Committee Etiquette

and Strategy
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Brighton High School Model United Nations
SOCIALIZING
 MUN is very political - socializing correctly is a key
part of the game
 You want to be seen as approachable by other delegates.
A nice, easygoing person will usually attract more
delegates to work with them over an abrasive delegate
with better ideas.
 You’ll find plenty of delegates who aren’t doing any
work or not paying attention. They will generally flock
to a circle to appear as part of a group – usually who they
like the best, regardless of how your policies match up.
WHERE TO BEGIN…
 Arrive at committee early, and save a seat near the front . To the
right or left of your chair is better than the center
 You can introduce yourself to the chair, but avoid looking like a
suck-up.
 Begin speaking to other delegates – you can your partner can
split up or go around together. You don’t have to talk about
MUN – a lighthearted topic will often make people feel more
comfortable, especially if they’re new to MUN.
 Be polite and don’t come off too strong. Now that people in
your committee know you, they may come to a familiar face
first during an unmoderated caucus.
 Act confident, it will make people think you’re knowledgeable,
which will attract veteran and less experienced delegates.
NOTES
 Notes are how you will keep in contact with other
delegates during formal debate. Having pre-cut squares
of lined paper before the conference begins are very
helpful.
 Don’t hand deliver notes – pass them to the person
nearest to you and it will move along like a chain.
 If you need to pass a note to the other side of the room,
don’t get up while someone is speaking. Also, don’t look
heavily concentrated on writing or reading a note when
someone is speaking. Your chairs want you to pay
attention.
 Don’t participate in notes that aren’t related to MUN.
Sometimes these will be intercepted.
LOOKING LIKE THE LEADER
 Chairs admire the person who leads the group to a
consensus. You want to be the person who people come
to. Do not, however, be pushy or too controlling to make
yourself the leader.
 In an unmoderated caucus, people tend to bunch up in
circles. Always be inclusive and welcome people to join
in. Be the one to fill them in on what you’re discussing.
 It can be hectic getting your turn to speak. If multiple
people begin to speak, just keep speaking and eventually
people will listen to you. Do not cut people off though,
and always appear friendly.
LOOKING LIKE THE LEADER
 I’ll re-emphasize, look like the leader, even if it’s an
illusion. If you aren’t contributing the best ideas, still
lead discussion. Try to make it look natural and not
forced, and soon people will start treating you like the
leader of the group.
 Your chairs will be circling around the room, but they
won’t pick up on everything and won’t always know
who is really doing what.
 Keep in mind, most conferences try to de-emphasize
awards. Which is why you need to be workable and
compromise…chairs won’t like it if it appears you’re
trying too hard to win and are selective about who you
work with
LOOKING LIKE THE LEADER
 A good way to look like an immediate leader in
committee is framing the debate. Sometimes, your topic
will cover a huge scope of issues (for example, poverty
reduction in Africa). You will never be able to discuss
everything, and your committee may be scrambling to
pick something to start with. If you can be the person to
guide your entire committee towards an issue to start on
(for example, the eradication of extreme poverty), you
already look like the leader.
WRITING RESOLUTIONS
 Have the pen in your hand. We will provide you with
resolution paper, but you might want to ask your chair
for some extra so they’ll know you’re contributing.
 Be the person to actually write the paper and be the
person to turn it into the chair. You can make sure they
know you wrote it with a simple comment like “I
apologize for my hand writing, we were kind of rushed.”
 Girls – If your opportunity is stolen, ask to be the scribe
because you have good hand writing, regardless of how
heinous it might actually be. This works surprisingly
well!
 Guys- Do not ever let this happen!
WRITING RESOLUTIONS
 If your group hasn’t actually started writing the
resolution, volunteer yourself to write the pre-
ambulatory clauses. These are easy to write and will
usually be accepted by everyone no matter what you
write…when your group comes up with your first
operative clause, just remind the group that you did the
pre-ams so you can continue with the operatives.
 List sponsors in alphabetical order and note this on your
resolution. If you do not, there will probably be a riot.
 Remember, sponsors helped draft the paper. Being a
signatory just means you think it has merit to be
discussed. So you can be a signatory on papers you have
disagreements with.
RESOLUTIONS TIPS
 If you’re not on a financial committee, you can usually get
away with being vague on funding and just listing some NGOs
unless your chair specifies they want you to be detailed.
 Framing your resolution by short-term and long-term goals can
be effective…remember you and your group can split up and
writes different sections
 Another group’s resolution isn’t the enemy – often times they
focus on different issues and are complementary to yours. You
can be the advocate saying that the committee should consider
passing both of them. Being aggressive about other resolutions
that don’t conflict with your policy just to have the only one
that passes isn’t good. Show your chairs you’re eager to pass
as many as possible.
MERGING RESOLUTIONS
 Often two groups will create similar resolutions that
address most of the same issues. If your chair even hints
at suggesting you should merge – do it. Or they might
force you to. This gives you the opportunity to once
again lead a larger group to consensus. Combine the best
parts of both resolutions to create a stronger one.
 The leader(s) of the other group may or not be workable.
Just remember to acknowledge everyone’s ideas and be
willing to scrap part of your resolution in favor of theirs.
Compromise within reason will win out in the end.
PRESENTING THE RESOLUTION
 When the chair finalizes your resolution, you will have a
chance to present it. Only so many of you will get to read
it and answer questions about it, this really depends on
your chair…it could range from four to all of the
sponsors.
 If you were a primary contributor, you deserve to take
credit, so make sure to voice that you should go up
because you wrote a certain part.
 If your group did not decide on who was going to present
beforehand, the moment the Chair asks for some
sponsors to come up simply walk to the front of the
room. Don’t look around, just go.
PRESENTING THE RESOLUTION
 You’ll probably be in a group with other students from
Brighton, so support each other when deciding who is
going to present.
 If you get screwed out of presenting the resolution, it’s
not the end of the world. An observant chair will know
who contributed and who is taking credit they don’t
deserve.
 If you’re presenting and you’re asked a question that no
one in the group can answer or is simply trying to bash
your resolution, you can try asking them to repeat the
question. This will take up your time, might give you an
easier question, or at least give you more time to think
about it.
SPEAKING
 Always have your name on the speaker’s list. No
exceptions. If you feel you have nothing to say at the
moment, you probably will by the time it’s actually your
turn. Even if you don’t have anything that important to say,
it will earn you participation points.
 There are some points during committee, such as when
draft papers are being finalized, that speeches get very
repetitive and the list gets shorter. You can always default
with generic things like “we just wanted to update you that
we have submitted working paper 1.1”, “we are optimistic
to see both working papers passed”, “please send us a note
for any details about our working paper”, etc.
 Also, gum is distracting while speaking – brings mints
SPEAKING
 Be loud and project your voice or people will have
trouble hearing you. Sound confident, it makes you
sound like you know what you’re talking about.
 Don’t fidget with your hands

