Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility and Registration
Partnerships
Prior Experience
Training
Topic
Research
General Competition
Judging
Results
The Elimination Rounds

Eligibility and Registration

Who is eligible to participate in the Zuckerman Forum?
Any matriculated undergraduate student in a degree granting program is eligible to participate in the Zuckerman Forum. Find out more in Rules and Regulations.

What do I need to do to register?
To register, you must complete the form available on The Zuckerman Forum website. The form will require your contact information AND the name of your partner for the competition.

Is there a limit to entries?
No, there will be no limit on the number of entries at this time. All who wish to participate and are eligible may do so.

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Partnerships

Does my partner need to complete a separate registration form?
Yes, individual participants must complete their own form. The Coordinator of The Zuckerman Forum will identify registrants who partners are missing their forms and will to notify them. Register now.

Can I compete without a partner?
No, you must have a partner to register to be eligible for competition.

Who can be my partner?
Students may partner with any other eligible undergraduate student. Students may come from the undergraduate divisions of the Stern School of Business, Tthe Gallatin School of Individualized Study, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Steinhardt School of Education, the College of Dentistry, Tisch School of the Arts, the School of Social Work, and specific programs in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. See Rules and Regulations.

What if I don't have or can't find a partner?
The Coordinator is asking all interested students who have not selected a partner to pre-register with contact information. The Coordinator will help facilitate partnering in three ways. The Coordinator will designate each of the training sessions as a meeting place for students seeking a partner. The Coordinator will also provide unpaired students with a list of the other unpaired participants' email addresses so they can easily contact each other. Additionally, the Coordinator will organize individualized meetings to help remaining unpaired students convince or identify potential partners.

Do I have to attend the training session with my partner?
No, you and your partner may attend separately if schedules do not allow you to attend together. However, it is strongly advised that you make every attempt to attend together.

Can I still attend a training/information session if I do not have a partner yet?
Yes, and in fact you may use the session to find a partner.

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Prior Experience

Do I need to have public speaking or debate experience to participate?
No, students with no experience are strongly encouraged to participate. A major goal of this program is to give people without such experience an opportunity to try it out.

How will I know what to do if I have no experience at public speaking or debate?
We will be running training sessions for students who would like the opportunity to gain more information or public speaking practice. Once they register, students can also arrange to meet with the Coordinator, or one of the involved faculty members to discuss the topic. Also, we strongly encourage you to practice, especially with other teams in your school or dorm. Please use the resources provided as much as possible.

Am I eligible to participate if I am on one of the competitive speech or debate teams such as Mock Trial, Parliamentary Debate, Cross-Examination Debate, or Speech?
Yes, and while you may have more of a background in persuasive public speaking, you may want to use the training sessions to learn about the topic and identify ways of adapting your normal competitive speaking style to the different format being used and to learn about the topic.

Do people with experience in a speech or debate activity have an advantage over other students?
No, this is the first year of this competition, and all participants will start out on a equal footing. In fact, some people with specific debate experiences may find it hard to adapt their normal competitive style into the more public forum style of the event. Perry Mason questions, over-emoting, speed talking, and flippant jokes may not be the most persuasive approaches to all of the judges.

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Training

What does "training" mean?
The Coordinator will run a series of workshops about basic public speaking techniques and methods of argumentation. The Coordinator will provide examples of particular argument styles related to the topic. S/he will also go over the research provided for the topic and how it can be effectively incorporated into speech making. The Coordinator will also discuss how judges will be trained, and how to use that knowledge for adaptation.

Will training be provided outside of the scheduled training sessions?
Arrangements can be made with the Coordinator for group practice or question sessions. We strongly advise students to identify faculty in their schools who might be useful resources for information and practice.

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Topic

What is the topic and when is it announced?
The topic can be found on the General Information page of this website. It is announced every fall.

Why isn't the topic phrased as a question?
The topic is a resolution. The term "Resolved" indicates that one side, the affirmative, should advocate that the action of the topic should be taken. The other side, the negative, is responsible for disproving the statement of the resolution and demonstrating how the affirmative's call for action is flawed.

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Research

Do I have to do research on the topic on my own?
Competitors should read up on the topic from the Approved Resources List provided by the Coordinator. While competitors may need to seek out specific books and articles from the library, a list of links to websites is also provided on the Resources page.

Besides background, is there any other purpose for the research?
Yes. Students are expected to support their claims and arguments in their speeches in competition. To do so, competitors should refer to specific warrants and evidence from the research to justify their points in the debate. The Coordinator will cover different stylistic approaches to this in training.

