ROLL: The chairs (people in charge of your committee)will begin by taking roll: respond with either “present” or “presenting in voting.”
A motion will be made to begin debate: raise your placard according to whether you are “for” or “against.” A placard is just a piece of cardstock with your country's name on it. A credential is your name tag.
OPEN SPEAKERS LIST: After debate has begun, a motion will be made to open the speaker’s list, if you made the motion then you will be asked if you would like to speak first, if you say no, state when you would like to speak. After the list is open be sure to raise your placard so you can get on the speakers list.
SPEECHES: (most speeches are 1 ½ - 2 minutes in length)
Committees will sometimes begin with general debate.
General speechesconsist of the basic background of the topic and your country’s general policy.
After general debate has ended, a motion will be made to move into substantive debate.
Substantive speeches consist of possible solutions for the topic.
Many conferences today just combine general and substantive speeches from the beginning. This means you would talk briefly about the background and then add solutions.
COMMENTS: after each speech usually 2-3 comments will be allowed (30 seconds in length). A comment is a great way to let the committee know your country's stance on an issue and get your voice heard. In a diplomatic way you can agree or disagree with the previous speaker and let the committee know what solutions your country would support.
CAUCUS/informal consultations: Throughout the debate, you have the option of motioning for caucuses.
Caucuses are periods during committee where all the delegates will be allowed to get up from their seats and informally discuss the topic in various groups. The objective during the caucus is to form groups with individuals who you can write a resolution with. A resolution is just a solution to the problem.
You may want to caucus with regional blocs (countries from the same region).
Blocs are groups of countries with similar policy stances which plan to vote the same way on a topic and tend to come up with a resolution together based on their mutual viewpoints.
A motion for a moderated caucus requires you to list the total time and topic or purpose.
The motion for an unmoderated caucus goes as follows:
“Motion for an unmoderated caucus of [total time] for the purpose of [purpose].”
Example: "Motion for an unmoderated caucus of 10 minutes for the purpose of forming blocs."
MODERATED CAUCUS/formal consultations:
In a moderated caucus, delegates take turns speaking for short durations on a previously specified topic/issue. These speeches are generally less than one minute in speaking time, and 5-10 minutes in total duration.
Moderated caucuses are useful to initiate faster debate than that provided by the speakers’ list and to focus on a particular subtopic to the forefront of debate.
The motion for a moderated caucus goes as follows:
“Motion for a moderated caucus of [total time] with [speaking time] speaking time on the topic of [topic].”
Example: "Motion for a moderated caucus of 6 minutes with 45 second speaking time on the topic of nuclear proliferation."
FORMAL DEBATE/Formal caucus: At the end of debate, and after all resolutions are finished, there will be a motion to move into formal debate. Formal debate is where representatives from each resolution group will present their resolution. This form of debate also gives delegates the chance to ask questions on each resolution.
Each group is generally granted 7-10 minutes.
1/3 of your resolution's sponsors are allowed to be at the front of the room for the presentation of your resolution.
When in formal caucus and not presenting, you should be paying close attention to the ideas behind the resolution that is being presented and the details of how those goals will be achieved. Try to ask questions that challenge the presenters to elaborate on their plans and defend their ideas.
MOTIONING FOR A FORMAL CAUCUS
The motion for a formal caucus goes as follows:
“Motion for a formal caucus of [total time] per resolution group.”
Example: "Motion for a formal caucus of 7 minutes per resolution group."
VOTING BLOC: After all the resolutions have been presented, there will be a motion to move into the voting bloc, where all the delegates will vote on each resolution. Before moving into the voting bloc the chair will request 2 speeches for and 2 speeches against moving into the voting bloc. You have the option of voting “for,” “against,” or you can abstain from voting. The chairs will determine which resolutions pass or fail.
After the voting bloc is finished, the debate for that topic is finished. If the committee has two topics, then the delegates will move on to the second topic. If the committee only has one topic, then a motion will be made to end debate.