak or or against the topic as it is phrased.
Those who also consider alternative viewpoints to
their own should be rewarded.
During the question period, the speaker shouldlisten careully and answer the questions that
were actually asked, rather than reciting prepared
generic answers or repeating sections o the
speech verbatim.
Questioner
It should be evident rom questioners questions
that they have listened to and engaged with the
content o the speakers speech, whilst also being
able to show an understanding o the topic by
introducing other aspects where appropriate.
Questioners whose content appears overly
prepared will be penalised.
etv
10 marks out o 30 or chairpersons and
questioners, 10 marks out o 40 or speakers
Chairperson
The chairperson opens the presentation and
should try to create an appropriate atmosphere.
They introduce the speaker and the questioner.
Ater the speech, the chairperson invites the
questioner to begin questioning the speaker. Ater
our minutes o questions rom the questioner,
the chairperson invites questions rom the
audience. I questions rom the audience are
not orthcoming, the chairperson should open
with a question to the speaker themselves. The
chairperson should re-phrase long or complex
questions rom the audience where necessary.
Ater questions, the chairperson summarises the
issues raised in the speech and the questions.
The chairperson should thank everyone beore
closing the presentation.
The chairperson should always be in control. It is
the responsibility o the chairperson to managethe timing o the presentation rom start to nish.
Speaker
The speaker has the longest period o
uninterrupted time. It is thereore an important
part o the speakers role to hold the audiences
attention or the duration o the speech.
The content o the speech will determine
how persuasive the speaker is and, thereore,
how eective they are in their role. However,
the speech should also be structured in
such a way that it is easy or the audience
to ollow. Spontaneous comments that are
appropriate to the moment are also to be
encouraged.
While speakers must give comprehensive answers
to questions, those who do so succinctly should
be rewarded. Speakers who give excessively
long answers to questions and monopolise thequestioners time in order to avoid answering
urther questions should be penalised. The
question period should not be an opportunity or
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the speaker to give a second speech.
Questioner
The questioner should deconstruct the speakers
statements and views and seek elaboration orclarication where appropriate. They may also
suggest an alternative line o argument or a more
correct view than that put orward by the speaker.
The questioner should demonstrate that they
are a good listener by asking questions which
are relevant to the speech that was actually
given, rather than relying too heavily on prepared
questions.
The way a question is phrased is crucial.Questions should be succinct and clear to
ensure that the speaker knows exactly what they
are being asked and to allow time or as many
questions as possible.
sty
5 marks out o 30 or chairpersons and
questioners, 10 marks out o 40 or speakers.
Style may be dened as rhetorical skill. It ocuses
not on what has been said (matter) but on how
it has been said (manner). The ollowing areas
are relevant to each o the three roles: the use
o body language and eye contact; the diction,
choice o vocabulary and fuency o speech;
the variation o pitch, tone o voice and the use o
infection; the use o humour and emotion, where
appropriate; engagement with the audience.
Other aspects o style are specic to each
individual role:
Chairperson
The Chairperson should create a riendly and
welcoming atmosphere while conveying a sense
o authority and maintaining control o the
presentation.
Chairpersons should make sure their guest
speaker eels welcome and appreciated and
should lead the audience in applause at
appropriate points.
Chairpersons should interrupt rmly but politely
when they need to keep other participants to time
- choosing a convenient pause to interrupt and
providing advance warning as subtly as possible.
Speaker
All the aorementioned elements add to aspeakers overall persuasiveness. However,
while speakers are expected to display style and
oratorical skill, an unnecessarily famboyant or
pretentious style is likely to diminish a speakers
persuasiveness.
The use o prepared sheets and palm cards
or notes is entirely appropriate, but speakers
should not be overly reliant on them. Speakers
who deliver their speech as i they are reading an
essay should be penalised. Similarly, speakers
who give the impression that they are reciting a
memorised piece which has been learned by rote
should also be penalised.
A speaker who strikes a balance between
these two extremes, using a natural style
that demonstrates an ability to reer to notes
throughout the speech or inormation without
compromising the fuidity o their speech or
their engagement with the audience should be
rewarded.
The speaker should develop a rapport with
the questioner and not treat this part o the
presentation as though it were a debate.