Can I use other resources besides those provided on the Approved List?
While we definitely encourage students to read as much as possible about the topic, they may not cite such research in the actual competition.

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General Competition

Are we expected to practice prior to the competition?
Students are advised that the more they practice any speaking skill in general, the more they will improve. The Coordinator can help arrange practice sessions if necessary, but strongly encourages students to get together in their schools and dorms and arrange such sessions on their own.

What is the format of the debates?
The format is available on the information page, but essentially involves two teams of two people each alternating speeches on the topic, with cross examination periods after each person speaks for the first time. Find out more about the debate format in General Information.

Why does the affirmative both begin and end the debate?
The affirmative must begin the debate so that the ground of the debate can be firmly established. It ends the debate because generally it is assumed that the affirmative has a higher burden of proof since they want something to change from the status quo and the negative has many options in explaining how the change would be detrimental. The person who speaks last has a slight advantage in what people will remember, so this counters the burden-of-proof issue. This is why prosecutors in trials who must argue guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt" also may choose to speak last.

Why does the negative speak twice in a row in the middle of the debate?
The negative speaks twice in part to equalize any competitive advantages that the affirmative may have in speaking first and last. Also, this structure is required in order to allow the affirmative to speak last. This structure allows the negative to develop their arguments in depth, which is important because the affirmative got to choose the ground of the debate in their first speech. Strategically the negative should use this opportunity to make as many points against the affirmative as possible, and to maximize the time crunch the first affirmative rebuttal will have in the next speech.

Why are there only cross examinations after the first four speeches?
Cross-examinations provide an opportunity for the debaters to clarify the points made by the other side so that they can strongly refute them. They also offer an opportunity to point out flaws in the other side's arguments. Cross-examinations can be very powerful performance tools in establishing credibility. However, at some point competitors should stop adding new points to the debate and should start comparing and evaluating the arguments on both sides and their merits. Once this "rebuttal" stage of the debate is reached, cross-examination is less useful because the clarification has already been done and debaters should try to avoid making many new points. Finally, each debater will have already had one chance to answer and one chance to ask questions, so the time allocated for cross examination is sufficient.

What is a rebuttal?
A rebuttal is a speech where competitors respond to and evaluate the arguments of the other side in comparison to the arguments that they have made so far. Rebuttal arguments might include indicting the source of the warrants for a given argument, discussing why the evidence that supports one side's arguments is better than the evidence from another side, identifying how different arguments interact, or explaining how the other side's responses to an argument are insufficient. Specifically, the 1st Affirmative Rebuttal should indicate what the key arguments are for the affirmative side in each issue. The 2nd Negative Rebuttal should indicate what arguments mean that the negative should win and why. This speech should also predict and preempt the reasons the affirmative will state as to why the affirmative should win. The 2nd Affirmative Rebuttal should explain why their arguments are the most valid and deserve a win.

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Judging

How will judges evaluate the competition?
Judges will evaluate the competition on a number of criteria, including persuasiveness and content of the speeches. In general, the judges are looking for how well each side advocates its own points while responding and engaging in the arguments from the other team. This is an activity about intellectual engagement and substance. While style is important and can be essential in conveying a point, it should not be a substitute for supported analysis.

Who will be judging the competition?
Interested faculty will volunteer not only to prepare students, but also to judge in the preliminary competition. Graduate students will also judge, making this a truly University-wide event. Excellent faculty judges will be honored as guest coaches for the elimination competition.

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Results

How will I find out the results of the competition?
Results of the preliminary competition will be posted on this website soon after the competition. All participants will be emailed directly with the names of the teams advancing to the Elimination Rounds within three hours of the end of the preliminary competition. There will also be a public posting of the students who advance in various locations around the University.

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The Elimination Rounds

What is the difference between the preliminary competition and the elimination rounds?
The preliminary competition is open to all participants and all participants will debate 4 rounds, 2 affirmative, 2 negative. Only 8 of these teams will advance to the elimination rounds, which will consist of quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. In these rounds, only the winner of the round advances to the next round of competition. All participants in the elimination rounds will receive recognition and awards.

How do I qualify for the elimination rounds?
The top 8 teams based on their win loss record AND their combined speaker evaluations will advance to the elimination rounds.

What is elimination round?
An elimination round is one in which only the winning team will continue on in the competition.

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