What it takes to be a good chair:

1. Perfectly understanding parliamentary procedure. The obvious, yet the most important tip out there.
2. Stating “Decorum!” with a strong voice. Confidence is key! It will also instill fear in the delegates, so they’ll know whom to not mess around with. Maintain that gavel with an iron grip!
3. Don’t be scared to give out warnings. Make sure those rowdy rascals know that they’re being watched and rightly punished under your sharp eyes.
4. Possess patience and emotional control. Although the previous two points imply that chairs should abuse their authoritarian powers, they should also be understanding. You were probably a delegate at some point during your MUN career, so you know what it feels like to sit through a conference sometimes.
5. Make all delegates participate. As the chair, it’s imperative to make sure that each and every delegate gets to be under the spotlight at sometime. A good chair chairs, a great chair inspires. Be encouraging.
6. Don’t be biased. You haven’t seen a Supreme Court judge ever being biased, have you? When chairs are scoring speeches, they should understand what MUN is looking for rather than what they believe in (aggressiveness vs diplomacy, creative vs. realistic solutions). This is important when it comes down to deciding who most deserves the award.

What it takes to be a good delegate:

1. Have researched the country you are representing thoroughly. It’s tough representing the interests of a country that you don’t know much about.
2. When you speak in front of an audience, don’t pace around. Rather, keep a solid stance and project your voice.
3. If you have any worries or concerns, you should not hesitate passing a note to the chair. They won’t bite!
4. Follow the 4 C’s. Be Confident, Clear, Concise and Constructive when delivering a speech. Keep the message short and crisp. It’ll catch on easily and other people will place more trust on a confident delegate.
5. Before you are asked to speak, try to make a framework of what you’re going to talk about. Maybe using some bullet points… or a funky diagram. Whatever floats your boat. The most important part is to make sure other delegates remember what you said so that they can refer back to you later on.
6. DON’T use personal pronouns. I’m sure the chairs are tired of repeating that phrase.