Debate and Listening Fundamentals

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the structure of American Parli debate, communication statistics by various scholars, and Irving Wallace's list of human fears.

Affirmative

The side that supports the topic in a debate.

Standard Number of Debaters

$2$ v $2$.

Standard Debate Duration

$40\,min$.

Typical Prep Time Period

$20\,min$.

Class Listening Methods

Critical and Comprehensive.

American Parli Speech Count

$6$ speeches.

Lucas Retention Percentage

According to Lucas, people can retain or recall $50\%$ of a message.

Opposition Back-to-Back Roles

Member of the Opposition Constructive (Speaker $4$) and Leader of the Opposition Rebuttal (Speaker $5$).

Member of the Opposition Constructive Time

$8$ minutes.

Leader of the Opposition Rebuttal Time

$4$ minutes.

Prime Minister Constructive Time

$7$ minutes.

Knocks Provision

Only the first $4$ speakers have knocks.

Proctor, Adler, & Rosenfeld Argument

Argue that people do more listening than speaking, reading, or writing.

Listening Percentage

$45\%$ (according to Proctor, Adler, & Rosenfeld).

Speaking Percentage

$30\%$ (according to Proctor, Adler, & Rosenfeld).

Reading Percentage

$16\%$ (according to Proctor, Adler, & Rosenfeld).

Writing Percentage

$9\%$ (according to Proctor, Adler, & Rosenfeld).

Claim

What you claim to be true.

Fact Claim

A claim that something is, was, or will be.

Value Claim

A claim that something is good or bad.

Policy Claim

A claim that something should or should not be done, which requires a course of action.

The Book of Lists (1977)

Written by Irving Wallace; contains the $7$ Top Human fears.

Top Human Fear

Public Speaking.

Second Top Human Fear

Heights.

Third Top Human Fear

Deep Water.

Fourth Top Human Fear

Insects.

Fifth Top Human Fear

Financial Problems.

Sixth Top Human Fear

Sickness.

Seventh Top Human Fear

Death.

Business Error Cause

$60\%$ of business errors were due to poor listening.

Rhetorical Appeals

Ethos, Pathos, Logos.

Debater Ethics

A tremendous responsibility is placed on the debater when it comes to ethics in parli debate.