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11.1.3 Procedures for Offering Points of Information
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Regardless of the purpose that a debater has in mind when offering a point of information, a certain process needs to be followed. First, the person offering the point of information needs to get the speaker’s attention. The debater can gain attention by standing and raising a hand, by simply standing quietly, or by standing and saying something like “Point of information, please.” The decision to simply stand or to vocalize the offer of a point of information is not trivial. In the first place, an offer of a point of information should be made in a manner that does not attempt to distract the speaker. In this regard, the most courteous way to offer a point of information is to simply stand quietly. However, occasionally the speaker may be standing in a particular position where he or she does not have a good view of the debaters on the other side. In that case, perhaps the most courteous way to offer a point of information is to stand, then during a pause in the speech to say “Point of information please.” Being courteous and not distracting the speaker is certainly one criterion to be used in deciding how to go about offering a point of information. Another involves making sure the speaker knows when a point is being offered. A speaker cannot accept a point of information if he or she is unaware that someone is offering one. Therefore, if a debater stands to offer a point of information and realizes that, for whatever reason, the speaker has not seen that he or she is preparing to offer a point, the debater should wait for a pause in the speaker’s speech, perhaps even for a transition between arguments, then should politely vocalize the offer.
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Second, after getting the speaker’s attention, the person wanting to offer the point of information needs to wait to be recognized by the speaker. The person cannot actually offer the point of information until recognized by the speaker. The speaker may refuse the point by verbal statement(such as, “Not at this time please,” “No. Thank you,” etc.) or by nonverbal signal (such as waving in a downward motion to signal the person to sit back down). Alternatively, the speaker may accept the offer of the point of information by saying something such as “I’ll take your point.” Remember, the decision to accept or reject a point of information belongs solely to the speaker and cannot be appealed. Finally, when and if the offer of a point of information is accepted, the debater has a maximum of 15 seconds to actually complete the offer with a question or statement, and needs to be careful not to exceed that limit even though no one may be timing the point. Remember, the speaker has offered 15 seconds of his or her time, and the debater offering the point should show the corresponding courtesy of not abusing that offer.
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11.2 Responding to Points of Information
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The person speaking controls the time allocated for his or her speech and, therefore, needs to make decisions about accepting and declining points of information. Debaters should carefully consider which points to accept and which to decline. If a point is accepted, the debater needs to respond immediately and confidently. The following are some ideas that debaters should consider when deciding to accept offers of points of information and when actually responding to those points.
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First, debaters should accept offers judiciously; speakers should accept some but not too many offers of points of information. Speakers who accept all points of information risk losing control of their entire speech and allowing their opponents to control the direction of the debate. Alternatively, by accepting no points of information, a debater may communicate to the judge or audience that he or she does not have much confidence in what is being argued or that he or she is unable to respond quickly to questions or criticisms. Most traditions of parliamentary debate suggest that a speaker accept a minimum of two points of information and a maximum of three or four.
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A second factor to be considered when deciding which points to accept is the level of a debater’s comfort in the particular part of his or her speech. Debaters should accept points when they are in a comfortable part of their speech. If the debater is comfortable making a particular argument, for instance, the chances are better that he or she will be able to respond to the point with confidence. If the debater is having difficulty thinking of what to say, he or she should not compound that difficulty by accepting a point of information.
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A third factor to be considered when deciding whether to accept or decline a point has to do with the person offering the point. Sometimes beginning debaters are afraid to accept a point of information from a strong speaker. As debaters become more confident, they need to consider accepting points from strong debaters rather than from relatively weaker ones. By accepting a point from one of the strongest speakers on the opposite side, debaters communicate to the judge and the audience that they have no fear of engaging the strongest speakers.
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In any case, debaters should probably not accept more than one point from any speaker. In fairness to the two other teams on the opposite side of the debate, if a debater is going to accept only two offers of points of information, he should consider accepting one offer from each team rather than two points from any single team.
