Primary Speakers List and Bloc Building
During the primary speakers lists (Click here to read about the Parliamentary Procedure Guide) your ultimate goal is to get onto the primary speakers list. A good first impression/first speech is everything since it will inform everyone else not only your position, but also which topic you want to debate (assuming there is more than one topic).
Note: At the end of your speech, always mention that if other delegates agree with what you said, to send you notes, this is key to bloc building. A bloc is the group of other countries that you work with to write your resolutions, you’re going to want a bloc of countries that can all agree on policy and having a larger bloc is always better since you will have more countries that will vote with you to pass your resolutions.
As well, during this time you’re going to want to send notes to other delegates who push policy that you agree with; saying something like:
Hey Jamaica, I really liked your speech, and agree with what you said regarding a focus on sea level rise due to climate change. I would really like to work with you on that topic. Would you like to form a bloc with me and New Zealand? – Indonesia
If you do that enough times and do it well enough, you can be in charge of that bloc and can dictate policy for the group.
Debate and Paper Writing
After forming a bloc, you are going to want to write policy at every unmoderated debate, and are going to want to debate policy with other blocs during every moderated debate. One common way to ensure other delegates know what you’re working on is by attaching a name to your resolution, generally funny acronyms work best. One example of this was a Carleton delegate who in a committee while representing North Korea had his resolution’s name being Korean International Multilateral Joint Operation for Nautical Guardianship by the United Nations (KIM JUNG-UN). Have fun with it and make it memorable.
During the paper writing be sure to cover important subjects that are being debated and try to drive consensus among your fellow bloc members.
Presenting, Q&A and Voting on Resolutions
Towards the end of the weekend your bloc will have to present your resolution. You will have two opportunities to speak, once during the presentation and once during the Q&A, answering questions. During the presentation, speak glory about your paper, make it engaging and fun. During the Q&A make sure you die with the paper, even if something is so profoundly wrong with the paper, never give up and always sing praise. Lastly, if you get to ask a question, make sure you are able to provide a situation where the writers of the resolution are having to defend something that is either bad or doesn’t make sense.