how do you start an opening speech in mun

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How to Write an Opening Speech for MUN by Irmak OKUR

How to write an Opening Speech in MUN by Irmak OKUR

First steps on mun, how to write that opening speech which anyone does not have an idea of how to ..

How to write an Opening Speech in MUN? It is important to know how to write a fantastic opening speech which will make you look experienced and sophisticated –and not like a noob-. Believe me, I am talking with experience right now, an opening speech changes people’s impression on you so quickly that you will be so surprised.

Part 1: Understanding what is an opening speech

”You are representing your country to a bunch of people… on a formal session of UN !”

Understand An OS (Opening Speech) is more like a formal introduction to your country and your delegation. Basically, you are explaining your country’s viewpoint on the problem that you are willing to solve.

 Imagine Close your eyes and imagine that you have been chosen to represent your country in a formal UN Session. What would you say to represent your country?

Learn There are differences between THIMUN and HMUN. Do not forget to check your conference’s format!

Read examples You can find tons of OS examples just by googling it. Read them and ‘’inspire’’ a little bit. But do not copy them!

Check your friends’ speeches Just take a look at your friends’ OS when you cannot write anymore. It will give you some ideas to write more. But do not forget to ask permission first. Sometimes they might be unpleasant about ‘’getting inspired from their speech’’.

Research You have to have basic information about your committee’s topic and your country’s viewpoint. Do not try to write an OS without searching for your topic.

Do not stress it An experienced and knowledgeable delegate may write an OS in 1-2 hours. If it is your first conference, do not worry. In a worst-case scenario, you will write it for 2 days.

Be careful about speech’s time Generally chairs want to get all OSs in one session. Depending on session time, headcount and experience level chairs may set a time for delegates’ OS time. They usually last between 45 seconds and 2 minutes.

Get knowing people’s help Your friends, a senior or a teacher may help you. Personally, I do my best to help first-timers. We are eager to help! Just do not makes us write your OS.

And no. You do not have to write two opening speeches for two topics

Part 2: Writing Your Opening Speech

‘ ‘The part that everyone is afraid of… Actually sitting and writing your opening speech without an excuse.”

Harvard MUN Format

Flatter Everyone Before Going for a Speech This is an unwritten rule of all MUN conferences. You can hear that everyone starts their speech by saying ”Honourable Chair and Esteemed (or distinguished whatever) Delegates”. You can try to be creative on this part but keep it diplomatic. People usually do not realize this type of little surprises.

The Formal Introduce Part (Not Always Necessary) As we all know MUN is a conference that sometimes you should use fancy sentences in order to look formal. In this part, you should use sentences that explain how honored you are as a country to take place in this ”prestigious”-yep, a popular MUN word- conference and saying that you wish to tackle significant issues by debating.

   As the delegate of X (Always use your country’s full and official name like the ”Federal Republic of Nigeria” instead of just ” Nigeria ”) we would like to state that it is a great honor to take place in this prestigious conference.

Or another example

  It is a great honor to represent X in this respected conference.

Briefly Explaining the Situation In this part you should explain your topic by a few sentences and avoid detailed ones if possible. (if you have two or more topics then try to write generally on your committee)

• a) Firstly explain why you have gathered.
• b) Tell why this situation is dangerous to people by using data.
• c) Then add the viewpoint of your country on this situation.

Best Wishes on Debating and Epilogue Give your best wishes about debating and solving the situation that you are meant to solve in a diplomatic, positive and meaningful way.

THIMUN Format

In THIMUN format there are special delegates called ‘’Ambassadors’’ which meant to make a speech on General Assembly. In additionally they have to make another one on their committee. So Ambassadors should be prepared for two opening speeches.

There is only one ambassador in each delegation. These Ambassadors’ speech on GA (General Assembly) should contain all topics of that conference. You do not have to explain them all. A speech about the conference’s theme referring to the committee agenda is fine for a start. You do not have a strict time limit but keep it short and brief as possible.

