How to Win Best Delegate at Model UN
What Model UN (MUN) chairs actually look for, how award decisions get made, and a session-by-session playbook for earning Best Delegate the honest way: better research, better diplomacy, better documents.
How Awards Work
The award tiers, and why the names vary
Most Model UN conferences give individual awards in each committee, ranked from highest to lowest. At many US high school and college conferences the ladder looks like Best Delegate, then Outstanding Delegate, then Honorable Mention, then Verbal Commendation. That is a convention, not a standard. Some conferences use different names (Distinguished Delegate, Diplomatic Commendation, Best Position Paper), some give more or fewer awards per committee depending on its size, and some add school-level awards such as Best Large Delegation or Best Small Delegation that add up the results of everyone from one school. Before you set a goal, find your conference's awards policy, which is usually on its website or in the delegate handbook.
Key Points
- Best Delegate is normally one award per committee (or one per pair in double-delegation committees). It goes to the delegate the dais thinks shaped the committee most.
- Outstanding Delegate and Honorable Mention are real recognition, not consolation prizes. In a large committee, finishing in the top few is hard.
- Award counts usually scale with committee size, so a large General Assembly committee may hand out more Honorable Mentions than a small crisis committee.
- Position paper awards are frequently separate from committee awards, and at some conferences a submitted position paper is required to be eligible for any award.
- Not every conference ranks individuals the same way. National Model United Nations (NMUN), for example, says its committee delegate awards are chosen by a vote of the delegates in each committee rather than by the dais.
Who decides, and how they watch you
At most conferences the dais decides: the chair (sometimes called the moderator or director), vice chairs, and in some committees a director or crisis staff. They watch the whole committee for the entire conference, which means they see patterns rather than single moments. Many dais members keep notes on each delegate: speeches given, quality of points in moderated caucus, who is leading which bloc, whose ideas appear in the working papers, and how delegates treat each other. Near the end of the conference they compare notes and argue it out. A delegate who was strong on Friday and invisible on Sunday will usually lose to a delegate who was consistently good all weekend.
Key Points
- The dais cannot hear every conversation in unmoderated caucus. They see who is at the center of a group, who is writing, and who other delegates turn to for answers.
- Documents are evidence. When the dais reads a working paper, they notice whose ideas are in the operative clauses and who is listed as a sponsor.
- Dais members compare impressions. Being memorable to one chair is less valuable than being solid in front of all of them.
- In crisis committees, the crisis staff reading your directives and notes may have a large say, because much of your work happens on paper they see and the chair does not.
What chairs commonly assess
There is no universal rubric, but criteria published by conferences and the habits of experienced chairs overlap heavily. Almost every awards decision comes down to six things. You do not have to be the best in the room at all six, but you cannot be weak at any of them.
1. Research and policy accuracy
Do you know the topic, the history of UN action on it, and what your country has actually said and voted? Chairs trust delegates who cite specific resolutions, reports and figures, and who stay consistent with their country's real positions even when that is inconvenient.
- •Stay in policy. A delegate of a country that has opposed a measure should not suddenly champion it because it is popular in the room.
- •Precision beats volume: one correctly cited past resolution is worth more than five vague references to 'international efforts'.
2. Public speaking
Clear, confident, structured speeches that move the debate forward. Chairs reward delegates who say something new each time they speak, respond to other delegates by name, and finish inside the time limit.
3. Leadership in blocs
Who organizes the group, sets the agenda in unmoderated caucus, and gets a working paper written? Leadership that includes people is rewarded; leadership that shuts people out is noticed and usually punished.
4. Writing
The quality of your position paper, and of the clauses you contribute to working papers and draft resolutions. Good clauses are specific: who acts, what they do, how it is paid for, and which UN body has the authority to do it.
5. Diplomacy and conduct
How you treat other delegates: sharing credit, bringing quieter delegates into the conversation, negotiating in good faith, and disagreeing without contempt. Many chairs treat poor diplomacy as disqualifying, however strong the speeches were.
6. Procedure
Knowing when and how to raise motions, points and amendments, and using procedure to help the committee rather than to stall it. Procedural fluency is rarely enough to win on its own, but procedural mistakes are visible.
What does not win Best Delegate
Several habits look like strength to new delegates but rarely impress a dais. Counting speeches is the most common one: raising your placard for every moderated caucus without adding anything new reads as noise. Dominating the unmoderated caucus by taking the laptop and refusing to let anyone else write reads as poor diplomacy. And sounding impressive while contradicting your own country's policy tells the chair you did not do the research.
Key Points
- Speech count alone: chairs remember content, not frequency.
- Aggression: talking over people, mocking weaker speakers, or trying to 'win' every exchange.
