Building a Relationship with your Chair
Something that can be a little unsettling for delegates to consider is that their ability to get awards is determined by how much their Chair thinks of them. Hate them or love them, your Chair is the key to being able to wave a sheet of crisp Model United Nations award paper in front of your friends. No matter how superb your position paper is or how quality your speeches are, ticking off your Chair will send your likelihood of winning awards plummeting! Here are some of the Lead Delegate’s best tips to secure a positive relationship with your Chair.
1.) Chairs Hate Rabble-Rousers
A good Chair nurses their committee as if it was an orphaned child. If they see constant bickering and political deadlock in their committee, it will be as if the orphaned child is having a hissy fit. Don’t seek out fights, and avoid insults unless they are strategically or characteristically necessary. Remember that debates and disagreements are expected in Model United Nations, but pure fights are not.
2.) Make Space for the Shy
Any noble Chair’s heart melts when they see a confident potential speaker let a timid delegate take the stand. Actions let the Chair see that you have humility and respect for your fellow delegates. This is especially important for crisis committees, because their small size grants everyone multiple chances to speak.
3.) Decorum Delegates!
Although you might think the Chair isn’t looking while you pull out your device or chat with Bulgaria, you’re almost certainly wrong. Chairs are silent and stealthy, they have eyes watching from inconceivable places. Just abide by committee rules and the Chair will see you as a responsible and award-worthy delegate.
4.) Exude Legitimate Confidence
It is a despicable thing to see a smarmy delegate with a half-baked position paper get up and speak about their country confidently, without even knowing its capital! Know your stuff so you don’t have to fake your confidence. Do your research, cite your statistics, and use logic to back your speeches, and you shall prosper.
5.) Be Timely
Simple as it may seem, arriving to committee early is good for both your standing with the Chair and the committee itself. Having a smoothly running committee gifts us all with more Model United Nations and less empty time.
6.) Get Dressed!
If you haven’t already been kicked out of committee for wearing jeans and a t-shirt, a single look from your Chair will destroy what little dignity you have left. Being properly dressed for Model United Nations properly dresses you for appeasing your Chair.
7.) Don’t Question the Chair Unless it is Necessary
Unless you are in a small crisis or specialized committee, Chairs will always be bogged down with work. They don’t have time to hear about your grievances or greetings, sadly. Talking to them about unnecessary things is guaranteed to lose you respect faster than you can say “High Chair!”
8.) Keep the Food Away!
If a Chair finds a roach or mite on the committee floor, and discovers you have been stuffing peanut butter crackers into your face during committee… It will be as if the sky itself has fallen in a fit of rage. It’s against the rules, and the Chair will loathe you for it.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
The Lead Delegate is always brimming with information about Model United Nations! Contact them in the comments section of this post. If you are an Enloe student, greet them directly. Have a glorious Model United Nations experience!