Write your other OS as usual.

Part 3: Performing that Opening Speech (Do and Don’ts)

‘’Writing is okay. What about reading?’’

Practice Just read your speech to your friends a few times before actually making your speech to your all committee.

Take criticism Accept qualified criticism and listen to them. It will make your speech better.

Use body language  will make you appear more confident and listenable which is a thing that we aim for.

Use ‘’We’’ instead of ‘’I’’ Since you are representing a country you should not say ‘’I’’. For example, we do not say ‘’I feel very honored to attend this conference.’’ Instead of that, we prefer saying ‘’We feel very honored to attend this conference.’’

Speak clearly Try to be understandable. If anyone did not understand anything from your speech, then your speech is useless.

Don’ts

Don’t look at your paper all the time Reading every sentence from a paper is a very annoying behaviour. Try to make eye contact and look at your paperless as possible.

Don’t try to memorize your speech, Of course, it would be great to memorize your speech but it is unnecessary. Use that time for understanding your topic and get enough information.

Don’t be a perfectionist , First of all, it is okay to make mistakes. If you did pronounce wrong just ignore it. Probably they did not even realize it. All MUNers has embarrassing yet funny stories- yep nearly all of them- Be relaxed and have fun.

Sample Opening Speeches

Sample Opening Speech 1 Honourable Chair and Fellow Delegates, As the delegate of Iraq, It is a big honour for us to represent our country in this meeting. We are sad to announce that we lost more than 10.00 people in our country due to COVID-19. We are aware of the fact that we need to take more precautions to protect our citizens from COVID-19. Secondly, if we close our social areas, our economy is affected badly. We should be balanced in these restrictions. We think the world should go under quarantine as a whole. We need to schedule social life to ease the infection rate. Moreover, we need to open new hospitals in the African region and the world must help them. Doctors and medical equipment should be sent to Africa as soon as possible. Thank you for your attention. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Sample Opening Speech 2 Opening Speech of Spain Honourable Chair and Fellow Delegates, As the delegate of Spain, we feel honoured to take part in this significant meeting. In the begging of the global pandemic, our nation was hit strongly by the major COVID-19 cases. Unfortunately, our cases have passed 1 million even though our government has tried to decrease the cases. We believe that if there is enough medical equipment, African countries can stop the second COVID-19 wave. We need to send cleaning supplies, medicine and mental care support. We should raise awareness in the African content so that we can fight COVID-19 as a whole. Africa has a young population, and WHO thinks the COVID-19 death toll remains low for this reason. If we can work together with member states, we can stop the spread of coronavirus. Thank you for your attention. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Sample Opening Speech 3 Forum: Human Rights 2 Question of: The Use of torture in criminal interrogation procedures Country: United States Of America Honorable chair and fellow delegates; the United States is extremely privileged to attend this conference. In the past few years, the United States and several allies have been fighting a campaign in Iraq as part of its war on terror. Many lives were lost, but after long, hard combat the US finally defeated dictator Saddam Hussein. After his removal, the United States has been working to rebuild Iraq into a democracy and soldiers have stayed behind to eliminate insurgents. However, the delegation from the United States feels that its progress in Iraq has come to the point where the Iraqi government can handle itself independently, as is needed for any strong democracy. Beginning in 2011, the United States will begin withdrawing its soldiers from its Iraq. It has faith in the Iraqi people and knows that they will be able to become a healthy nation. Thank you.

Sample Opening Speech 4 Forum: The Environment II Council Question of The Question of the Disposal of Nuclear Waste Delegation: The United States of America Honorable chair, fellow delegates, and distinguished guests, The United States of America is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this conference and the chance to find suitable solutions for environmental issues, such as nuclear waste disposal. Nuclear waste disposal is an important issue in the modern world because nuclear power greatly benefits human society, while at the same time potentially resulting in serious consequences. Exposure of radioactive waste in the environment must be eliminated if nuclear power is to be used, and better-disposing methods of nuclear waste must be achieved. The United States highly values the environment and its well being. Therefore, it looks forward to discussing this and other issues in the following days. Thank you.

