Debate & SpeechGuides & Resources
Competitive debate formats, mock trial advocacy, and public speaking for any stage. Below are 12 in-depth, evergreen guides — read them before your next class, committee, or exam.
All Debate & Speech guides
Debate Fundamentals
Formats, flow, judging paradigms, and the skills that transfer across every debate style.
Read guideCase Construction Playbook
Build winning cases — framework, contentions, evidence cards, and airtight warranting.
Read guideCross-Examination & Rebuttals
Clash, signposting, refutation techniques, and how to weigh impacts against the other side.
Read guideSpeech Delivery Guide
Pacing, modulation, stance, and stage presence — how to sound like you own the room.
Read guideCongressional Debate (NSDA)
Legislation, PO duties, precedence/recency, and how to win the chamber's top speaker rankings.
Read guideDebate Judging Paradigms
Tabula Rasa, Stock Issues, Games Player, Communication, Truth-Testing — how every judge actually decides.
Read guideExtemporaneous Speaking
30-minute prep, AGD, three-point analysis, file boxes — the NSDA extemp playbook.
Read guideParliamentary Debate (NPDA/APDA)
Limited prep, motions, points of information, and the parliamentary debate circuit.
Read guideMock Trial Fundamentals
AMTA and NHSMTC rules, roles, case packet anatomy, and the structure of a trial round.
Read guideMock Trial: Direct & Cross
Open-ended directs, leading-question crosses, impeachment, and witness control techniques.
Read guideMock Trial: Openings & Closings
Theory-of-the-case, theme, primacy/recency, and how the best advocates structure arguments to a jury.
Read guideMock Trial: Objections Cheat-Sheet
Hearsay, relevance, foundation, leading, speculation — every objection with the rule and the response.
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