Responses should always be polite and courteous
however challenging the question.
Questioner
The questioner is not an adversary. The
questioner should take the role o a courteous,
probing interviewer who can demonstrate an
understanding o the issues being discussed.
Building a good riendly rapport with the speaker
is essential. Questioners who make good use o
stance, gesture, eye contact and phraseology, and
make the audience eel engaged in the question
period should be rewarded. They may politely
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esU
schools mAce
A Note rom Last Years Winners 32
Glossary 33
Rules 35
Format 37
Guidelines or Hosts 39
Research and Preparation 42
Structuring Arguments 43
Notes 45
Expression and Delivery 47
The Role o Each Speaker 49
Dening the Motion 51
Rebuttal 54
Points o Inormation 56
Summary Speeches 58
Mark Scheme 59
conTenTs
31
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The speech And debATe compeTiTion hAndbook or schools
Schools Mace
A Word rom lAsT YeArs Winners
Ty sagu a hay ett w t w
t s ma tt.
Wat wa yu avut at t tt?
Harry: It had to be the ve seconds ater wed been
told we had won the nal against Dulwich. The
looks on our aces were priceless.
Tommy: Clicking on the unread email rom the ESU
to nd out what the motion or that particular round
would be! Those were moments to get anyones
hearts pumping!
Wat wa t t fut at t
tt?
Harry: The hours spent prepping cases, running
them against school riends, plugging the gaps in
arguments and then testing them again and again
are part and parcel o the long-prep nature o thecompetition. But I guess it was worth it!
Tommy: Putting in lots o eort to construct a pro-
visional case, only to then realise how fawed and
insucient it is. It was a painstaking task recon-
structing our cases. Dicult but so worth it.
T T t ya tt:
Harry: Read up on your topic, and then read aroundthe subject a bit to get a eel or it. For example, in
a debate on environmental terrorists we looked not
only at examples o environmental terrorism but
also peaceul environmentalist groups, and terrorist
groups ghting or other political causes.
Tommy: The ght is won or lost ar away rom wit-
nesses behind the lines, in the gym, and out there
on the road, long beore I dance under those lights
Sounds dramatic but it was this work ethic that didit or Muhammad Ali. The secret is in the prepara-
tion do your research, construct and re-construct
your cases and read deeply.
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Speech: A short oral presentation given on a
particular motion or resolution.
Motion/Resolution: The subject or issue to be
debated, usually beginning with This House
Believes, This House Would, or This House
Supports.
Debate: A ormal contest in which the armative
and negative sides o a motion or resolution are
advocated by speakers on opposing sides.
Adjudicator/Judge: An observer o a debate who
is responsible or deciding which team has won.
Where there is more than one adjudicator, they sit
as an adjudication panel.
Chair(person): The person who is responsible or
introducing speakers, inviting them to the podium
to give their speech, inviting them to resume their
seat at the end o their speech, ensuring that the
rules o the competition are observed and keepingorder generally.
Timekeeper: The timekeeper assists the
chairperson in the running o the debate by timing
each speech and providing signals to the speakers
indicating how much o their time has elapsed.
House: The chamber or auditorium where the
debate takes place.
Floor: The members o the audience.
GlossArY
Prepared Motion (Long Prep): The motion
or resolution is released in advance o thecompetition to allow or research into the subject
or issue to be conducted.
Limited Preparation (Short Prep): The motion is
released on the day o the competition, usually 30
minutes prior to the debate taking place.
Proposition/Government/Armative: The team that
argues in avour o the motion or resolution.
Opposition/Negative: The team that argues against
the motion or resolution.
Point o Inormation (POI): A ormal interjection
which may be made during an opposing speakers
speech. A POI is oered when a speaker stands
up and addresses the current speaker saying
on a point o inormation or on that point.
POIs may be accepted or declined by the current
speaker. I declined, the speaker oering the POImust resume their seat. I accepted, the speaker
oering the POI may make a brie point, ater
which they must resume their seat and the current
speaker continues with their speech.
Protected Time: The period o time during which
POIs may not be oered, usually the rst and last
minute o the speech.
Unprotected Time: The period o time during
which POIs may be oered.
