Golden Rule of POIs

  • Date 2022-07-18

General Definition: The ideal number of POIs to take in any given speech.

  • Public Forum: Not used in PF, where “Crossfire” and “Grand Crossfire” are used to ask questions instead.
  • World Schools Debate: In WSD, the Golden Rule of POIs is to take two. A speaker should take one early in their speech and one later, while also avoiding back-to-back POIs; two well-spaced POIs is the best approach.
  • British Parliamentary: In BP, the Golden Rule of POIs is to take at least one and no more than two. A speaker should take one early in their speech and one later, while also avoiding back-to-back POIs; two well-spaced POIs is the best approach; once accepted, you should not wave down or interrupt at POI until after 15 seconds.
  • Canadian National Debate Format: In CNDF, the Golden Rule of POIs is to take at least one and no more than two.