- Hoarding the working paper: being the only author is not the same as being the leader.
- Off-policy grandstanding: popular ideas your country would never support.
- Lobbying the dais: flattering chairs, asking them during the conference whether you are 'in the running', or giving them gifts.
Step by Step
Step 1: Before the conference
Awards are mostly decided by preparation you do at home. The delegate who arrives knowing the topic's UN history, their country's record and the likely blocs can spend the conference leading, while everyone else spends it catching up. Work through the background guide, find your country's actual votes and statements, write a strong position paper, and condense it all into a one-page reference sheet you can glance at mid-debate.
Key Points
- Research your country's position, not just the topic: votes on past resolutions, statements in UN debates, domestic policy, and regional or alliance commitments.
- List the three to five solutions you want in the final resolution, written as short notes. At conferences that ban pre-written clauses, keep them as ideas, not drafted clause text.
- Predict the blocs: which countries will agree with you, which will oppose you, and which could be persuaded. Know one reason each swing country might join you.
- Submit the position paper on time and take it seriously. It may be the dais's first impression of you, and at some conferences it is part of award eligibility.
- Prepare notes for your opening speech: a hook, your country's position, and one concrete proposal. Check whether your conference allows a fully pre-written speech; some ban pre-written speeches as well as clauses.
Step 2: The first session
The first session sets the dais's early impression of every delegate, and first impressions are sticky. Get on the speakers list early, give an opening speech that states a position and a proposal (not a summary of the topic), and help the committee get moving procedurally. The first session is also when blocs start forming, so use your speech to signal who you want to work with.
Key Points
- Raise your placard when the chair opens the speakers list. Early speakers set the terms of debate.
- Your opening speech should answer three questions: what does my country believe, what do we propose, and who should work with us?
- Propose a moderated caucus on a specific sub-topic. Motions that give debate a clear structure show the dais you understand the topic.
- Listen and take notes on every other opening speech. By the end of the session you should know who your likely allies are.
Examples
Opening speech: the first ten seconds
The first version gives the dais your position and your plan immediately. The second could be said by any country about any topic, so it tells the chair nothing about you.
Step 3: Moderated caucuses
Moderated caucus speeches are short, often 30 to 90 seconds depending on the motion, so every one must earn its time. The strongest delegates use them to do one of three things: add a new idea, answer a specific argument another delegate made, or pull the room toward agreement. Repeating your opening speech is the most common way to waste them.
Key Points
- Name the delegate you are responding to: 'The delegate of X raised funding. Here is how we would pay for it.'
- One point per speech. A clear 45-second argument beats a rushed 90-second list.
- Use facts from your research to move the debate, not to show off: a figure that answers someone's objection is worth more than a statistic nobody asked about.
- When debate stalls, bridge: point out where two blocs already agree and propose that the committee build from there.
Step 4: Unmoderated caucuses
Unmoderated caucus is where most awards are won. It is also where the dais sees leadership most clearly, even though they cannot hear most conversations. Get to your bloc quickly, propose a plan for the time, and make sure every delegate in the group has a role. The leader is not the person holding the laptop; it is the person the group looks to when a decision needs to be made.
Key Points
- Open with structure: 'Let's agree on our three main solutions, then split up: two of us draft clauses, two talk to the other bloc.'
- Ask quieter delegates what their country wants and put their ideas into the paper. Chairs notice who brings others in.
- Keep a list of whose ideas went into which clause. It makes credit-sharing honest and helps during merges.
- Talk to the opposing bloc as well as your own. Knowing what they need is how you write a resolution that passes.
- Stand up and move around. A delegate who stays in their seat for an entire unmod is invisible to the dais.
Examples
Leading a bloc
The first delegate leads by organizing and delegating. The second is trying to control the document, which other delegates and the dais tend to read as exclusion.
Step 5: Working papers and draft resolutions
A working paper that becomes the committee's main draft resolution is the most visible thing you can produce. What matters to the dais is not whether your name is first on the list; it is whether the core ideas in the paper trace back to you and whether you helped the committee reach something it could pass. Write clauses that are specific and within the committee's mandate, and handle merges with other blocs as negotiations, not takeovers.
Key Points
- Good operative clauses name who acts, what they do, how it is funded, and how progress is measured.
- Check the mandate: a General Assembly committee can recommend and request, but it cannot order member states to act the way the Security Council can in some situations.
- When two papers must merge, go in knowing which two or three of your clauses you will protect and which you can trade.
- Sponsors and signatories are defined by your conference's rules. Follow them exactly, and never list a delegate who has not agreed.
- Read the whole paper before it is submitted. Formatting errors and contradictions reflect on everyone who sponsored it.