Sample Opening Speech 5 Forum: Human Rights Question of: Gender equality in access to primary and secondary education Country: Morocco Honorable Chair and fellow delegates and distinguished guests, thank you for according us your time to deliberate this speech which Morocco believes is capital. Despite many efforts made by Morocco, gender equality in access to primary and secondary education is essential for a developing country such as Morocco. Women in Morocco usually receive less education then men which the data shows that 40% of women and 60% of men in Morocco receive a basic education which is a huge impact on society. Morocco has already made considerable effort to enforce the laws but still has some progress to make. Morocco is looking forward to the support of UN countries beyond the borders for solutions to this International issue. Retrieved from https://understandingmunconferences.weebly.com/opening-speeches.html

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I cant write a opening speech its so hard I search like 1000 sites but I cant write a opening speech

How to Get Ready for an MUN Conference by Ayşe İnci DAL

Türkçe MUN Konferanslarının Faydaları, Ecenur GÜLMEN

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Model un 101: how to give the perfect opening speech.

Whether you’re a Model UN newbie or a seasoned veteran, public speaking is a skill that we can always continuously hone and improve, and it’s one that we focus on here at the MUN Institute . It’s a key aspect of MUN that is at the heart of the activity – as a MUN delegate, you need to be able to communicate with your fellow committee members, and you need to know exactly how to effectively promote your country’s policy.

Many of us have sat through speeches, MUN-related or otherwise, that were all over the place. The speaker had no structure to their speech, and they just rambled on with no rhyme or reason. Having a well-structured speech is a great way to ensure that you’ll be able to not only catch, but also keep, your audience’s attention. Additionally, they’ll understand exactly what the point of your speech is, and what they should take away from it.

Watch the video below to learn more about how to structure the perfect Model UN opening speech from Best Delegate Co-Founder Ryan Villanueva!

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The Art of the Perfect Opening Speech

Written by Pierre-Jean

Mun articles | strategy, july 16, 2019, action | argumentation | debate | hook | model un speech | opening speech | point | public speaking | rhetoric | speakers list | speech delivery.

That’s it. The moment you waited for. It could be your first conference or your tenth, but the first time you ever address your committee will always be a highly nerve wracking, and equally critical, moment for even the most experienced delegates.

Public speaking is a staple of Model UN.  To become an expert speaker, every delegate has to ask themselves the same question: How can I improve my skills, and therefore my performance, while in committee?

First of all, you have to differentiate the two categories of committee speeches: the persuasive speech versus and the opening speech.

Opening speeches usually range from one minute to one minute and thirty seconds long and are presented to the entire committee.  Their main purpose is for a delegate to present their specific position’s stance on the topic of the committee.

The framework for any public speech has remained the same since the rise and fall of Roman Republic: you will have to present a hook, a point related to the topic and a final call to action:

Any type of hook must tackle the ongoing issue in committee, while creating a keen interest for future policies and actions a delegate would like to take. You can choose from a large panel of rhetorical tools such as rhetorical questions, metaphors, jarring statistics, or sound bites to make your speeches more interesting to listen to. Other ideas could include an assertion or a reference to a striking historical event.

After the hook, the next step is to focus on the point you want to make. The point should account for the largest portion of your speaking time: this is your chance to change the flow of debate and establish yourself as a critical contributor to committee. Assert your position’s policy or opinion on the topic of committee. Be sure to use evidence or examples when discussing what your country or representative believes: whether you want it or not, you cannot throw the point you want to make without emphasis on facts. Tactics one could use include using statistics or comparisons, appealing to factual evidence, and using quotes from public officials to emphasize your country’s conviction on its particular stance. 

