How to Do Well in Congressional Debate (NSDA)

Last Updated: September 10, 2016

Congressional Debate is one of the several events that make up the NSDA, or National Speech and Debate Association. Congressional Debate is a mock congress with legislation to be debated in a very professional and organized manner. It can be difficult to understand if you've never done the event before, but is easy to get the hang of and can be very enjoyable.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:
Understanding the Lingo

1
Learn the roles. There are lots of roles to understand before you dive in:
- P.O, or Presiding Officer, will be the student that runs the chamber. The P.O will be the student that recognizes others for speeches, questions, and motions.
- Representatives and Senators are the students in the chamber, or room, with you. If you are in a house or senate, you will compete with and against representatives or senators, respectively.
- Parliamentarians and Scorers will be the people judging the chamber. The Parliamentarian is in the chamber for the whole competition (typically 4 hours) and will rank, or score, all representatives and senators in the chamber. Scorers are typically in the chamber for one to two hours and typically rank the top eight competitors.
2
Get to know the possible motions. Motions are how things are accomplished.
- Previous Question - to bring the debate to an end, moves to vote on legislation.
- Recess - to take a brief break
- Point of Personal Privilege - to allow you to leave the room, move, etc.
- Suspend the Rules - to do anything not traditionally allowed
- Set an Agenda - this is what will be debated
Advertisement
3
Know the other terms. They'll come in handy particularly for understanding the order of events:
- Docket and Legislation are the packet of topics you will debate. The packet is called a 'docket' and each individual topic is called 'legislation'.
- The Agenda is the order which you will debate legislation. You won't debate the legislation in the order it is in the docket; rather, you will set an agenda with other students to be debated in that order.
- An Amendment is any change to the agenda or legislation.
- Authorship or Sponsorship is the first speech on legislation. This speech opens debate and discusses the criteria, purpose, and importance of the legislation.
- Precedence and Recency determine who speaks next. Precedence is how many speeches a person has given, recency refers to simply how recent the speech was. This is kept by the P.O and is called speaker order. It is recommended that other members of the chamber keep track of this as well.
- Cross Examination is the short period after a speech during which the chamber, or floor, can question the speaker.
Advertisement

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:
In the Chamber

1
Be sure to communicate with other representatives and senators. Making connections is an important part of competition. The only way you will have any pull in the chamber is if you communicate well with others to get help passing motions and amendments.
2
Always conduct yourself professionally. Scorers and parliamentarians give ranks primarily upon speeches, but will also rank upon overall behavior in the chamber.
3
Be as active as possible. You should speak once hourly, to make sure you come up on ballots each hour, and be active when you aren't speaking. This means asking questions as frequently as possible - not just on one or two speeches. Make a list of good, thoughtful questions beforehand.

Advertisement

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:
Writing Speeches

1
Begin with a catchy intro. You can use quotes, short personal stories, jokes that relate to the topic, or anything else to catch the attention of the chamber, scorers, and parliamentarians.
2
Use 2-3 points. You only have three minutes, so you don't want to try cramming too much into one speech. Have a list of several points in case somebody else uses one you planned on discussing.
3
Always add something new to the debate. Don't stand up and offer a bunch of rehash. Bring new arguments and add clash to the debate. Refute briefly points brought up by other speakers.
4
In your closing, be sure to tie back into your intro. This rounds your speech, bringing it 'full circle'.
5
Think about any questions that somebody might ask you. Think of answers to these questions so that you aren't taken by surprise by questions. Be sure to answer all questions thoroughly but briefly so that there is plenty of time for other questions.

Advertisement

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:
Qualifying for Nationals

1
When trying to qualify to nationals, be sure to have connections with other representatives and senators. Be open about your intent to qualify - in some cases, other competitors in the qualifying chamber that don't care to qualify will help you out.
2
Follow the steps previously mentioned. Now is the most important time ever to master your speech style.
3
Don't try to overdo it. Don't push yourself to give too many speeches. You should always be worried about quality over quantity. Don't try giving more than one speech each hour: this can hurt your position on speaker order.
4
Once you've qualified to nationals, relax! Congratulations! You'll have a few weeks before the new docket is released. Once the docket is released, research a lot. Write pro and con speeches for each piece of legislation, not just your favorites.

Advertisement

Community Q&A

Question

I have a speech tournament in 5 days. How should I prepare?

Community Answer

Be aware that this is a thread of how to succeed at a congressional debate, not speech events (speech events are events that you just give speeches while in the debate you want clash and interaction). Prep (double-prep if you can) all of the bills, or at least a majority. Make sure you have a catchy intro, as this is the first thing that your judges will hear in your speech. Make sure you have researched the bills as if you haven't this will become very clear during questioning! Practice speeches at home, and make sure you adhere by the time limit.
Question

How can I get better at writing a rebuttal speech during congress?

Community Answer

Practice! And second of all, there is never really a rebuttal speech, when you refute in congress you are simply BRIEFLY adding in refute points during the round against other speakers to show why your side stands better.
Question

I only have a year left to become good at this, and we compete at very few competitions. Nobody else at my school does this, and I have a year left of high school. How can I become good?

Community Answer

Have you tired creating a club or a group? Others that you don't know might be interested as well, and you might make friends.