Step 6: Presenting your draft and answering questions
Many conferences let sponsors present a draft resolution and take questions from the committee. It is one of the few times the whole room, and the whole dais, watches you explain the substance. Share the presentation with co-sponsors rather than presenting alone; it shows the dais you built a coalition rather than a solo document.
Key Points
- Split the presentation by clause or theme so each co-sponsor explains the part they wrote.
- Answer questions directly. If a clause has a weakness, acknowledge it and say how an amendment could fix it.
- Prepare for the hardest question: how is this paid for, and who enforces it?
Step 7: Amendments and voting
Voting procedure is where the committee's work gets tested. Know your conference's rules for friendly and unfriendly amendments, dividing the question and roll call votes, or be ready to ask the chair a point of parliamentary inquiry. Vote according to your country's policy, not your friendships. If your resolution fails, respond gracefully; how you handle a loss is part of diplomacy.
Key Points
- Offer amendments that win votes from swing delegations without gutting your core clauses.
- Vote in policy, and be ready to explain a surprising vote if another delegate asks.
- If the committee passes a different bloc's resolution, congratulate them, and look for ways to collaborate in the next topic.
Step 8: The last sessions
Awards are often decided at the end of the conference, which makes the final sessions matter more than many delegates realize. Tired delegates go quiet; strong ones stay consistent. If your committee moves to a second topic, start leading again from the first speakers list rather than coasting on what you did earlier.
Key Points
- Keep speaking in moderated caucuses, even if your resolution has already passed.
- Help other delegates who are behind, for example by explaining procedure or bringing them into a bloc.
- Stay in character and in policy through the final vote.
Advanced
Adjusting to different committee types
The six criteria stay the same, but their weight changes with the committee. Adapt your plan to the room you are in.
Large General Assembly committees
With many delegates, the dais sees each person less. Visibility comes from leading a bloc, speaking with substance in moderated caucuses, and being clearly associated with a major draft resolution. Pick your moments; you will not speak in every caucus.
Small specialized committees
In a room of a dozen or so delegates, every speech is noticed and conduct matters even more. Depth of research and the quality of your clauses usually separate the top delegates.
Crisis committees
Much of the work happens on paper: directives, press releases and private notes to the crisis staff. Chairs and crisis staff typically look for delegates who use their position's powers creatively and consistently, pursue a coherent plan over the whole conference, and still collaborate on public directives. Read your committee's guide to learn how private actions are handled.
Security Council simulations
Permanent members hold a veto, so negotiations revolve around what they will accept. If you represent a permanent member, use that leverage responsibly. If you represent an elected member, your value is in brokering text that the permanent members can live with.
Double delegations
When two delegates represent one country, the award often goes to the pair. Divide the work so both of you are visible: one partner might lead the speakers list while the other leads drafting, then swap. A partner who looks sidelined can drag down the pair.
Winning with a small or less powerful country
Being assigned a smaller country is not a disadvantage in awards. The dais evaluates how well you represent your country, not how powerful it is. Smaller states often act through groups (regional organizations, negotiating groups like the Group of 77, or coalitions of countries facing the same problem), which gives you a natural role as a coalition builder and bridge between larger blocs.
Key Points
- Find the angle where your country is directly affected. A delegate speaking from real national interest is more persuasive than one repeating general arguments.
- Build your bloc from countries in your regional or negotiating group, then offer your bloc's votes to whichever larger bloc accepts your key clause.
- Know your country's record precisely. Detailed knowledge of a less-covered country stands out.
Handling a delegate who tries to take over
Most committees have one delegate who tries to control everything: grabbing the laptop, pushing others out of the bloc, or presenting group work as their own. Fighting them openly makes you look like part of the problem. Instead, keep the group's work visible and shared, and let the dais see the difference in how you each work.
Key Points
- Suggest a shared document or split writing roles so no single person controls the text.
- Keep your contribution record: which clauses came from which delegates.
- In moderated caucus, credit specific delegates for specific ideas. It is gracious, and it quietly corrects the record.
- If behavior crosses a line, such as harassment, intimidation or plagiarism, tell the dais privately. That is what they are there for.
Getting and using feedback
Many chairs are happy to give feedback, especially after the conference ends or during a break when they are not busy. Ask specific questions ('Were my moderated caucus speeches too long?') rather than 'How am I doing for awards?', which puts the chair in an awkward position. After the conference, write down what the award winner in your committee did that you did not. That list is your plan for the next conference.
Key Points
- Ask for feedback on skills, not rankings.
- Compare yourself against the six criteria after every conference and track which ones improve.
- One conference is a small sample. Improvement over a season matters more than any single result.
