Speaker Points

  • Date 2022-07-25

General Definition: A score given to debaters that assesses their style, delivery, and organization for a particular debate. See also “Ballot”.

  • Public Forum: Commonly used. In PF, speaker points typically range from 25 to 30, with 27.5 representing an average speech, 25 representing a failure to engage with the debate or rudeness, and a 30 representing the ideal “perfect” speech, in the judge’s opinion.
  • World Schools Debate: Not a common phrase in WSD. Instead of speaker points, a judge’s ballot is divided into three categories: content, style, and strategy and each speech is given a score using these three areas. Constructives, rebuttals, and summaries can receive a score between 60 and 80 points, while replies can receive between 30 and 40 points. All speakers scores on a each team are added together and the team with the most points is declared the winner. A judge’s ballot will also typically include written feedback to debaters. See also “Content”, “Style”, and “Strategy”.
  • British Parliamentary: Commonly used. In BP, judges confer with each other and arrive at a consensus or split descision on team rankings from 1st to 4th place. The chair determines speaker scores with possible consultation from their panelists. The effective speaker score range is from 65-90, with 75 being the average speech expected at that particular tournament. Scores below 65 are reserved for equity violations and should be justified to the OrgCom; likewise scores above 85 are reserved for exceptional speeches and also should be justified to the OrgCom.
  • Canadian National Debate Format: Commonly used. In CNDF, speaker points are divided into five categories: Organization/Structure, Evidence/Analysis, Rebuttal/ Clash, Delivery/Etiquette, and Questioning/Responding. The effective speaker score range is from 75-95, with 83-87 being average. Scores below 75 are rare and reserved for exceptional poor speeches due to unfamiliarity with the style, little to no speech content, or deliberate equity violations, and require permission from the OrgCom; likewise scores above 95 are virtually never given, reserved for a speech that was “perfect and the best in Canada”, and require permission from the OrgCom.