Writing the Perfect MUN Opening Speech

Fellow MUNprep students,

Every single day, hundreds of delegates walk in to their first committee session and have no idea what to say. They’re scared, speechless and feel out of place – they start to doubt themselves and fear they might not carry out the policy objectives that they have spent weeks refining. the reason? It’s because they didn’t take the time to prepare an opening speech!

These delegates can have a slow start to their conference that they can often fail to recover from, your conference weekend is short and first impressions are important. It can be a lifesaver to spend a few extra minutes putting together a strong opening speech that summarizes their key objectives.

Today, we’ll help save you from the shame of not knowing what to say and will help you to write the best opening speech for your next conference.

The Opening Speech

For any Model UN conference, delegates have a number of key speaking opportunities, but few are as important as the opening speech. When the committee begins, there will be a motion to open the speakers list and delegates who want to make an opening speech can raise their placards and get added to the list. 

At its core, this speech gives you the chance to highlight your core policy objectives in a 30-90 second address. It’s the only speech that you can really prepare for in advance and is a great opportunity to show off some of your research and ideas. Other delegates are trying to see if they might want to work with you and the committee chair will start figuring out who to look out for.

There are a few key ideas that you should keep in mind before you start writing your next opening speech:

• Don’t confuse an opening speech with your position paper. The focus of your Opening Speech should be on marketing yourself and your delegation. You don’t have as much time to flesh out all your ideas so make sure to stick to the highlights. Besides, everyone in your committee should know the context of your topics by now – stick to 1 or 2 key statistics to make your point.

• In most cases, you will have under 2 minutes to speak, this normally comes to just under 300 words. If you can only make a 30 second speech, that might only be 75 words!

• If your committee has multiple topics, you might have to prepare multiple opening speeches – 1 to argue for the topic you would like discussed first, and then an opening speech for each individual topic depending on which was chosen.

• It is the one speech that you are allowed to prepare in advance. Otherwise, most committees like to see all of your work completed while in the conference room.  

What makes a great speech?

There are 4 key aspects to any great speech, your opening speech should have all of these ingredients as well:

1. Clear Purpose: A great speech has a clear and specific purpose or message. Whether it's to inform, persuade, inspire, entertain, or a combination thereof, the purpose guides the content and structure of the speech.

2. Compelling Content: The content of a great speech is well-researched, relevant, and resonant with the audience. It may include compelling stories, statistics, anecdotes, or examples to illustrate key points and make the message memorable.

3. Effective Structure: A great speech follows a logical and engaging structure, typically including an introduction to grab attention and establish context, a body to present key ideas and arguments, and a conclusion to summarize main points and leave a lasting impression.

4. Engaging Delivery: Delivery plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of a speech. A great speaker uses voice modulation, body language, eye contact, and gestures to engage the audience and convey sincerity, confidence, and passion.

In this lesson, we will teach you how to include all of these ingredients to your next opening speech, lets get started!

1. Clear Purpose

The purpose of an opening speech is to set the tone for the conference, introduce the country or position’s stance on the given topics, and establish credibility.

It should provide a concise overview of the key points the delegate will address during the conference, demonstrate knowledge of the topic and the country's perspective, and outline any proposed solutions or strategies.

There are a few ways you can make sure that your opening speech has a clear purpose.

• Understand the Conference Theme: Start by thoroughly understanding the conference theme and agenda. This will provide context and direction for your speech, allowing you to align your purpose with the overall goals of the conference.

• Identify Your Delegation Objective: Next, identify the key issues and objectives relevant to your assigned country or role. Consider the priorities, interests, and positions of your represented nation or organization within the broader scope of the conference topics.

• Define Your Message: Once you have a clear understanding of the conference theme and your role, define the message you want to convey in your opening speech. Of your Delegations objectives, what do you see as most important?

  • What do you hope to achieve? Are you seeking to advocate for specific policies, build alliances, raise awareness, or set the tone for negotiation?

Establishing your brand

 The opening speech represents the perfect opportunity to set up your brand for the rest of the committee - think about how you want the other delegates to remember you. Try your best to tell a story that makes sense and that you can carry out through the rest of the weekend. Some useful places to start thinking are:

• Is there a particular idea that you want to be known for?

• Do you believe that a certain aspect of the topic requires more focus?

• Is your state especially important on some certain aspect of the topic?

Remember that there are a lot of delegates speaking at the start of the committee and a number of ideas will be thrown around - some delegates will be taking notes and will be able to write only one or two things down about you, make their job as easy as you can so its easier for them to want to work with you.

2. Compelling Content

A speech with persuasive content can effectively convey the country's perspective and contribute to meaningful debates during the conference. A speech with good content will always stand out more than one that is just all fluff.

There are a few important aspects to a speech with good content, this includes:

Thorough Research and Preparation

Start by conducting thorough research on your topic. Gather credible and up-to-date information from reliable sources. Understand the key issues, statistics, and trends related to your topic. Being well-informed will boost your confidence and enhance your credibility with the audience.

Good preparation also means that you know your audience. Tailor your content to the interests, values, and expectations of your audience. Consider background, knowledge level, and what other delegates might care about. This ensures that your speech is relevant and engaging for those listening.

