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--First pro speech (sponsorship) is three minutes long. An authorship speech is when the sponsor wrote the bill, in which case the speech is four minutes long. Followed by a three minute speech against the bill.
--Then two more speeches, one pro (for the bill), the other con (against the bill). Each a minute and a half.
--In between speeches, the chair will ask for points and motions. All points and motions are allowed except amendments, which are out of order until general debate (see below for details).
--When finished speaking, you can yield remaining time to the chair or to questions. Yielding to the chair means you sit down; yielding to questions means that the chair will call on people who wish to ask you questions.
--Guidelines for asking questions
--Ask actual questions. You're not making a speech or a point. Don't start a question with "Is the speaker aware that..." because that means you're just framing a statement as a question.
--Don't address the speaker as "you"--technically you're referring questions through the chair to the speaker. Instead, use terms like "the speaker". This applies to speeches too--don't refer to speakers by name, rather say "a previous speaker said...."
--Keep questions short. If you're answering questions, keep your responses short and to the point.
--If you want to introduce new information in your question or quote something the speaker said, you must ask for "permission to preface." Unless you're directly asking a question, you need permission to preface that question, such as "The national deficit is in the trillions. How does the speaker think we can afford to pass this costly piece of legislation?"
General Debate--begins when structured debate ends
--Each speech is a minute and a half. Speeches need not alternate pro-con; they don't even need to take a definite side. However, for the sake of debate, we try to keep the pro-con cycle going.
--All points and motions, including amendments, are recognized in general debate. Just like in structured debate, if you finish your speech before your time has elapsed, you can yield remaining time to the chair or to questions.
--General debate continues until a motion is raised to end debate and move to a vote. You can either vote for or against the bill, or abstain (opt not to vote). Vote by raising your hand when the chair asks. Keep it raised, high, so the chair can get an accurate count.