Public forum is patterned after the Sunday morning Political talk shows. Two teams go head to head over a resolution that both sides have had time to prepare for. The most distinct feature is the Grand Crossfire, which is a 4 on 4, knock 'em-sock 'em Q&A. Very Entertaining to watch. Rounds last a little over one half-hour. The same resolution is typically used for around a month, and then a new one is used for the following month.
IMPROMPTU
Impromptu requires no special preparation. Competitors walk into a room where they are handed 3 slips of paper, each with a topic to speak on. They choose one of these, and think for 2 minutes to immediately deliver a 4-5 minute, off-the-cuff speech.
Extemp is divided into two topics, National and International. Half an hour before the competitor speaks, they are handed 3 slips of paper, each with a topic to speak on. The choose one of these, and have 30 minutes to research and prepare a 5-7 minute speech on that topic.
Lincoln-douglas debate is a more values heavy than fact heavy debate event. A single debater squares off against another debater arguing a resolution that both sides have had time to prepare for. The debate usually focuses on the words "OUGHT" or "SHOULD", not what is, or what could be. It draws its background from the historical Lincoln-Douglas campaign debates from before the Civil War. The same resolution is typically used for around a month, and then a new one is used for the following month.
Original oratory is a form of orally delivered original student written essay. Competitors write and perform from memory an 8 to 10 minute essay on any topic they choose.
Original Advocacy
Similar to Oratory in style and time length, the essay must take a side on a policy issue and "convince" the judge to take their side.
Expository
Expository is an informative speech with a similar time frame as Oratory, but differs in that the competitor frequently walks into a competition with an easel and a series of elaborate posters, turning them into a form of human power-point presentation.
Parliamentary Debate
Parliamentary is an impromptu-team form of debate. Students find out the topic for the round 20 minutes before the round, similar to an extemp round. Also, unlike other debate formats, question and answer sessions are not separate, rather competitors are encouraged to interrupt the speaker politely to ask a question.
In D.I., an 10 minute edited selection from a published play, musical, novel or short story is performed from memory. Emphasis is on drama over comedy. Voice acting is stressed as props and costumes are forbidden.
H.I. is identical in all ways to D.I. except that comedic selections are the norm.
Oratorical Interpretation
Oratorical interpretation encourages the competitor to become Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill or any other notable speaker. A 10 minute selection from a famous(?) speech is memorized and either delivered as faithfully in style as the original, or personalized/modernized in style.
Original Prose and Poetry
O.P.P. must be written originally by the student performing. The selection of nearly 10 minutes can be a poem, play, story or musical WRITTEN ENTIRELY by the student.
Thematic Interpretation
In T.I., 3-4 different literary selections such as a poem, a short story or even a song, are tied together using a common theme, with introductions and instructions written by the student. For example a student might take true love as their theme, and have a Shakespearian sonnet, an Aesop's fable and a pop song all featuring that theme, with the students explanations in between.
D.I. is very similar to D.I. and H.I. and differs in that TWO different competitors divide up the characters, without looking at the other or touching each other.
Policy is one of the original formats for interscholastic forensic competition. Competitors are in teams of 2, and they debate the same resolution in depth the whole year. Rounds last an hour and a half each, competitors bring stacks of evidence, and it is the only event allowed to use laptop computers. The Affirmative tries to affirm the resolution by writing a plan to solve whatever problem mentioned in the yearly resolution.