Events_Overview_with_Intro_Speech

Congressional Debate (aka Student Congress)

• Docket changes each semester
• Room size: about $20$ students
• One student acts as a Presiding Officer (PO) to run the session and keep things in order
• Students give $3\ \text{minute}$ speeches either in favor of or against a bill or resolution in the docket
• Students make motions and vote on whether or not to pass bills and resolutions
• Sessions last about $2\ \text{hours}$ each

Lincoln-Douglas Debate (aka LD)

• Topic changes every $2\ \text{months}$
• A value-based debate
• One student debates against one other student
• Students present arguments (contentions) to support why we should or should not do something
• Each round runs about $45\ \text{minutes}$
• Students must debate a minimum of $3$ rounds per tournament

Public Forum Debate (aka PF)

• Topic changes every $1\ \text{month}$
• Designed to be understood by the “common man”
• A team of two students debates against another team of two students
• Students debate whether or not something should be done on an issue
• Each round runs about $40\ \text{minutes}$ (the shortest of the debate events)
• Students must debate a minimum of $3$ rounds per tournament

Policy Debate (aka Cross Examination debate or CX)

• Topic remains the same all year
• An evidence-based debate
• A team of two students debates against another team of two students
• Students propose a new policy on a topic and debate on why it must be passed
• Each round runs about $1.5\ \text{hours}$ (the longest of the debate events)
• Students must debate a minimum of $3$ rounds per tournament

World’s School Debate

• Students work/prepare in teams of five – however, only three will compete in each round
• Every round at the tournament will be a different resolution
• Some resolutions are prepared ahead of time, some are impromptu
• Impromptu rounds will have a one-hour prep time before the round

Public Speaking Events

• Original Oratory (aka OO)
• Informative Speaking (aka INFO)
• Domestic Extemporaneous (aka Domestic Extemp or DX)
• Foreign Extemporaneous (aka Foreign Extemp or FX)

Original Oratory (OO)

• A speech written on the topic of the student’s choosing
• Persuasive in nature (offers a solution)
• Usually a social issue that needs to be addressed or a new advancement in something
• Research must be done and sources must be cited
• Speech must be memorized
• Length: maximum $10\ \text{minutes}$ in length (usually no shorter than $8\ \text{minutes}$)
• Rounds: Prelims, Semis, Finals

Informative Speaking (INFO)

• Follows the same rules and format as OO except the speech will be strictly informative and not offer a solution (no persuasion)
• The use of visual aids is allowed in informative, but not in OO

Domestic Extemporaneous (aka Domestic Extemp or DX) (USX in NSDA)

• A speech given on a topic having to do with the United States (similar to a current event)
• Students choose $3$ topics from an envelope and then choose the one they wish to speak on
• Students then have $30\ \text{minutes}$ to prepare a speech using only the resources brought by the school (no internet access)
• Each speech is a maximum of $7\ \text{minutes}$ in length (usually a minimum of $6\ \text{minutes}$)
• Rounds: Prelims, Semis, Finals

Foreign Extemporaneous (aka FX or IX in NSDA)

• Follows the same rules and format as domestic extemp except the topics will be on topics outside of the United States

Introduction Speech Guidelines

• Your introduction speech must teach the class about YOU
• Must have a beginning, middle, and end – most speeches in this class will follow this format
• You will submit an outline but cannot use it when presenting
• Roadmap – ONE sentence that tells us what your main points will be
• Length: $2\ \text{to}\ 4\ \text{minutes}$ long

Introduction Speech Outline

• I. Introduction
  • A. Attention Getter
  • B. Preview/Roadmap/Thesis
• II. Body
  • A. Past
  • B. Present
  • C. Future
• III. Conclusion
  • A. Review main points
  • B. Tie back to your Attention Getter

Speech Events

• Humorous Interpretation (HI)
• Dramatic Interpretation (DI)
• Duo Interpretation (Duo)
• Prose
• Poetry
• Program Oral Interpretation (POI)

Humorous Interpretation (HI)

• Student performs a selection of their choice that is humorous in nature
• The script must be memorized
• The piece must include an introduction
• The performance is a maximum of $10\ \text{minutes}$ in length (usually a minimum of $8\ \text{minutes}$)
• Rounds: Prelims, Semis, Finals

Dramatic Interpretation (DI)

• Follows the same rules and format as Humorous Interpretation except the pieces selected will be Dramatic in nature

Duo Interpretation (Duo)

• A performance that can be humorous or dramatic in nature
• Two students act out a scene without looking directly at each other or having any physical contact with each other
• No props or costumes can be used
• The script must be memorized
• The performance is a maximum of $10\ \text{minutes}$ in length (usually a minimum of $8\ \text{minutes}$)
• Rounds: Prelims, Semis, Finals

Prose

• A piece of prose (fiction or non-fiction)
• Can be cut from a longer work (book, short story – not a play or monologue)
• The piece will be held in a small black “interp binder” during the performance, but the piece should still be memorized
• The performance is a maximum of $7\ \text{minutes}$ in length
• UIL categories are used (not a TFA qualifying event)

Poetry

• Follows the same format as Prose except the piece must be published as poetry
• More than one poem can be read to fill the $7\ \text{minutes}$ maximum time

Program Oral Interpretation (POI)

• Is a mixture of prose and poetry
• A student prepares a program that includes prose and poetry that follow the same theme
• The piece is read from an interp binder, but should be mostly memorized
• Maximum of $10\ \text{minutes}$ long