Tips for Giving Speeches in Crisis

 Hi Delegates,

Hope your prep for BMUN is going well! With the conference coming up so soon, we wanted to give you some tips for how to give speeches, particularly how to give speeches in crisis committees. Speeches are your most used tool in the frontroom, so it is essential that you use them well!

1. Speak frequently!!! Crisis committees are much smaller compared to GA committees with around 20-30 delegates in a room. This means that you will have the opportunity to speak way more often, and you should take advantage of this! Your placard should always be raised if you haven’t spoken in a caucus, and if it seems like not enough people want to speak to finish the caucus, try to speak again (as long as you aren’t annoying your chairs)!

2. Impact over eloquence. Because you are speaking so frequently, and because crisis requires constant adaptation, it is less important to give a speech that is beautiful and more important to make a splash with what you say. Use your speeches to steer the conversation rather than to just impress with your rhetoric. If the ideas you present in a speech are being talked about by future speakers, discussed during unmods, and front and center of directives, you have given a great, effective crisis speech!

3. Try to speak more off the cuff. Crisis is so rapidly changing that if you write a full speech at the beginning of a caucus, it may not be relevant by the time you speak. Speaking more off the cuff gives you a better chance to adapt and respond to things that other delegates say or do. Additionally, your writing hand should ideally be used in crisis primarily for directives, so writing a full speech may take time away from your ability to make a splash in the backroom. If you feel that you need something written to go off of for a speech, that’s 100% ok, but maybe try writing bullet points about what’s important for you to say. If you’re worried this will affect the quality of your speech, it’s ok because, as noted previously, its the impact of your speech that’s important.

4. Be confident in your knowledge of what you’re talking about. Confidence is hard when giving speeches, but if you know what you’re talking about, delivering a speech is way easier. If you have prepared well, done your research, and been participating in committee, you have all the tools you need to give a great speech. Believe in your preparation and yourself, even if you’re worried about your delivery!

5. Speak slowly and purposefully. It’s super easy to speed up your speaking if you’re feeling nervous, and that’s totally fine, but speaking slower and more purposefully will not only allow you to deliver your speech better, but also give you more time to think about what you’re saying. Thinking on your feet is the crux of crisis committees, and it’s way easier to do that while you’re speaking if you give yourself time to think.

6. Use all the time given to you. Because you are going for impact, it is often true that the more you say, the better. The key is effective use of your speech, so yielding time to the chair at the end gives up time you could have said more to steer the committee or change people’s minds. At the very least, it conveys that you have thought about the topic at hand and have lots of ideas and valuable thoughts. Take every opportunity you are given to speak to the fullest and try to have enough content in your speech to last the full speaking time of the caucus.

Giving speeches, in MUN or anywhere else, can be very stressful. Crisis speeches may actually be a little bit easier, though, than a lot of other times you will speak. MUN is about having fun and learning, so try your best to keep that in mind when speaking. If at any point you feel too nervous to give a speech, ask your chairs politely if you could speak again later and they will make sure you have a chance to share your valuable ideas.

Good luck with the remainder of your prep! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email us at jccbmunlxxi@bmun.org.