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Beyond the decision of whether or not to accept offers of points of information, the debater needs to think in advance about how he or she will respond. Some simple guidelines may prove helpful.
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First, once a debater decides to accept a point of information, he or she must be prepared to respond to the point immediately. Responding immediately demonstrates to the audience and the judge that the debater is a quick thinker and is able to think while he or she speaks. Sometimes a debater is tempted to respond to a point by saying “I’ll get back to your point later.” That is almost always an unwise response because it signals, rightly or wrongly, that the debater cannot think of the proper response quickly.
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Sometimes, a debater, particularly a beginning debater, finds responding immediately to be especially difficult. That difficulty can be compounded if a debater finds the question to be difficult or requiring information that he or she simply does not possess. In such cases, a debater should be prepared to respond by arguing about the relevance or the importance of the question, or comment rather than trying to bluff others into thinking that they have information they simply do not have. So, to say something like “I think your question is a provocative one, but I don’t believe it is one that will prove central to this debate” is better than trying to give an answer involving information that the debater really does not have. A debater who takes offers judiciously increases the chances that he or she will be able to choose times when the questions will be directed toward information that he or she has. For the sake of ethical communication, as well as avoiding the appearance of trying to bluff through a lack of knowledge, debaters should learn to respond immediately with answers that are truthful.
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Second, when debaters respond, they should not do so meekly, but should do so in a confident manner. Being confident does not mean being bombastic or even forceful. Debaters can respond in a confident and assertive manner without being forceful or aggressive. They should respond in a very clear and self-assured manner that suggests they are very confident about their answer. Even when debaters are unsure of the answer to the point that is posed, they should still muster all their confidence, even if they must say something like “Good question. I really don’t know the answer to it, but my partner and I will do our best to respond to it when you present that information in your speech. “
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Third, having responded appropriately to the point, a debater should not allow others to ask follow-up points. As we have already said, the convention of Worlds-Style debate does not allow for follow-up questions or comments. Sometimes, a debater attempts to follow up a point of information with another argument or question. The speaker should not allow such follow-ups. One good way to discourage a debater from asking follow-up points is to carefully manage your eye contact. A debater should make eye contact with the person offering the point of information while that person is offering the point. To do so is a simple courtesy and signals that the debater is interested in listening carefully to the offer in order to respond appropriately. Then, as the debater starts to respond to the point, eye contact should shift to the judge or the audience. Doing so will usually discourage the debater from trying to follow up.
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11.3 Summary
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Often, debates can turn on how skilled a person is at giving or responding to a point of information. In any event, points of information are among the most interesting and dynamic parts of the debate. A debate in which everyone offers and responds to points of information is much more engaging than a debate that is nothing more than eight speeches given in monologue.
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At their worst, points of information can devolve into debaters attacking other debaters to show how they are better than their opponents. At their best, they can be opportunities to interact directly with other debaters, and especially with the arguments offered by other debaters so that everyone can improve their arguments and make them the best that they can be. Effective points of information are, thus, essential for effective debating, especially if the debate is to have the generative function that is its potential.
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很多时候，辩论的质量取决于辩手们提出以及回应质询的水平。通常来讲，质询是一场辩论中最有趣和生动的部分。同只有八个独白式演讲的辩论相比，一场每一位辩手都提出、接受质询，彼此切磋的辩论显然要精彩得多。
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比较糟糕的情形下，质询可能演变成辩手们攻击对方来显示自己优越性的环节。然而理想的状态下，质询环节可以为辩手们提供直接互动的机会，从而使得辩手们不断完善自己的论证。因此，高效的辩论离不开有效的质询，尤其是当辩论有可能成为生成性辩论、产生有建设性的结果时。
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11.4 Terms and Concepts from Chapter 11
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Check your memory and comprehension by describing or defining these key terms and concepts:
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· Protected time
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· Maximum time for points of information
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