Never “echo the sentiments” of a previous delegate; never regurgitate the same stale opinions that have already been voiced by all the speeches that came before you. Contribute something new: voice a perspective that hasn’t been represented yet, point out a weak spot in your opponent’s argumentation style, play the devil’s advocate, or bring up a new subsidiary issue within the topic of debate.

III. Action

What you will end your speech on is your call to action: do not reveal your entire set of solutions, but instead make it what closes the deal. The call to action aims to present how you will vote in future caucuses, as well as make it clear to those in committee who you will side with. By crafting an effective hook, using strong evidence, making your opinions clear to the committee, your opening speech can quickly make you the most coveted ally for others to have before the first caucus even begins. 

At the end of the day, your opening speech will not make or break your ability to win an award in your committee. It’s an opportunity to make a good first impression and set yourself ahead of others for the first few committee sessions; that being said, putting too much pressure on the first speech can result in stuttering or a lack of confidence. The best, and only, thing to do is to give your first speech with confidence and a solid structure in order to start your committee performance off on a strong note.

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How to Structure A Strong MUN Argument

Seec method.

If you can’t win the argument, correct their grammar.

If you can’t do that, insult their typography.

What is an argument? Why is it important? Does an argument inherently mean verbal fighting? Don’t we know how to argue (we argue with people all the time)? Why do we need to read an article about it? And why is argumentation important to MUN?

The following article teaches argumentation through the SEEC method in clear steps which are easy to understand and replicate. Whether to help focus research , structure a position paper , strengthen speeches or improve your negotiation during an unmoderated caucus, understanding the structure and formulation of strong arguments is an important tool to improve the effectiveness of every effective Model United Nations delegate.

Introduction

Words from the masters: We learn to speak by copying those around us. We start from our parents and move to our teachers, friends and community.

This means that the foundation for our communication is built on imitating what we saw, not what is most effective. This reactive world of ineffective communication the reality Plato and Aristotle struggled with in the 400’s BCE and why Aristotle wrote down, and refined, the classical argument . They gave us tools for communication to make order of the unstructured chaos in our minds. A contract avoids vague language and gives specific detail in writing. So too, do we want to be specific in what we say, to say what we mean to say, and hear what others really mean. This is why understanding the structure of a strong argument is they key to better understanding others and to help them understand us.

Argumentation is the building block of clear communication. It is very useful for our MUN opening speeches , and compliments the ‘what to write’ of the CIA method by showing us ‘how’. The same structure can help us sort our MUN research in our minds as well as in our position papers and fact sheets. The SEEC structure is a simple, yet powerful, tool to compose strong arguments. Mastering how to make strong arguments will also bring you a new level of effectiveness outside of MUN. This guide will provide tools to create, analyze and break down arguments, as well as tips to use them effectively.

What Is An Argument?

An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition. As such, it is a reason, or set of reasons, given with the aim of persuading others that an action, or idea, is right or wrong. An argument is a reason or a justification or an explanation. An argument explains something.

How do you make an argument?

Statement + Explanation

However, a strong argument also requires at least one example and a conclusion.

The SEEC Method of Argumentation

SEEC is an acronym which stands for Statement, Explanation, Example, Conclusion

Statement + Explanation + Example + Conclusion

A Statement is a declarative sentence that is either true or false.

Examples of Statements

• Australia is beautiful
• Always fly with American Airlines
• No one should possess nuclear weapons

In your statement make sure to declare something. “Airforce”, “kitchen sink” or “the many folders on my computer desktop” are not statements. A statement needs to commit to something, even if it is as simple as “Australia is beautiful”.

Explanation

An explanation brings justification to the statement. This should be a reason for why your statement is true. A single statement can have multiple justifications, one explanation is sufficient for an argument.

Examples of Explanations

• Australia is beautiful – because of the coral reef
• Always fly with American Airlines – because they have the lowest prices

No one should possess nuclear weapons – because if one is launched the damage would be catastrophic

An example is a warranty that you bring as support to show that what you are talking about is true, and/or, to explain what you mean. Without an example, one needs to simply disprove the explanation in order to challenge the statement. The example comes as additional support to the argument to insure that it is not only correct but can also be proven in the real world.

