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Training New Chairs and Dais Members
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How to prepare first-time chairs and dais members for conference success through structured training, mentoring, and practice sessions.
Most MUN conferences appoint chairs who were strong delegates, assume they will figure out the chairing side, and provide minimal training — perhaps a one-hour orientation and a procedural guide. The result is that first-time chairs learn by making mistakes in front of 50 delegates, which is unfair to both the chair and the committee.
Effective chairing requires a completely different skill set than effective delegating. A strong delegate needs persuasion, research, and coalition-building. A strong chair needs facilitation, time management, conflict resolution, and evaluation. The transition is not automatic. Chairs who were dominant delegates often struggle because their instinct is to shape the debate rather than facilitate it.
The best MUN organizations treat chair training as seriously as delegate preparation. NMUN requires chairs to complete a multi-session training program covering procedure, facilitation, evaluation, and crisis response. HMUN runs chair workshops months before the conference. These investments show in committee quality.
Session 1: Procedure Deep Dive (2 hours) Go beyond the basics that delegates know. Cover edge cases: What happens when two motions tie? How do you handle a motion to adjourn? What is the correct procedure for introducing amendments? Run through the full flow from roll call to voting procedure. Have trainees practice ruling on procedural motions with flash cards.
Session 2: Facilitation and Committee Flow (2 hours) Practice managing speakers' lists, running moderated and unmoderated caucuses, and making micro-decisions that shape debate. Use role-play: one trainee chairs while others act as delegates with assigned behavior profiles (the dominant speaker, the silent delegate, the procedural troll, the fabricator). Debrief after each simulation.
Session 3: Evaluation and Awards (1.5 hours) Teach the tracking system, practice note-taking during a mock debate, and run a simulated awards deliberation where trainees must justify their picks using evidence.
Session 4: Crisis Response (1.5 hours) Cover disruptions, disputes between delegates, confused delegates, procedural challenges, and emergency situations. Walk through real scenarios from past conferences.
The dais is a team, and teams need clear roles. Before the conference, agree on division of responsibilities: who tracks which delegates, who manages the speakers' list, who handles working paper review, who runs logistics (printing, timing, note delivery).
Establish communication norms. During formal session, the dais should communicate by passing notes, not whispering — delegates notice and it undermines professionalism. Before each session, do a 10-minute dais huddle: What are today's goals? What problems arose in the last session? Which delegates need attention?
The vice chair is not a backup. A common mistake is treating the vice chair as someone who steps in only if the chair is absent. Instead, give the vice chair a substantive role throughout: running specific sessions, managing working paper review, or leading delegate feedback rounds. This develops their skills and shares the workload.
