MUN Advice: Speeches

Hey y'all!

I just wanted to share some speaking tips that really pushed me to strengthen my presence during committee when I first started MUN.

At my first conference, I still didn't really fully understand the difference between debate and MUN, which led me down quite a few wrong paths. The first thing I realized was that I couldn't just BS my way through a speech/exchange without adequately understanding the material (style is NOT more important than substance). Another important tip I picked up early on was to refrain from BMing other delegates. I usually could get away with a jab here and there in debate but it is really not acceptable in MUN to personally attack another delegate (I know it sounds like common sense but sometimes it happens inadvertently so you have to be careful). I know that so far debate seemed to have done a lot of harm to my start in MUN, but one thing that it nailed was preparing me for was confidently giving a speech. There are a couple of things that most delegates end up doing at one point or another: 1) relying on reading off their laptop/notes, 2) forgetting what they were saying and sort of rambling on, 3) avoiding eye contact when addressing others. This isn't a comprehensive list but these are some of the things that I noticed the most in committee and they're sometimes the hardest to fix. I don't really have any advice here that would work for everyone but being more aware of your speaking style is definitely a step in the right direction (ex. take note of how often you look down/look away).

I know that most of you shouldn't have a problem with any of this but if you do have any questions about speeches please let me know I'll be happy to help!

lol tl;dr
1) do research/know what you're talking about when you make a speech
2) don't personally attack delegates - everyone is here to learn and have fun
3) be aware of your speaking habits