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Rebuttal/Reutation: The term given to an
argument made in direct response to a contraryargument put orward by an opposing speaker.
Case: A set o arguments supporting one side o
the motion or resolution.
Model: The ramework o a proposition. Where a
motion or resolution requires a proposition team
to propose a policy which is contrary to the status
quo, the rst proposition speaker must speciy
the parameters within which that policy changewill operate. For example, a team proposing the
motion This House Would ban the teaching o
religion in schools would need to speciy the
jurisdiction within which the ban is proposed to
operate, as well as any exclusions or exceptions to
the ban.
Summary Speech: The nal speeches on each
side o the debate. Summary speeches should
summarise the debate including any foor debateor questions rom the audience and should not
contain any new material. POIs cannot be oered
during summary speeches.
Ballot: A document on which the adjudicator(s)
record the decision, as well as the points awarded
to the individual teams and/or speakers (i
applicable).
Status Quo: The state o aairs which currently
exists, the course o action currently pursued or
the present system.
Manner/Style: The collective term or a range o
mechanisms employed by a speaker in the courseo a speech including but not limited to emotion,
humour, vocabulary, tone o voice and body
language.
Matter/Content: The substance o a speakers
case, including the strength o the individual
arguments and the extent to which those
arguments are supported by empirical evidence,
logical analogies and reasoned analysis.
Truism: Something which is so obvious or sel-
evidently true that it does not require proo or
argument. To dene a motion in a truistic way is to
eectively make it sel-serving and undebatable.
Squirrel: Dening a motion in a manner contrary
to the spirit o the motion and the intended
debate. Both a verb (he squirrelled that motion)
and a noun (that denition was a squirrel), an
example o a squirrel would be taking the motionThis House Believes that China should go green
and proposing that China should give the green
light and grant independence to Taiwan (thus
turning a debate which should have been about
environmentalism into a debate about Taiwanese
independence).
Breaking: Progressing rom the league stages o
the competition to the knock-out stages o the
competition.
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ety t t tt
The ESU Schools Mace is open to schools in
England only. Scotland, Wales and Ireland run
their own debating competitions or schools.
The our national winners compete against each
other in the international nal o the ESU Schools
Mace. Schools wishing to enter the competition
should register online at
www.esu.org/schoolsmace.
Online registration opens in May/June and closes
in September/October each year. Late entries may
be accepted, at the discretion o the competition
organisers.
The entry ee or the competition is payable to the
English-Speaking Union. Discounts are available
or schools entering both the Schools Mace and
the Public Speaking Competition or Schools.
Schools that withdraw rom the competition prior
to the rst round will not receive a reund o entry
ees paid.
Schools are invited to enter one team only. In
circumstances where a team withdraws rom
the competition beore their rst round heat, the
host school or that heat will be invited to enter a
second team. I the host school cannot provide a
second team, another school in that heat will be
invited to enter a second team.
In either scenario, where two teams rom the
same school compete in a rst round heat,
the second team is sometimes reerred to as a
reserve team or a swing team. Either team can
progress to the next round (regardless o which
team is considered to be the main team andwhich is team is considered to be the reserve
team), but both teams rom the same school
cannot progress to the next round.
egty a t ta
Teams consist o two students, both o whom
must be in ull-time secondary education at the
same school.
Speakers may be substituted between rounds,though teachers are advised not to do this unless
absolutely necessary.
A student whose 19th birthday occurs beore
the close o registration (usually the last week
in September or the rst week in October) is
ineligible to compete.
mt
For the rst rounds o the competition, host
teachers are responsible or randomly allocating
motions (which will be provided by the
competition organisers) and positions (proposition
or opposition) to each school in the heat as early
as possible, to ensure that students and teachers
have as much time as possible to prepare or the
debate. Host teachers are required to give at least
two weeks notice to each school in the heat o
their motion and position.
For the regional nals, the England nal and theinternational nal, the competition organisers will
contact the schools involved directly with their
allocated motion and position.
RULES
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lg aat a t aat at
Long preparation debates involve the motions
and positions (proposition and opposition) being
announced at least two weeks in advance o the
debate to allow teams time to conduct research
as part o their preparation. Short preparation
debates involve the motions and positions being
announced on the day o the competition (usually
15 or 30 minutes beore the debate).