Examples of Examples

• Australia is beautiful – because of the coral reef – which was voted by National Geographic as the best coral diving in the world.
• Always fly with American Airlines – because they have the lowest prices – last month they had a promo where they said they would match any price you showed them and charge $10 less.
• No one should possess nuclear weapons – because if one is launched the damage would be catastrophic – after the Hiroshima bombing of 1945, beyond the immediate loss of life, thousands died from dehydration and the land was contaminated for decades.

A conclusion is your closing remark which is reached through judgment and reasoning. You state your conclusion by repeating your statement. You can reformulate the exact phrasing, but you don’t have to. The conclusion needs to be similar to the introduction and summarize the argument.

Sometimes after the explanation and example the listener, or reader, might forget what the main point was. For this reason, you want to end your argument with a conclusion which will remind the audience what the point was (just as we did in this paragraph. See what we did there? ?

Examples of Conclusions

• Australia is beautiful – because of the coral reef – which was voted by National Geographic’s as the best coral diving in the world – and that is why Australia is beautiful.
• Always fly with American Airlines – because they have the lowest prices – last month they had a promo where they said they would match any price you showed them and charge $10 less – which is why you should always fly American Airlines.
• No one should possess nuclear weapons – because if one is launched the damage would be catastrophic – after the Hiroshima bombing of 1945, beyond the immediate loss of life, thousands died from dehydration and the land was contaminated for decades – and that’s why no one should possess nuclear weapons.

‘SEEC’ing Takes Time and Practice

For many first time Model United Nations delegates, research, speaking and writing MUN resolutions does not come naturally. Neither does making coherent arguments. That is okay. The SEEC method is a tool which gives clear instructions to make order of the chaos which may be the draft of an opening speech in front of you. Combined with the CIA method , which teaches what to write in a strong Model UN speech, SEEC method provides the “how” to organize and present your ideas in a clear and structured fashion. You should have one to two SEEC arguments woven into your speech. Depending on the length of the speech. With practice, the use of arguments will flow more easily and become second nature.

Important SEEC Rules

To understand arguments, you need to be able to break down the arguments into SEEC components.

• Stagments need to be clear
• Explanations need to actually explain the statement
• Example needs to be relevant
• Consultation should repeat the idea of the statement effectively

The following rules will explain how different parts of a SEEC argument work to help understand the structure, how the different parts interact with each other, and where they can go wrong. This same breakdown can be used to evaluate your own speeches, the speeches of other delegates, and even proposals brought forth by anyone in the MUN committee.

A Statement Must Have an Explanation

Without an explanation, we don’t have a reason to accept the statement. Often we will hear speakers make a claim without any justification. Fluff and generalizations are common, especially in beginners speeches. This is why making sure the word “because” is in your speech becomes second nature.

Example of a Statement Without Explanation

“Honorable chair distinguished delegates,  Qatar is very happy to be here. Over the past years, Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have become more commonplace, but they are far from safe. People could be in danger, and the loss of life is almost assured. We look forward to a fruitful discussion and yield our time to the chair.”

When evaluating this example, as another delegate, you can write down what you hear in the SEEC format to see what they actually said.

S tatement: AVs are not safe

E xplanation: none

E xample: none

C onclusion: none

In this case, we see that no argument is given, just a statement. To refute the statement above all you would need to do is bring one statement which contradicts it, followed by an explanation, example and conclusion. However, if your country sees value in the speech, you could also repeat their statement and build the argument for them. This would allow you to take credit for being the one to develop the idea.

Do Not Confuse Examples with Explanations

Sometimes delegates feel that additional explanation to a statement are examples. Without data to show that the argument is substantiated by something in the real world, the additional sentence is at best an explanation, and at worst irrelevant.

