What to Expect Coaching Public Forum Debate
Public Forum Debate (PF) is a two-on-two team debate. Teams debate each other on a predetermined resolution based on current events. Designed to be accessible to the public, the goal for each team is to convince the judge that their side of the debate is preferable. Sara McClendon describes what it is like to coach the event.
What makes coaching Public Forum Debate unique?
Public Forum is one of my favorite events to coach because it is approachable for new debaters while still building critical debate skills like supporting claims with evidence, providing warrants, and weighing impacts. However, in many circuits, Public Forum is considered more accessible to “lay” judges, or average people who do not have debate backgrounds. This makes persuasiveness an essential consideration for debaters.
It also has some unique challenges. Rounds are much shorter than Policy Debate, the other main partner debate event. Thus, students must focus their arguments on what they can accurately and effectively communicate to a judge in a four-minute speech. This requires students to think critically about their most compelling arguments and to focus on the main clash points in a debate rather than get lost in the details.
Additionally, crossfire in Public Forum Debate is unique from other types of debate. In Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Policy Debate, one side questions their opponent during designated cross-examination times. In Public Forum, question-and-answer segments are called “crossfire” because speakers from each team ask each other questions. There is a final question and answer segment called “grand crossfire,” where all four debaters ask and answer questions. This means students must think quickly so they can answer questions succinctly and ask their opponents strategic questions. Truly, the unique crossfire in Public Forum is one of the most fun elements to coach and judge.
How does competing in Public Forum Debate benefit your students?
Public Forum challenges students to synthesize information on the spot. With three-minute summary speeches and two-minute final focus speeches, students must be very deliberate in how they narrow the round down to the main ideas and persuade the judge to vote for their side. Students learn that debate is not simply about proving they are correct.
Sara McClendon
Sara McClendon teaches and coaches speech and debate at Francis Howell Central High School in Missouri. Before becoming an educator, she spent 10 years working in communications and public relations. Her goal is to help students become confident communicators, critical thinkers, and future leaders. As a former speech and debate competitor, she has seen firsthand how the activity helps young people develop lifelong skills.
Coaching Public Forum is incredibly rewarding because students develop skills they will use for the rest of their lives, no matter where their life after high school takes them.
They learn to compare competing impacts and explain why their arguments matter more than their opponents.’ Developing this habit of weighing evidence and impacts teaches students to prioritize information rather than simply presenting more of it. This is an incredible skill. Whether they are interviewing for a job, presenting in class, participating in student government, or discussing current events, students learn how to identify the strongest arguments, communicate them clearly, and adapt to new information under pressure.
Additionally, with frequent topic changes, students are constantly engaging in new research and building their analytical skills. Essentially, nearly every month, students are running a drill in research and argument analysis, as Public Forum resolutions cover a wide variety of topics.
Finally, as Public Forum is a partner event, students truly learn the value of teamwork. Work can be shared between partners in any way the team sees fit. This process allows students to identify the strengths they can individually bring to a team and where they may need support from their partner. Students must communicate well with their teammates, both during prep time and throughout the round. Students must work together to be successful in Public Forum.
Many of my former Public Forum debaters have gone on to compete with success in college debate. This is because Public Forum provides students with such a strong debate foundation that they can easily move on to other styles while using the skills they gained.
What do you most appreciate about coaching Public Forum Debate?
In our district, our judges are primarily parents, grandparents, or other community members who have little to no knowledge of debate. Public Forum Debate is an ideal debate style for these judges. The topics are timely and approachable for a general audience, and the style emphasizes credible, relevant evidence and solid logical reasoning.
I also appreciate how participating in Public Forum changes the way students understand the world. One of my proudest moments as a coach came when a former Public Forum debater told me he now watches the news and perceives the world differently. Rather than defaulting to an established belief about a topic, he instinctively considers multiple perspectives, evaluates the evidence, and weighs potential impacts before reaching a conclusion. Watching students develop these habits beyond competition is truly one of the coolest things about being a debate coach!
What should a new coach know about coaching Public Forum Debate?
Debaters don’t need to start from scratch with research. For each resolution, NSDA provides topic analysis documents, which are a great resource to help students understand the premise of the topic and main clash points. Coaches should emphasize ethical evidence practices with their team. Students should understand how to accurately represent sources, keep evidence organized, and avoid taking quotations out of context or cherry picking examples. Strong evidence management makes students more confident during speeches and crossfire while reinforcing the importance of academic integrity.
Additionally, I recommend that new coaches familiarize themselves with flowing, or tracking the arguments made in each round. With such compressed speech times, students need to be adept at covering a lot of ground quickly. A coach who can flow the round and show students where they may have dropped or conceded arguments will provide truly helpful feedback to their students.
As a new coach, you don’t need to spend every practice running full rounds. Some of the most effective practices focus on individual skills. Have students summarize an argument in 30 seconds, practice answering difficult crossfire questions, rebuild their arguments after a rebuttal, or work on identifying evidence that could be used during rebuttal speeches. Isolating these skills often leads to greater improvement than debating an entire round every practice.
Above all, new coaches should remember that students do not need to ace every debate concept immediately. Focus first on helping students build clear arguments, ask thoughtful questions, and explain why their evidence matters. Help them grow their confidence. Students will learn the more technical aspects of Public Forum as they compete. Coaching Public Forum is incredibly rewarding because students develop skills they will use for the rest of their lives, no matter where their life after high school takes them.