Your Pre-Conference Checklist

Two Weeks Before Conference

This is your deep research phase. Everything else builds on what you do here.

Complete your country research. By now you should have:

• A 1-page country profile (political system, economy, key alliances, foreign policy priorities)
• Your country's voting record on your topic's key resolutions (use digitallibrary.un.org)
• At least 3 official statements from your country on the topic (General Assembly debate transcripts at gadebate.un.org, or official government press releases)
• Treaty ratification status for all relevant treaties

Read the background guide twice. First pass for overview, second pass for detailed annotation. Mark every fact you want to verify, every gap you want to fill, and every question you want your research to answer.

Identify your top 5 potential allies. Based on voting records and regional/political alignment, list the 5 countries most likely to share your position. Research their positions too — when you approach them in committee, you'll already know their interests.

Draft your position paper. Most conferences require submission 5-7 days before the conference. Don't treat this as a formality — a strong position paper signals preparation to the dais before you speak a single word.

One Week Before Conference

Shift from research to strategy and preparation.

Finalize and submit your position paper. Get a teammate or advisor to proofread it. Common errors: wrong country name in the header (it happens more than you'd think), missing committee name, and unsupported claims.

Prepare your opening speech. Write it out fully, then practice until you can deliver it from bullet points, not a script. Time yourself — most opening speeches are 60-90 seconds. If yours runs over, cut it. A tight 60-second speech is always better than a rambling 90-second one.

Build your resolution skeleton. Draft 3-4 operative clauses you'd want in a resolution. You don't need a full working paper yet — just core ideas ready to propose when coalition-building starts. Having concrete proposals in the first unmod puts you in the driver's seat.

Study procedure. Review the conference's rules of procedure (every conference has slight variations). At minimum, know how to make these motions: moderated caucus, unmoderated caucus, closure of debate, introduce a draft resolution, and introduce an amendment. Practice the exact phrasing: 'The delegate of [country] moves for a 10-minute moderated caucus on [topic] with a speaking time of 60 seconds.'

Check logistics. Conference schedule, committee room location, registration time, dress code requirements, what to bring, what's prohibited.

Day of Conference

Morning (before committee):

• Do a 10-minute news scan for any breaking developments on your topic or country
• Review your index card with key data points, ally list, and resolution skeleton
• Arrive at the venue 30 minutes early for registration
• Find your committee room 15 minutes before session
• Introduce yourself to 3-5 delegates sitting near you

During committee:

• Get on the General Speakers List early — first impressions matter
• Approach your top 2-3 allies during the first unmod
• Take notes on what other delegates say — this helps you reference their points and builds rapport
• Don't try to win in the first session — use session 1 to map the committee's politics

Between sessions:

• Eat, hydrate, use the restroom
• Debrief with your delegation: who are the power players? Where are the coalitions forming? What's your next move?
• Adjust your strategy based on what you've learned

End of day:

• Write quick performance notes (3-5 bullet points) before you sleep
• Review your goals: what did you accomplish today? What's the priority for tomorrow?
• Get sleep. Day 2 is when resolutions are drafted, alliances are tested, and awards are decided.

Common Preparation Failures and How to Avoid Them

Failure 1: Cramming everything the night before. If you're reading the background guide for the first time the night before conference, you've already lost ground to delegates who started two weeks ago. Even a mediocre preparation plan executed over two weeks beats a frantic all-nighter. Set calendar reminders for each preparation milestone.

Failure 2: Over-preparing speeches, under-preparing strategy. Some delegates write out five perfect speeches and memorize them. Then committee goes in a direction they didn't anticipate, and their pre-written speeches are useless. Prepare frameworks, not scripts. Know your country's position on every sub-issue so you can speak to any topic that arises.

Failure 3: Not knowing the conference's specific rules. HMUN uses different rules than NMUN. Some conferences allow amendments; others don't. Some have crisis procedures; others are strictly GA. Download and read your conference's Rules of Procedure document — it's usually on the conference website. The delegate who knows the rules controls the room.

Failure 4: Forgetting to eat and hydrate. This sounds trivial but it's not. An eight-hour committee day is mentally exhausting. Delegates who skip meals become sluggish, irritable, and unfocused by the afternoon session — exactly when the highest-stakes negotiations happen. Pack energy bars, a refillable water bottle, and plan to eat a real meal during every break.

Failure 5: Not debriefing with your team. If you're part of a school delegation, coordinate. Share what you've learned about committee dynamics, warn teammates about aggressive delegates, and practice speeches together. School delegations that coordinate outperform the same number of uncoordinated individuals every time.

The golden rule of preparation: It's better to know your country's position deeply on two sub-issues than to know it superficially on all five. Depth wins awards. If your topic is 'Climate Change and Developing Nations,' decide in advance: are you going to own the conversation on financing, or on technology transfer, or on adaptation? Pick your lane, prepare exhaustively on it, and become the committee's go-to expert. Other delegates will come to you for language on that sub-issue, which puts you at the center of resolution drafting.