Default Speaking Time

In Model UN procedure, the default speaking time is the per-speaker time limit applied automatically to the General Speakers' List (GSL) and other formal speeches at the start of a session. It functions as the baseline length a delegate may hold the floor before being gaveled down, and it remains in effect until the committee adopts a motion to change it.

Most conferences set the default at 60 or 90 seconds, though this varies by committee size and circumstance: large General Assembly committees often use 60 seconds to rotate through more speakers, while smaller crisis or specialized agencies may use 90 or 120 seconds to allow more substantive remarks. The chair typically announces the default at the opening of debate.

To change it, a delegate raises a motion to set/change the speaking time, specifying the new duration (e.g., "Motion to set the speaking time to 45 seconds"). This is a procedural motion requiring a simple majority. Competing motions are usually voted on in order from longest to shortest, or as the chair determines under the rules of procedure in use (THIMUN, Harvard, UN4MUN, or conference-specific rules all handle this slightly differently).

Key points delegates should remember:

• The default applies only to formal debate (GSL and substantive speeches), not to moderated caucuses, which have their own per-speaker time set when the caucus is motioned.
• If a delegate yields remaining time — to another delegate, to questions, or to the chair — it is the default (or amended) time that governs how much can be yielded.
• Speaking time cannot exceed the limit; chairs will interrupt or rule the speaker out of order once time expires.
• Changing the default mid-debate is a strategic tool: shortening it accelerates throughput on the GSL; lengthening it benefits delegates with prepared substantive content.

Real UN bodies use far longer conventions (often 5–10 minutes in plenary), so the MUN default is a simulation convenience, not a UN rule.