Cross-examination
A little bit of chaos never hurt anyone…
That little bit of chaos is exactly what cross-examination brings. It gives you the chance to tear your opposition’s entire argument down with one — or a series — of questions.
There are two different kinds of questions you can ask:
Question: This is a direct question about an argument, fact, or impact. An example would be: “You are aware that making healthcare free would take an economic toll on the United States, right?”
Statement: These are my personal favorite types of questions to ask during cross-examination. You first state the fact you are trying to emphasize, then follow it with something like, “How do you respond?” or “Do you have anything to say about this?” For example: “Making healthcare free would take a huge economic toll on the United States. How do you respond?”
During cross-examination, there are no strictly “right” or “wrong” questions, but you should try to stay away from clarification questions — they are often a waste. Instead, focus on asking questions that either tear down your opponent’s argument or strengthen your own.
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One rule you must always follow during cross-examination is to never introduce new information. You can use information that any representative stated during their speeches, or anything you have already presented, but you cannot bring up new material.
Recommendation: Prepare example questions before your congress round. The more questions you ask, the better you typically perform and rank. Having a set of flexible, vague questions ready allows you to maximize the number of questions you can ask during the round.
There are two different types of cross-examination:
Direct: This consists of one minute of back-and-forth questioning between the representative giving the speech and the representative asking the question. Each questioning block is one minute, except for the blocks after the first affirmative and negative speeches, which are two minutes each. After each speech, there are two questioning blocks — either two one-minute blocks or two two-minute blocks.
Not Direct: In this format, a representative asks a single question to the speaker with no back-and-forth — just one question and one answer. Each questioning block consists of one question. Typically, there are two questions allowed after a speech, but for the first affirmative and negative speeches, there are four questioning blocks, meaning four questions can be asked.
Now you know exactly how to ask a strong cross-examination question!
