Ian Lu, Undersecretary General for Business
Participating in your first Model UN conference at OxfordMUN can be an exhilarating experience, but at times it may appear to be overwhelming. Having gone through the experience ourselves, we have compiled a short list of things that I wish I knew before stepping into the committee room for the first time. If you are a first-time delegate or a delegate looking to refresh your skills, this blog may help you navigate the Model UN experience!
#1. Lobbying - Arrive Earlier and Be Active!
In Model UN, lobbying is really the “battle before the battle”. Communicating and understanding the stance of your fellow delegates will continue through the conference, but beginning that process before the official beginning of the committee can turn out to be very important and helpful. Firstly, this can help you know who everyone is and familiarise yourself with others in the committee, which can go a long way to easing anxieties. Secondly, lobbying early can help to create a preliminary impression of other delegates, which can save time during unmoderated caucuses in conferences where you can quickly identify delegates you may bloc up with. Hence it is strongly advised to arrive on time for committee and lobby early!
#2. Rules of Procedure - Practising the Rules vs. Knowing the Rules
Rules of procedure can be another aspect of the Model UN experience that can appear to be stressful or difficult. I remember being at my first conference and being worried about knowing the rules of procedure due to being worried that I wouldn’t know what was going on in committee. However, as the conference started, I realised that there was a gap between knowing the rules and practising the rules - I had the knowledge, but I did not know what to say. Perhaps this isn’t an issue for you, but it would still be advisable to practise the rules of procedure on top of knowing them, such as learning how to raise a point of order as compared to simply knowing what a point of order is. This can go a long way to enhancing your participation in the committee!
#3. Tension of Making a Speech - Be Confident!
For delegates, making a speech in committee can sound like a simple experience - until one actually makes it (at least this was the experience for me). I remember standing up to make a speech for the first time with the speech readily prepared, yet still experienced a high degree of anxiety as I felt as if the whole committee’s attention was on me, and that any mistake would be magnified and inspected. The truth is, that is far from the case! Your dais and peers in committee understand that speeches are stressful scenarios, and making mistakes and staggering is some of the most normal things to happen. Be confident and stick to what you want to say, because that is the only thing that matters at the end of the day! We are all here to learn.
These are three things that I wish I knew before my first Model UN conference, and I hope this can help to navigate the experience for you. If you have any further questions, please feel free to check out our FAQs and previous blogs for specific advice!