 It’s okay to bring a note up to help you remember what

to say – but don’t make it look like you’re just reading
something
 If eye contact makes you nervous just stare at the back of
the room or directly above someone’s eyebrow
 Don’t use monosyllables like “um”- if you need to catch
your thoughts just make a brief pause, this looks much
better
SPEAKING
 Some people will begin zoning out after only a few speakers.
Keep your speeches easy to follow. A good way to do this is to
frame your speeches into sections. Acknowledge several parts to
the issue and keep your committee following along by
addressing them as 1, 2 and, or a, b, and c, etc.
 This is particularly effective for your initial speech, where you’ll
have a short time to talk about so many possible things.
Emphasize what’s most important, it will help listeners follow
along. Attempting to talk about too many things can confuse
others and they’ll have a harder time remembering everything
you said. Plus you’ll only be skimming the surface.
 When you’re out of time the chair will tap their gavel twice. If
you’re mid-sentence just finish out your thought. Chairs will be
annoyed if you continue for much longer.
SUMMARY
 Compromise and diplomacy are key. Your chairs want to
see you work together to reach solutions.
 Be nice and respectful 100% of the time. This will earn
you respect in committee and people will approach you
before arrogant delegates, even if they know more than
you. But don’t let aggressive delegates push you around.
If you don’t like someone, set aside your differences and
work with them anyway.
 It’s great to write a resolution, but circumstances won’t
always allow it. Just make sure it’s clear that you are a
primary contributor to the resolution.
SUMMARY
 No gum. Bring up a bullet list to help you remember
what to say, and speak loudly and confidently. It’s okay
to pause.
 Notes are a big component of socializing. A good
delegate will almost always be getting them and sending
them.
 Use your instincts. Every conference is unique, and
you’ll run into situations we can’t prepare you for. Just
do your best, and your next conference will be much,
much easier.
 Utilize your chairs, they will help you or explain things
to you. So will other students from Brighton.