HOW TO DELIVER POI EFFECTIVELY?

In Asian/British debate, it is something usual when your opponent's substantive speaker is

speaking in front, has passed his/her 1st minute and has not entered his/her last minute, and they
interrupt their speech. These interruptions are called Points of Information (POI), and last at the
maximum length of 15 seconds, thus must be delivered very concisely. POI is given to ask for
clarity on certain things. This may done in order to avoid misunderstandings on both teams
cases, which could lead to catastrophes.
Answer immediately and effectively to show your mastery of your speech. And dont forget to
look cool. A POI must be offered with a polite manner in such a way that it is sufficient enough
to attract the attention of the speaker at the podium, but not so excessive that it disrupts the
conduct of the debate. The common manner is to stand up, raise one hand towards the speaker at
the podium, and exclaim excuse me, Sir/Mam, Points of Information, Please? etc.
It is improper, however, to interrupt the speaker by mentioning the contents of the interruption,
e.g. interrupting by standing up and saying Excuse me, interruption because that argument is
inconsistent!
TIPS AND TRICKS
There is no single, precise rule on how to handle POIs in the best way. But the following tips
may give basic strategic not substantial guidance for offering or answering POIs.
a. If you seriously dont understand the POI given by your opponent like it seems as if theyre
speaking in alien language admit it and apologize then just continue your speech. Do not ask
them to repeat the point.
Example: "I am sorry, but I seriously did not catch that. Lets continue.
b. Desperado your way out. If the opponent asks you something you seriously cant answer, stay
cool and confident. This is not recommended, but when you are at a corner, well, by all means.
Pretend you misunderstood. Pick a word from that POI which you can comprehend most, then
just say anything related to that word. But seriously, this is a desperate and suicidal alternative.
Example:
POI:
"But why are you proposing such thing in this age of postmodernist view of governance and
society?"
If you dont know anything about postmodernism, just respond.
"Well, the idea of this proposal is to achieve... (re-explain your goal, forgetting the

'postmodernism' part)."
c. You may cut off a POI if you have already understood their point but have not finished
speaking while it is spending a lot of your time. However, it is best to maintain politeness while
doing so.
Example:
"Thank you sir/maam, I got your point. So... (answer point)."
d. For POI givers, due to Tip #3, you must be careful in picking your words and only use what is
necessary, or else the speaker might use it to their advantage.
Example:
Intended POI:
"I beg to differ. What you are proposing is considering that lives are expendable and cheap!"
What actually happened:
"I beg to differ, ..."
Cut by speaker:
"Thank you, of course you should differ, its your job as my opponent (and continues speech)."
You just lost a chance for a POI. While, of tens of offers from your whole team, only 2-3 will be
accepted. Its not that it is recommended for anyone to cut POIs likethat, though. You might as
well just go straight to:
What you are proposing is considering that lives are expendable and cheap!"