Irish Times Adjudication Criteria
Last updated Dec-98 by Colm Flynn

Please note that these guidelines are for British Parliamentary Style as it is applied in the Irish Times Debating Competition.

Different adjudicators look for different things in a speech but most look for some basic things.

The cardinal rule is that every aspect of a speech should be directed towards persuading the audience to either support or reject the motion.

The following are roughly the guidelines that were issued by the convenor for the Irish Times and which are used by the adjudicators as methods of determing how effective the speaker was:

1. Argument:

The basis of every speech is a coherent argument. A successful team should always have a unifying argument which is continuously impressed upon the audience so as to convince them. Also the ability to fit in with previous argument while remaining original is important. The argument must make an impact while remaining logical. A chain of thought and clear progression is important to avoid losing the audience. This is best done by having a clear beginning, middle and end, and avoiding rambling.

2. Content:

Having established an argument, it should be supported by examples so as to impress upon an audience that your argument is valid and persuasive. These examples must be relevant, interesting and ideally innovative. Research is vital for this and can't be avoided if you want to make a winning speech. Argument and content are the two most important aspects in a speech and will be marked accordingly.

3. Fluency:

A good speech must be given fluently with the minimum use of notes. A fluent speaker will be more persuasive as he/she will appear to be more convinced of the truth of what they are saying. Reading is not debating and will be penalised by the adjudicators. It may seem hard at the start to avoid reading but as you gain experience and confidence you will use less and less notes (hopefully).

4. Refutation/Rebuttal:

This is the ability to effectively attack the critical point of the opponents argument, while retaining your own argument. It is critical to undermine the arguments of opposing speakers and this should be incorporated into your own speech. In general it must be spontaneous as prepared rebuttal will often not be relevant and may be penalised if so. Naturally the first prop speaker can't rebutt a previous speaker but this just shifts the emphasis to other parts of his/her speech. The final opp speaker's speech is usually mostly rebuttal but he/she must still have an argument.

5. Humour:

Humour can be very effective in persuading an audience and should be incorporated into a speech to a certain degree. Humour can help you to win over an audience and can make your speech stand out from the rest. However a successful stand-up routine might persuade an audience that a speaker has a great sense of humour but it won't persuade them to support or reject a motion.

6. Style and Presentation:

This deals with how a speaker comes across and his/her competence as an orator. It includes conviction, humour, presence, gesture, tone, eye contact, a clear and audible delivery, and freedom from notes. Basically it is how the previous criteria are combined. Speakers should develop their own distinctive style in speaking. Anything which might irritate an audience should be eliminated, such as speaking too softly or loudly, using clichés, speaking in monotone etc.

7. Participation - Points of Information:

A speaker is not obliged to take points of information but you should take two or three points during your speech. Abuse of this facility so as to upset or distract a speaker (i.e. Barracking) will be heavily penalised. A speaker should attempt to give points of information through out the duration of the opposing side's speeches. They should be short (<15sec) and sharp and directly relevant to the point that the speaker is currently making.

8. Teamwork:

A team speaker will be judged as such. If the second speaker for a team departs from his/her partners argument, he/she will be heavily penalised. A successful team will have a coherent argument which unifies both of their speeches. The first speaker in a team should set out the argument of the team with supporting examples and the second speaker should defend it.

9. Individual Speakers:

A lot of competitions are based around individual speakers. In the semi-final and final of the Irish Times there are individual speakers as well as teams. In a case like this individuals have no team-mate to back them up so they have only 7 min. to make their complete argument. In order to stand out they should attempt to add a novel dimension to the debate.

10. Order of Speaking:

A speaker should adopt the appropriate role for one's position in the order paper. Accordingly, the first speaker in a debate should define the terms of the motion and the first opposition speaker should define the terms of the motion from the opposition's perspective. The last speaker for the proposition and the opposition should sum up the arguments made by all of the speakers on their side of the motion and rebutt the other sides arguments.

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