Welcome Stanford Report readers!
The Stanford Debate Society presents our 31st summer of academic summer programs in public speaking, competitive speech & debate! We offer fully online programs for students entering grades 7-12, with sessions starting weekly from June 22nd through August 10th.
Speech and debate teach some of the most valuable skills that students will use through their academic and professional lives. No matter whether you're looking to learn the art of public speaking, venturing into speech and debate for the first time, or preparing for a championship caliber competitive season, SNFI will help you reach your summer academic goals. Visit our 2020 Schedule to see all of our sessions (where you can filter by age range and program type), or our How to Select the Right Program guide for help in picking the "best fit" program for your needs.
It's not too late to join us for summer 2020! Here are some links to help you learn more about the SNFI Speech & Debate camp:
- 2020 summer camp schedule
- benefits of speech & debate education
- how to select the right program
- Stanford employee discount (page requires SUNET login)
- about SNFI
We offer many programs tailored specifically to students looking to get started with public speaking or venturing into competitive speech & debate for the first time:
- Public Speaking: We offer a 1-Week Public Speaking Introduction session every week of our summer schedule which guides students with no prior exposure to speaking in public through a series of research, writing and speaking exercises culminating with a week ending presentation. For more students with prior public speaking exposure, we offer a 1-Week Advanced Public Speaking session. We also have a 2-Week Public Speaking Experience session that combines the introductory and advanced programs.
- Introduction to Argumentation & Debate: Our 1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate session is offered twice this summer, starting July 14th and again on July 21st, and provides a structured introduction to formal argumentation and the common competitive debate formats and teaches students the foundational principles needed for a successful start to their competitive debate careers. We also offer longer beginners "flex" packages that allow a student to continue on after the introductory week into the debate format of their choosing.
- Introduction to Competitive Speech: Our 1-Week Introduction to Competitive Speech session teaches students the skills needed to begin competing in the wide range of competitive speech events found at tournaments around the nation.
- Introduction to Forensics (Speech & Debate): Our 2-Week Forensics Experience session combines our 1-Week Introduction to Competitive Speech and 1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate sessions into a single program to prepare a student across the full spectrum of forensics events. It is common for students to "double (or triple) enter" at tournaments, competing in both speech & debate events.
- Public Speaking + Intro to Debate: For students that want to get started in debate but would like to start by developing a stronger baseline speaking confidence, we offer our 2-Week Public Speaking + Intro to Debate session starting July 14th, which combines our 1-Week Public Speaking Introduction and 1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate sessions.
- Every competitive speech & debate format: We offer sessions in every major competition format done in schools across the US appropriate for beginning level students and seasoned competitors alike! This includes Individual Events (speech), Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Parliamentary Debate, Policy Debate, Congressional Debate, etc.