Explore Membership Students

Why Become a Member?

As the national authority on public speaking and debate, the National Speech & Debate Association provides the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world. We create a platform for youth voices to be heard and celebrated, which culminates with an annual National Tournament, the pinnacle of Public Speaking.

Member Benefits

"THE NSDA HONOR SOCIETY GAVE ME A CHANCE TO BE A PART OF A COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE WHO WERE DRIVEN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD." - ELENA CECIL

"SPEECH AND DEBATE TAUGHT ME ABOUT LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK, HUMILITY, AND EMPATHY. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, SPEECH AND DEBATE GAME ME THE ABILITY TO BUILD MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS AND LASTING FRIENDSHIPS." - QUINLAN CAO

"THE SCHOLARSHIPS I RECEIVED THROUGH THE NSDA HELPED ME TO INVEST IN MYSELF AND MY ASPIRATIONS TO HELP AND SERVE OTHERS." - JOANNA BAI

Expand Your Resume

Gain membership in one of the oldest and most respected honor societies.
Earn local, state, and national recognition for competitive success, academic excellence, and service activities.

Compete Against The Best of The Best

Compete to attend the National Tournament, the pinnacle of Public Speaking, where 54 national champions are crowned.
Join a community where student voices are given a platform to be heard and celebrated.

Earn Money For College

Member students are eligible to earn a portion of the $150,000 in college scholarships we give annually.

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Prepare for College, A Career, and the Future

Master the skills employers value most.

A LinkedIn survey of more than 660+ million professionals revealed the most in demand soft skills in 2020. Here’s how speech and debate helps students master them:

Creativity – Students are empowered to make artistic choices about how they bring words to life through performance. Unique arguments are encouraged and thinking outside the box differentiates students from their peers debating the same topics.

Persuasion – Students learn how to best convince an audience in the face of equally well-informed, persuasive competition.

Collaboration – Students work with teammates and coaches to craft stories, create arguments, build upon feedback, and perfect their performances.

Adaptability – Students learn to think on their feet and tailor a performance to a given audience.

Emotional Intelligence – Students learn to see both sides of an issue and to use appropriate strategies for questioning things they do not understand.

Access More Than 1,000 Competitive Resources

- Prepare for competition or practice sessions with fresh sets of Extemp questions, Congress legislation, and World Schools motions.
- Access debate topic resources to build arguments and keep them up to date throughout the season.
- Gain insight by watching the best in the nation perform in National Tournament final round videos from our archives dating back to 1985.

How to Start a Team Guide

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Membership Structure

Annual School Membership

High School: $149 Middle School: $75

Membership is good through July 31 of the school year for which you are renewing.

ACCESS LEVEL	MEMBER BENEFITS					COST	CYCLE
STUDENT BENEFITS	Eligibility to earn a portion of the $150,000 in college scholarships we give annually. Membership in one of the oldest and most respected honor societies. The opportunity to earn local, state, and national recognition for achievement. Access to helpful training tools to build their skills through the school's membership. An opportunity to compete to attend the National Tournament, the Olympics of speech and debate, where 54 national champions are crowned.					MS: $10 HS: $20	One-time
COACH MEMBERSHIP	Professional development opportunities and credit through our learning management system, NSDA Learn. An opportunity to network and connect with colleagues across the country via our online forums. Access to online resources through the school’s membership. Eligibility for local and national awards for progress and excellence in coaching, in the classroom, and in service to the speech and debate community. Access to a professional coach accreditation program.					$20	One-time

RESOURCE PACKAGE

Enhance Your Membership

NSDA membership includes access to excellent training tools, competitive resources, and more. The Resource Package is a membership add-on for teams or individuals that offers the best speech and debate resources around all for one low price. The Resource Package provides coaches, educators, and students with valuable resources to improve their speech and debate skills, all curated by experts at the NSDA and successful educators across the country. Highlights include:

Exclusive access to videos of the most recent final round performances. Students can learn from watching successful peers!
Resources for competition and the classroom allow teachers and coaches to be efficient instead of seeking out multiple sources for materials.
Rather than paying hundreds of dollars per textbook for their classroom, teachers can access digital textbooks through the Resource Package to share with their students.

Learn more about the Resource Package

$199

ANNUAL

Interested in learning about all of the benefits of NSDA membership? Find more information below!