Example of a Speech with Multiple Explanations

“Fellow delegates,  Canada completely agrees with Qatar that we are not ready for AVs to move freely on the roads of today. The reason for this is that when the sensors malfunction a human is still needed to prevent an accident. Even after decades of existence, there are still almost no electric charging stations. People also do not know how to use them, and often think with their wallets. The world is not ready for AVs and it may never be.”

In this case, we see that there is an explanation supporting the statement. However, after the first explanation, Canada gives further explanations which have no relation to the first one.

Statement: AVs are not safe

Explanation: Humans are still needed for when sensors fail

Explanation 2: Not enough charging stations

Explanation 3: People do not want to spend a lot of money on cars / AVs

Example: none

Conclusion: none

We can also see that explanations 2 and 3 don’t really explain the statement. Furthermore, there are no dates or data which show it to be real-world proof. As we see here, sometimes further explanations can make us feel like we are giving examples, when in truth we are not. Unless there is a real example, with numbers, dates and correlation to the real world it’s either another explanation, a new statement or a sound byte which says nothing meaningful at all.

A Statement Can Have Multiple Explanations

Sometimes the explanation is not enough to cover an entire idea, and that’s fine. It is okay to say the word ‘because’ two to three times because not all ideas are so straightforward that you can capture the entire message in a single sentence followed by a single line of explanation. See what we did there? ?

Example of Multiple Explanations

“ Fellow delegates,  Canada completely agrees with Qatar that we are not ready for AVs to move freely on the roads of today. The reason for this is that when the sensors malfunction a human is still needed to prevent an accident. A Tesla driver died in 2016 because he didn’t respond when the computer system malfunctioned. He didn’t respond because he was relying on the automated system to work, and as a result, was not paying attention. If the world’s leading AV system malfunctioned in the last 3 years, we cannot risk our lives with it until it is safe. And for that reasons, the United Nations should require very strict guidelines before allowing AVs to drive on the road.”

This speech has a full argument with a statement, explanation and example. However, the speech also does something else. When we break it down we see the following:

E xplanation: Humans are still needed for when sensors fail

E xample: Tesla truck driver died in 2016

E xplanation: He died because he relied on automation

C onclusion: The UN should require strict guidelines

This speech is much stronger than the previous examples because it made two separate arguments. The first is that sensors can fail. The second is that people may rely too strongly on automation and not pay attention when they need to.

Sometimes The Explanation Needs An Explanation

When building an argument, sometimes the explanation requires an explanation.

To do this turns the explanation into a statement. Read the new statement, add a ‘because’ and explain it as you would have if it were your original sentence. Sometimes a few of these are needed until a point is made, after which you provide an example and state the conclusion.

Following this rule we might do the following:

Why are they not safe?

E xplanation: Because humans are still needed when sensors fail

Why are humans are still needed when sensors fail?

E xplanation (part 2): Because only a humans can react quickly enough to avert a technical malfunction on location

E xample: Google’s self driving cars had 272 failures between September 2014 and November 2015

C onclusion: The UN should require strict guidelines on AVs

As we can see, the extra line of explanation is needed to show that a human’s faster response time is what brings their additional value over AV sensors. To clarify this is why we need an explanation of the explanation.

Statements Can Also be Policies

Your statements don’t only need to be ideas or opinions, they can also be the policies you want to implement. We can see that AVs could be unsafe for many reasons. What we are going to do about it can be both a policy and a statement at the same time.

S tatement: The UN should restrict the sale of AVs to the mass market until there is less than 1 accident for 100,000 vehicles

E xplanation: Humans are still needed when sensors fail

E xample: Google self driving cars had 272 failures between September 2014 and November 2015

As seen above, while the statement is also a policy / Call to Action , it is more specific and clearly shows that a policy to solve the lack of safeties that AVs highlight is necessary. Because time and attention are limited, it is sometimes better to start with your policy and fill in the information and justification for why you want to talk about this later.

Helpful Terminology: Consensus Claims and Target Claims

Another thing we can learn from this previous example is that sometimes our statement, while correct, could be more specific. To understand this we can use consensus, claims and target claims.

