What Speech Event Should I Do – Speech and Debate Events

How it works

New on the speech and debate team and not sure where you fit? Press the button for one of 27 events, from Original Oratory to Policy Debate, each with what the speaker does.

Read the full guide

Three kinds of speech, plus debate

Wikipedia’s article on individual events sorts them into three kinds. In public speaking you write and memorize a speech. In limited preparation you learn the topic shortly before you speak. In acting and interpretation you perform literature.

Event names and rules differ by league and state, so ask your coach which ones your team enters.
This page is not affiliated with the National Speech & Debate Association or any other league.

Questions and answers

What are the different speech events?

Public speaking events such as Original Oratory and Informative Speaking, limited-preparation events such as Extemporaneous and Impromptu, and interpretation events such as Dramatic, Humorous and Duo. The debate formats, from Policy to Public Forum, are counted apart from these.

What is the difference between speech and debate?

In a speech round, five to eight competitors perform in turn and a judge ranks them. In debate, two sides argue for and against one resolution or motion: one speaker each in Lincoln–Douglas, pairs in Policy and Public Forum.

What is the difference between Dramatic and Humorous Interpretation?

Both are cuttings from a published work, performed by one person who may play several characters. Dramatic takes its piece from serious works. Humorous is the funny counterpart, and the judge weighs whether the piece is humorous.

Which speech events have no memorized speech?

The limited-preparation events. Speakers do not know the topic in advance: in Extemporaneous they prepare for about thirty minutes on a current-events question, and in Impromptu they speak on a word or a quotation within minutes.

All 27 speech events

Speeches you write 8

After-Dinner Speaking A humorous speech with a serious point under it. A college event, also called Speech to Entertain.
Declamation You deliver from memory a speech that someone else wrote, such as a historic address.
Informative Speaking You make a complex topic easier to understand, without judging it. Also called Expository Address.
Original Comedy You write a comic story and pop in and out of its characters. No props and no script in hand.
Original Oratory You write and memorize a speech on a subject you choose, meant to inspire belief or strengthen a conviction.
Persuasion You argue for a change, most often a policy, by setting out a problem, its cause and a solution.
Rhetorical Criticism You analyze a speech, a book or an ad campaign with a theory of communication. A college event.
Special Occasion Speaking Like Oratory but on lighter subjects, written for a specific audience. A high-school event.

Little time to prepare 6

Broadcasting You edit a packet of news stories into a five-minute newscast and read it aloud.
Extemporaneous Commentary You prepare a talk on a topic of the day and give it seated, in the manner of a media commentator.
Extemporaneous Speaking You draw a question on current events, prepare for about thirty minutes, then answer it with few notes.
Impromptu Speaking You are handed a word, a saying or a quotation and build a speech on it within minutes.
Parliamentary Debate The resolution changes every round and is announced shortly before it, which leaves little time to prepare.
Storytelling You are given a children’s book, a fable or a legend and retell it in your own words, a voice per character.

Acting and interpretation 7

Dramatic Interpretation You perform a cutting from a serious work, often as several characters told apart by voice and stance.
Duet Acting A high-school event for two: one script, and partners may look at and touch each other.
Duo Interpretation Two performers act out a piece together without touching, making eye contact or using props.
Humorous Interpretation The funny counterpart to Dramatic: a cutting from a humorous work, judged on how you portray its characters.
Poetry Interpretation You cut poems that share one theme into a single program.
Program Oral Interpretation You weave prose, poetry and drama on one topic into a single program that makes an argument.
Prose Interpretation You interpret one or more works of prose, using facial expression and eye contact.

Debate 6

British Parliamentary Debate Four teams of two in one debate, two for the motion and two against it.
Congressional Debate Students act as members of a legislature and debate bills and resolutions that schools submit.
Lincoln–Douglas Debate One against one, on a question of values, with weight on logic, ethics and philosophy.
Policy Debate Teams of two argue for or against a policy for the government to adopt, with evidence and cross-examination.
Public Forum Debate Pairs debate a current-events topic that changes every month or two, with crossfire questions in between.
World Schools Debate Two teams of three speak for and against a motion. Some motions are set in advance, others on the day.