Public Speaking Contest Debate Club x TSCPA Public Speaking Contest Kick Off Event!

General Information One full day of Public Speaking Contest, with networking and workshops. Hot Lunch meal is also provided. Date: Jan 23, 2016 Time: 10:30 am - 5 pm Venue: Social Science Building Admissions Fee: $10 Regular Prize: Total of up to $1500 prize

Event Schedule Sign - in Opening Ceremony & Keynote Contest Stage 1 - Debate & Impromptu Lunch Networking Session Contest Stage 2 - Final Stage - Debate & Impromptu Closing Ceremony & Thank you Speech

Format of the Debate Canadian Parliamentary Style We CANNOT tell you the topic until 15 minutes before the debate (impromptu style!) It’s primarily a beginners debate contest (although experienced debaters are allowed)

Canadian Parliamentary (CP) Structure We have been randomly assigned as the opposition team! We have been randomly assigned as the government team!

Judges determine winner and give reason for decision CP Structure – PMRE Option Find out the positions & topic, prepare with your partner for 15 minutes Prime Minister (7 minute) Leader of Opposition (7 minute) Member of Gov. (7 minute) Member of Opp. (7 minute) PM - Rebuttal (3 minute) LO - Rebuttal (3 minute) Judges determine winner and give reason for decision

CP Structure – PMRE Option Find out the positions & topic, prepare with your partner for 15 minutes Prime Minister (6 minute) Leader of Opposition (7 minute) Member of Gov. (7 minute) Member of Opp. (7 minute) PM - Rebuttal (4 minute) LO - Rebuttal (3 minute) Judges determine winner and give reason for decision

Process Teams can decide themselves which team member will speak first or second. You can decide this at any time. During the 15 minutes of preparation time, each team prepares independently. It is extremely helpful to write down what ideas you come up with, and plan what you are each going to say! During the debates, people from the opposing team can offer Points of Information (POIs). 7 minute speeches have one minute of protected time at the start, and one minute at the end. During protected time, no POIs can be offered. Rebuttal speeches (PMR and LOR) are all protected time. All speeches have a 15-second grace period after the end of the speech. Judges will signal you the when to end, the grace periods plus the start and end of protected time.

Points of Information WHAT? A brief question or comment given by a debater, during a speech from the opposite team (e.g., a government speaker can ask a POI during a speech from an opposition member, and vice versa). Should be one or two sentences (5 to 15 seconds long). WHEN? Only during unprotected time (1:00-6:00 for the first four speeches, and not during the rebuttal speeches) HOW? Stand up quietly from your seat, so that the speaker can see you. The speaker can then choose to accept OR reject your POI. If the speaker says that they will take your point, then speak (only when given permission!). If the speaker says “no thanks”, then sit down immediately. A speaker should not ignore the person offering the POI, but should either say, “No thanks”, “Go ahead”, or “wait a minute”. HOW OFTEN? Debaters are expected to offer POIs frequently. But during your speech, only take 2 POIs, and say “no thanks”/ “not now” to the other ones.

Point of Clarification Offered to the prime minister during the first speech, usually near the beginning of the speech during unprotected time Should be a question about the model or case aimed at clarifying what the debate is about. It is usually announced with “point of clarification” by the debater offering it, and while the PM can choose to reject it, it is usually a good idea to take it. 

Speaker Roles: Prime Minister The Prime Minister's role in the debate is to introduce the debate and explain what the debate will be about. Should the government team choose to run one of the optional motions, the PM should have a brief model that answers the relevant “who, what, where, when and how” questions about the case. It is a good idea to try to cut out in the model any opposition arguments that might automatically sink the case or that aren't relevant to the central points of the case, but teams should be penalized for attempting to make the terms of the debate so narrow as to exclude all or most opposition arguments. While this part of the speech is very important, the model for a complicated case should still take no more than a minute, and for a simple case, much less. The rest of the PM's speech should be focused on giving the bulk of the government's arguments for the case (generally 2-4 arguments).

Speaker Roles: Leader of Opposition The first opposition speaker, the Leader of Opposition in the standard CP format, must introduce arguments for the opposition and refute the PM's arguments. The role of the opposition is not simply to bring down any arguments made by the government, but also to have some sort of concrete, positive stance in the debate. The opposition must stand for something, even if that something is the status quo, and defend the position they stand for. Refutation is a crucial part of any debate, and this speaker should try to respond to everything brought forward by the PM, but refutation alone is not enough to win a debate.

Speaker Roles: Member of Government The Member of Government (MG) can, but is not obligated to, introduce new arguments. It is usually a good idea for the MG to have a new argument to ensure there is enough material on the government's side, but it is not a requirement. It is very important for the MG to engage in thorough refutation of the prior speaker and to respond to the LO's refutation of the PM's arguments in order to rebuild them. While no new arguments are expected, this speaker should add new analysis and further the debate. Everything in the MG's speech should also be consistent with the case as explained by the PM. 

Speaker Roles: Member of Opposition The second opposition speaker has a very similar role to that of the Member of Government (the second gov speaker): possibly introducing a new argument, refuting the other side's material, including anything the first opposition speaker missed, reconstructing the opposition's earlier arguments, and maintaining consistency between the two speakers.

Speaker Roles: Rebuttal Speeches Both the Leader of the Opposition, and then the Prime Minster, give three (or four) minute rebuttal speeches to close the debate. These speeches should crystallize the important elements of the debate (generally around two or three issues), respond to the opposing team’s case as a whole, and explain why the their own team has won. The Prime Minster may also need to incorporate responses to any new arguments that were in the second opposition speaker’s speech. There is no new material allowed in the separate rebuttal speech.