A Consensus claim is a broad statement 

Example: We should limit self-driving cars

A Target claim is a specific statement

Example: Avs are not safe.

As seen above, while the statement is also a policy / Call to Action, it is more specific and clearly shows the target claim, that AVs are not safe. Because time and attention are limited, it is sometimes better to start with a target claim in cases where it clearly covers the consensus claim.

For many of us, incorporating a SEEC argument into our speeches is not easy the first time we try it. For this reason, it is better to write out the argument, and then put it into your speech instead of writing the speech and trying to find an argument in it. We can see in the examples above that the speakers clearly had an idea about what they wanted to discuss, but had a long way to go before they could say it in a clear way. When you know what your Statement, Explanation, Example and Conclusion are, it will be clearer for everyone.

7 Tips for Using SEEC Arguments in a Speech

“Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory .” 

Leonardo DaVinci

Use an Attention Grabber When Opening

This is particularly important in large rooms or when you are in the middle of the alphabet. Tactically, the best time is when other delegates are zoning out or you need attention. Give an introduction which grabs their attention and is relevant to your speech. The introduction can be data, a joke, a short story or a good soundbyte. In any case, it’s most important that you stay relevant and quickly move on to your main statement. Otherwise, you will risk losing your audience. Depending on speech length, it is preferable to get to your point within 10 seconds.

Keep it Concise

Following your introduction, give your statement. It should be short and clear. You may need multiple statements to persuade the other delegates of your case, but in these cases less is more. Give one statement clearly and then you can, move on to others. Basically, SIZE MATTERS – SHORTER IS BETTER.

Make Sure To Explain Why

Explain your claim, with an emphasis on the why , using logic and reasoning. If your statement involves a policy / call to action, you need to explain how it is going to work.

There can be more than one explanation to your claim (For example cigarettes are bad because they cause lung cancer and tooth deterioration). Sometimes your explanations will need additional explanations to move from a consensus claim to your target claim. In such cases, treat the explanation as a new statement, and continue explaining each statement until you feel the idea has been adequately conveyed.

There Are Alternatives to Examples

The example should be a real world one, preferably with numbers, dates and names. It needs to prove that your argument is correct in the real world. 

The example can be replaced with an illustration, analogy or allegory, but in those cases the reliability of hard proof is replaced with a deeper, or more colorful and intuitive, understanding. For beginning Model United Nations delegates it is best to go with examples, as using hard data is often the least natural for us and the hardest to come by. With time, understanding your audiences, or certain segments of them, and tailoring your speeches to persuade them, will involve taking the art of argumentation to the next level.

Summary Insures Clarity

Conclude the argument by briefly summarizing your speech. This is often a repetition of your statement, but can also be a reformulation addressing new information you brought in your argument, in a more compelling and dramatic manner.

Make Sure Your Argument Supports Itself

When all the parts of the argument are there, review them and make sure that they work well together and support each other. For example, if the example supports the statement but the explanation doesn’t fit, now that you can identify it you can replace it with an explanation that is a better fit.

Show Ideas That are Correct and Important

Your argument will be measured against other arguments during the Model UN simulation. To make sure you stand out amongst the crowd, make sure to show why your case is both important and correct. If your argument is sound, has all the steps, and is both important and correct, you are ready to go!

Model UN speeches, whether opening statements, general speakers list speeches or moderated caucus speeches, are made up of one to two main statements. These statements have a few explanations which will have a few supporting examples.

Most speeches will be spent supporting your main statements, supporting our allies statements or refuting the other side. Structuring your arguments is what turns a good reason into a great reason, and a good speech into a great speech. It will take time and practice, but eventually structured arguments will become second nature to you, and your arguments will be strong both on the floor and in the rest of your life.

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How do I write opening speeches?

I'm representing China for SC, with the topic being the crisis in Mali. I just don't know what I should put in my opening speech.