Point of information (competitive debate)

In competitive debate, most commonly in the World Schools, Karl Popper and British Parliamentary debate styles, a Point of Information or a POI is when a member of the team opposing that of the current speaker gets to briefly interrupt the current speaker, offering a POI in the form of a question or a statement. This may be as a correction, asking for clarity or just a plain question. As in some debating styles, such as World Schools Style, they often may not be offered in the first or last minute of any speech (known as protected time), or during reply speeches. Points of information may never be offered to a member of the same team.

Points of information are an important part of any debate that includes them, as they offer a much greater degree of engagement between teams. In some styles of debate, such as British Parliamentary Style, they take on an even greater importance, as teams are forced to use them in order to maintain their relevance during a debate. Furthermore, they allow speakers to demonstrate greater wit and presence of thought than is generally possible in a speech, as they are required to respond instantly to prepared points from their opposition in a logical way.

A point of information is also a request for information from the current speaker, in Robert's Rules of Order. The 11th edition of Robert's Rules, published in 2011, changes the name to request for information to clarify its purpose.

In all competitions that allow points of information, their use is restricted by a number of rules to allow the speaker to maintain control of their speech. Generally, the procedure for offering a point of information is as follows:

A rule of thumb for points of information is that each speaker should accept two during the course of his or her speech, and offer two to every opposing speaker. Taking fewer points may be interpreted as cowardice when plenty were offered, while speakers that accept too many risk losing control of their speech. Similarly, it is generally frowned upon for speakers to offer excessive POIs, a practice known as badgering that usually results in the adjudicator calling the debate to order.

Points of Information, as with any other debating technique, are subject to each speaker's own personal style. For instance, while it is broadly accepted that a debater should stand when offering a point of information, there is no set wording or format for the offer itself. Examples of valid offers, that may be combined with any of several common hand gestures, are:

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