The majority o debates will be long preparation
debates. Short preparation debates may be used
i two rounds o the competition are run on the
same day (e.g the second round and the regionalnal) or i there are complications with a heat at
very short notice resulting in the debate having to
be re-drawn (i.e teams get new motions and new
positions).
cut u
The use o props or visual aids is not permitted.
Ampliying microphones are also not permitted.
Microphones may be used or the purpose o
recording the debate only.
The ormat o the debate, including the role o
the chair, the order o speaking and the length o
speeches is outlined on pages 34-5 and orms
part o the competition rules.
POIs may not be oered during the rst and last
minute o the rst our speeches (protected time).
POIs may be oered at any other time during the
rst our speeches (unprotected time). POIs may
not be oered during summary speeches.
During the foor debate, members o the audience
are given the opportunity to make points about
the debate. Speakers should not respond directly
to the audience members, rather they should
reer to the points made during the foor debate in
their summary speeches.
Teachers, parents, relatives, supporters and
any anyone else connected with a school in thedebate may not participate in the foor discussion
o that debate.
Auat
Ideally, each debate should be adjudicated
by three adjudicators. However, it is entirely
acceptable and not uncommon or debates to
be adjudicated by one or two suitably qualied
adjudicators.
Adjudicators must not be connected with any
school that is participating in the round being
adjudicated. This includes parents, relatives,
teachers, coaches, students and other employees
o the school.
Where there is a tenuous connection which maygive rise to bias or the perception o bias (e.g
an ex-student or an ex-teacher), the connection
must be disclosed to all participating schools
beore the competition and all participating
schools must agree to be adjudicated by the
person in question. It is the responsibility o the
adjudicator and the host teacher (i they have
knowledge o the connection) to ensure that this
disclosure is made.
Adjudicators must ollow the adjudication
guidelines contained in this handbook and must
make their decision in accordance with the mark
scheme contained in this handbook.
At all stages o the competition, the adjudicators
decision is nal.
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ormAT o A
schools mAce debATe
01:00
08:00
15:00
22:00
sTArT
Denes motion,outlines propositioncase, deliversown argumentsand summarisesproposition case.(7 minutes)
1st Proposition Chair
Introduces 1stopposition speaker
Introducesthe debate and 1stproposition speaker
Introduces 2ndproposition speaker
Introduces 2ndopposition speaker
2nd Opposition
Rebuts, recaps,outlines, deliversown arguments andsummarises.(7 minutes)
2nd Proposition
Rebuts, recaps,outlines, deliversown arguments andsummarises.(7 minutes)
1st Opposition
Outlines oppositioncase, rebuts proparguments, deliversown arguments andsummarises debateso ar. (7 minutes)
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Summaries in the main speeches should be about 30 seconds and round up the main points
made so ar.
1st Opposition2nd Proposition 1st Proposition 2nd OppositionChair
29:00 Invites speechesrom the foor (notquestions or theteams, but pointsor queries that canbe incorporated intosummary speeches)(up to 10 minutes)
mAX
39:00
47:00
43:00
Introducessummary speakeror the opposition
END OF THEDEBATE: Thanksspeakers andconcludes thedebate
Introduces
summary speakeror the proposition
39:00 Summarises (reerring to own case andfoor debate)(4 minutes)
Summarises (reerring to own case, andfoor debate)(4 minutes)
Avg ay
The order o the debates will normally be announced in advance, but the host
school may change this order without notice at their discretion. This will usually
be the case i one or more schools arrive late to the round. Please try to arrive
as early as possible to avoid this happening.
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ogag a u
Hosting rounds is not a prerequisite to entry.
However, each year the ESU requires approximately
80 schools across the country to host rst round
heats. The competition relies on schools hosting
so i no school oers to host in a particular area,
a school may be asked to host by the competition
organisers.
Host teachers are responsible or contacting the
other schools in their heat as early as possible to
arrange a mutually convenient time and date or
the heat. They are also responsible or randomly
allocating motions (which will be provided by the
competition organisers) and positions (proposition
or opposition) to each team in the heat as early
as possible, to ensure that teams have as much
time as possible to prepare. As a minimum, host
teachers are required to give two weeks notice to
each team o their motion and position.
g auat
Host teachers are also responsible or nding
qualied adjudicators or their heat. Adjudicators
must have experience o school or university
debating or some experience o debating,
argumentation, mediation, dispute resolution or
advocacy rom their proessional lives.