Facts, Examples, Quotes

Using these language devices can help to make your speech much more memorable:

Some facts and figures will add credibility to your speech. Make sure that you choose data that is directly related to your key points. Avoid overwhelming your audience with too many numbers; instead, focus on the most impactful ones.

• "According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are currently over 70 million displaced people worldwide. This is the highest number since World War II. These individuals are not just statistics; they are people with hopes, dreams, and the right to live in dignity and safety."

Examples help to clarify and reinforce your points. Use real-life examples that your audience can relate to or that vividly illustrate the issue at hand. Examples make abstract ideas more concrete and understandable.

• “Consider the success of the Scandinavian countries in achieving near-zero waste. Sweden, for instance, recycles almost 99% of its household waste, with innovative systems in place for sorting and reusing materials. This highlights that with the right policies and societal commitment, it is possible to make significant strides toward sustainability and environmental conservation."

Quotes are another way to help make your speech more memorable. If you use a quote from a well-known person it helps to make your entire speech sound more authoritative.

• “To quote former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 'Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security, and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.'”

Using a list of three can enhance the rhythm and impact of your speech. This technique groups ideas or items into threes, making them more memorable and persuasive.

• "To effectively address climate change, we must focus on three key areas: reducing carbon emissions, investing in renewable energy, and promoting global cooperation. By tackling these three aspects, we can create a sustainable future for generations to come."

Remember to not overuse these devices or they lose their effect! A maximum of 1 or 2 in your opening speech will be enough.

3. Effective Structure

Like any good story, your opening speech needs a beginning, middle and end. You should draw your listener in at the start, hit them with the key points and give them something to remember at the very end.   

A strong START with your Opening Speech

You should always remember that a great opening speech will help you have a great START to your next Conference!

For your next opening speech, try out the following recipe:

• Strong Attention Grabber – Pull your audience in with a thought-provoking question, anecdote or fact. 1-2 sentences

• Topic Introduction – Highlight the importance of the topic, preferably linking with your future solutions. 1-2 sentences

• Assert Your Position – State your country’s position on the topic, express your priorities and set a foundation. 1-2 sentences

• Reasoning and Solutions – Outline your approach and how it solves the problem, and how it can work with other delegates. As much space as you can afford.

• Tie it Together – Summarize your main point, close with something encouraging OR express the potential consequences if a resolution is not found. 1-2 sentences.

4. Engaging Delivery

Once you’ve written up your opening speech, try it out a few times, give yourself an idea for the timing and make sure that you emphasize whats important. Delivery plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of a speech. A great speaker uses voice modulation, body language, eye contact, and gestures to engage the audience and convey sincerity, confidence, and passion.

Try and pick out 3 or 4 key points and statistics from your speech - circle them and practise the set up for these points in your speech. Anybody in a committee is only going to remember about that many things about your speech, so make sure that your key points are as emphatic as possible.

Also try practise with team members so you can start to get comfortable speaking with an audience. You can also learn from how your teammates make their speeches and incorporate some skills into your own scripts.

Be Authentic and Passionate - Show that you genuinely care about your topic and your audience. Your enthusiasm will be contagious and will help to engage and inspire those listening.

Think about your gestures – since you have a chance to prepare your speech, you also have an opportunity to talk to yourself in front of a mirror and see what it all looks like. Some people’s hands wave all over the place when making a speech. It can take some effort to get your gestures under control.

Other key points to remember

Here are a few things you should keep in mind for your next Model UN opening speech:

• Embrace the nerves – the idea of speaking in front of a room of people is scary to anybody, but that’s okay. It can help you to prepare more thoroughly and get ready to make an even higher quality opening speech. 

• Leverage your personality – Embrace your personality and what makes you who you are, you want delegates to trust you and authenticity is the best way to do that. It will help them to feel more comfortable approaching you

• How are you going to finish your speech – let’s face it, even if you had a 10-minute choreographed dance routine, some of the members of your committee are going to drift off. Finish strong, give a final punchy point, a quick call to action and let something stick in their head.

• Eye contact is key – let people know that you’re speaking to them, with a prepared speech it can be easy to drift back off, but you have to make sure that you keep your readers engaged for as long as you can.

• Think about your audience – remember who they are, what type of language you should use, what do they know/need to know, what is their attitude towards you as a speaker.

• Include your Delegation Name – Mention the country/person you’re representing a few times so committee members know who they should speak to if they like what you said.

The Ladder Method to Opening Speech writing - Making your speech adaptable

The speaking time allotted to an Opening speech is normally determined on the day in your committee session. This means that you never know exactly how long your Opening speech will need to be. So you have to be prepared for every situation.

Generally, the best way to get around this is by using the Ladder method - write out your entire speech that has all of the ideas that you want to include, make sure that it’s as long as the maximum time that you might be asked to speak for your committee, this is generally 2 minutes.

After you have your full speech. Highlight certain sentences in different colours that represent different speaking time lengths (Generally the most commonly used speaking times will be 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute). This way you can have a speech that is punchy in every situation and you can always fill up the speaking time that is allotted.

Next Module

In conclusion, fellow delegates, there are a few key points to remember. Practice is essential for delivering a polished presentation. Strive to establish your personal brand from the beginning, and aim to tell a coherent story that you can maintain throughout the weekend.

In the next module, we will equip you with everything you need to know to excel in your committee room and have the perfect conference experience.