Public Forum debate practice, with real crossfire
You can practice Public Forum debate on DebateHero in Live Duel, a timed one-on-one match against another player that uses Public Forum speeches: case, crossfire, rebuttal, summary and final focus. It runs in 3, 10 or 15 minute formats, and an AI judge that is told the format scores both sides as you go.
The formats
| Format | Speeches, in order |
|---|---|
| 3 min | Case 0:45 each, Rebuttal 0:30 each, Final focus 0:15 each |
| 10 min | Case 0:45 each, Crossfire 2:00 total, Rebuttal 0:45 each, Crossfire 2:00 total, Summary 0:45 each, Final focus 0:45 each |
| 15 min | Case 1:30 each, Crossfire 2:00 total, Rebuttal 1:30 each, Crossfire 2:00 total, Summary 1:00 each, Final crossfire 1:30 total, Final focus 0:45 each |
Each crossfire is four short alternating turns, you ask or answer, then they do. A real Public Forum round is two on two. Here it’s one on one, so you give every speech for your side, which means more reps per round, not fewer. The 3 minute format is the quick match and has no crossfire.
How a match runs
- Find an opponent. Find opponent pairs you with someone near your rating, or you can send a private invite. Invites can be ranked or casual.
- Ready up. Both players press Ready within 2 minutes.
- Get your side and prep. A coin flip gives you Pro or Con, then you get up to 60 seconds of prep.
- Speak, then press Send. Sending stops your clock. You also get a time bank worth half the debate’s planned speaking time, once per match, and it doesn’t refill.
- See the result. The higher total wins. Ranked duels move your Duel rating, which starts at 1200.
How the judge treats crossfire
The judge is told which speech each turn belongs to, and it doesn’t score a crossfire volley like a full speech. In crossfire it credits a direct answer, a concession, or a gap you exposed. A new point you make in crossfire isn’t credited there, it counts when a later speech carries it. In final focus you’re expected to weigh the arguments already on the table, so a brand new argument there earns little.
That gives you a few habits worth drilling for cross-examination:
- Ask short questions that set up your next speech, not questions that start a new argument.
- When you’re asked something, answer it directly. Dodging is what gets a gap exposed.
- If crossfire turns up a good point, put it in your rebuttal or summary, that is where it scores.
- Save final focus for weighing. Tell the judge why your best argument outweighs theirs.
Practicing when nobody is online
If Find opponent comes up empty, you can take on an AI character instead. That match is unrated and simpler: an opening, two rebuttals and a closing each, 45 seconds a turn, with no crossfire. For slower work on a resolution, Character Debate has no clock at all, so you can test a contention against a figure who disagrees with you and see how each exchange scores.
Honest limits
- The speeches are much shorter than a tournament round. Use it for reps and for crossfire, not for timing your full case.
- It’s one on one. There’s no partner and no four-person grand crossfire, the 15 minute format has a two-person final crossfire instead.
- The judge is an AI. It can get a call wrong, and it is not a ballot from a trained judge.
- There’s no Lincoln-Douglas or policy format. If you do LD, Character Debate still works for testing a value and criterion against someone who disagrees, but it won’t run LD speech times.
- DebateHero isn’t affiliated with the NSDA or any debate league.
Every timing and scoring rule for Live Duel is in the rulebook. The quickest way to try the judge first is the Daily, it needs no account.