The ollowing is a non-exhaustive list o persons
who may be qualied to adjudicate (in order o
preerence):
Members o university debating societies/unions:
most members o university debating societies in
England will have spoken in or adjudicated over
debating competitions o some kind; i not, they
should at least have listened to debates organised
by their society/union.
Debating teachers: other schools in area may have
debating clubs and the teacher or coach may bewilling to adjudicate.
Other teachers: other schools in the area may
not have debating clubs but may have teachers
who have experience o debating rom their time
at university or may have experience o debating,
argumentation, mediation, dispute resolution or
advocacy rom their proessional lie, and may be
willing to adjudicate.
Other proessionals: solicitors, barristers, judges,
law lecturers (particularly moot court lecturers/coaches) and other similar proessionals in the area
who have experience o debating, argumentation,
mediation, dispute resolution or advocacy as part o
their proessional lie may be willing to adjudicate.
Ideally, each heat should be judged by three
adjudicators. However, it is entirely acceptable and
not uncommon or heats to be judged by one or two
suitably qualied adjudicators. These must not be
connected with any team that is participating in theround. This includes parents, relatives, teachers,
coaches, students and other employees o the
school.
GUidelines or hosTs
Fig. 1
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Where there is a tenuous connection which may
give rise to bias or the perception o bias (e.g an
ex-student or ex-teacher), the connection must be
disclosed to all teams beore the competition and all
teams must agree to be adjudicated by the person
in question.
It is the responsibility o the adjudicator and
the host teacher (i they have knowledge o the
connection) to ensure that this disclosure is made.
Adjudicators must ollow the guidelines, and
must make their decision in accordance with the
mark scheme contained in this handbook. It is
the responsibility o the host teacher to ensure
that the guidelines and mark scheme have been
made available to adjudicators in advance o the
competition.
sttg u t
Three tables should be set up at the ront o the
room: the centre table is or the Chair and the
timekeeper, the table on the let (as the adjudicators
look at it) is or the proposition team and the table
on the right (as the adjudicators look at it) is or
the opposition team (see g. 1). The rst speaker
on each team should sit closest to the centre. The
adjudicators table should be placed at the back
o the room or hal-way down i the room is large.
The adjudicators should have an unobstructed view
o the three tables at the top o the room. Jugs o
water, glasses, pens and paper should be placed on
all our tables.
ca
Debates are usually chaired by a student orteacher o the host school. The Chair is expected
to remain impartial. The Chair is responsible or
inviting speakers to deliver their speech, thanking
them once they have delivered their speech and
calling on the next speaker, calling on audience
members to make points during the foor debate
and maintaining order generally.
T
A student or a teacher o the host school usuallyacts as timekeeper. The timekeeper assists the
Chair with the running o the debate and has two
unctions.
First, the timekeeper is responsible or giving
audible signals (usually using a bell or a gavel or by
clapping or tapping a glass or the table) indicating
when the speaker is in protected or unprotected
time and indicating when the speakers time is up.
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For the rst our speeches, a single audible signal
should be given at the end o protected time (ater
1 minute) and at the end o unprotected time (ater
6 minutes). At the end o the allotted time or the
speech (ater 7 minutes), a double signal should begiven. I the speaker is still speaking at 7 minutes
15 seconds, the timekeeper should give a triple
signal and again at 7 minutes 30 seconds, at which
point the Chair should ask the speaker to conclude
their remarks.
For the summary speeches, there is no protected
time. A single audible signal should be given ater
3 minutes and a double signal should be given at
the end o the allotted time or the speech (ater4 minutes). I the speaker is still speaking at
4 minutes 15 seconds, the timekeeper should give
a triple signal and again at 4 minutes 30 seconds,
at which point the Chair should ask the speaker to
conclude their remarks.
Second, the timekeeper is responsible or recording
the length o each speech and giving the timings to
the judges ater the debate. The timekeeper should