Introduction

  • Date 2022-07-21

General Definition: The beginning of a speech, often including a hook to get the audience’s attention, a statement of the motion, and a roadmap of what content will be discussed in the speech.

  • Public Forum: In PF, debaters typically aren’t expected to deliver a formal introduction, although they may consider one if it serves a strategic purpose like argument framing or judge adaptation. See also “Overview“.
  • World Schools Debate: In WSD, the constructive speeches should have 30-40 second hooks that introduce their side’s perspective on the motion and the status quo. In other speeches, the intro is simply a 10-15 second hook and a roadmap.
  • British Parliamentary: In BP, this should last about 30 seconds.
  • Canadian National Debate Format: In CNDF, this should last about 30 seconds for constructives and 10 seconds for rebuttals and summaries.