Ethics and Mistakes
Winning honestly
Conferences set rules about pre-writing, plagiarism and AI use because Model UN is meant to test what you can do in the room. Breaking those rules can cost you an award, and at many conferences it can get you or your delegation disqualified. Beyond the rules, the award is supposed to recognize diplomacy; tactics that win by deceiving other delegates undermine the thing being judged.
Key Points
- Pre-written resolutions: if your conference bans pre-written clauses or directives, bring ideas and research only. Writing clauses at home and pasting them in during unmod is against the rules, even when the ideas are your own.
- Plagiarism: position papers, speeches and clauses must be your own words. Copying from past resolutions, websites or a teammate's old paper without permission or credit is plagiarism at most conferences.
- AI tools: policies range from 'allowed for research' to banned entirely during committee. Read yours. Where research help is allowed, use AI to find and summarize sources, then verify every fact and write in your own words.
- Honest collaboration: do not list delegates as sponsors without their agreement, claim other people's clauses, or secretly submit a paper that cuts out delegates who helped write it.
- Stay in policy honestly: do not invent statements or votes for your country. If you are extending its position to a new question, say that it follows from its stated principles.
Examples
Crediting a clause
Chairs usually know where ideas came from, because they watched the unmod. Crediting others costs you nothing and demonstrates the diplomacy they are looking for.
Common mistakes that cost awards
Most delegates who miss out on awards do not lack talent. They make a handful of predictable mistakes, most of which are easy to fix once you can see them.
Key Points
- Researching the topic but not your country's position, then getting caught off-policy in the first moderated caucus.
- Opening speeches that summarize the topic instead of stating a position and a proposal.
- Speaking constantly without adding anything new.
- Staying seated during unmoderated caucus, or staying only with friends from your school.
- Controlling the working paper instead of leading the people writing it.
- Being so focused on your own bloc that you never talk to the delegates who could give you the votes to pass.
- Fading out in the final sessions, when many awards decisions are made.
- Treating other delegates as opponents to beat instead of partners to persuade.
Examples
Moderated caucus speech
The first speech responds to a named delegate and moves the debate forward. The second repeats a point the dais has already heard.
FAQ
What is the difference between Best Delegate and Outstanding Delegate?
At conferences that use both, Best Delegate is the top individual award in a committee and Outstanding Delegate is usually the next tier down. Both recognize strong performance across research, speaking, leadership, writing and diplomacy. Award names and order vary, so check your conference's awards policy.
How many awards does each committee give?
It depends on the conference and the committee's size. Many conferences give one Best Delegate award per committee and a small number of lower-tier awards, with more awards in larger committees. The conference handbook or awards policy usually says how many.
Can I win Best Delegate at my first Model UN conference?
It happens, especially at smaller or novice-friendly conferences, but it should not be your only goal. A more useful first-conference target is to give a strong opening speech, contribute at least one clause to a working paper, and speak in several moderated caucuses. Delegates who build those skills first tend to win awards later.
Do I need to speak the most to win?
No. Chairs remember what you said and what you built, not how many times you raised your placard. Speaking often helps only if each speech adds something. Leadership in unmoderated caucus and a strong role in the committee's main resolution often matter more.
Does the position paper count toward awards?
Often, yes. Some conferences give a separate position paper award, and at some a submitted position paper is required to be eligible for committee awards. Even where it does not formally count, it is usually the dais's first impression of your research.
Can I win Best Delegate with a small country?
Yes. The dais evaluates how well you represent your country, not its power. Small countries often make excellent coalition builders and bridges between larger blocs, which is exactly the leadership chairs look for.
Can I use AI to help me win Best Delegate?
Only within your conference's rules, which range from allowing AI for research to banning it during committee. Where it is allowed, AI search is most useful before the conference for finding your country's votes, statements and past UN action. Verify every fact against the original source, and write your own position paper, speeches and clauses.
Is this guide about the Best Delegate company?
No. This guide is about the Best Delegate award given at Model UN conferences. Best Delegate is also the name of a Model UN education company that offers programs and resources for students. For how its tools compare with Model Diplomat, see our Model Diplomat vs Best Delegate comparison, linked below.
Continue learning
Explore related MUN guides to deepen your skills.
How to Research for Model UN
The step-by-step research process behind every Best Delegate performance: votes, statements and blocs.
Model UN Rules of Procedure
Motions, points, caucuses and voting, so procedure works for you in committee.
Opening Speeches Guide
Structure and deliver an opening speech that states a position and a plan.
Resolutions Guide
Write specific, fundable operative clauses that survive merges and votes.
Position Papers Guide
Make the dais's first impression of your research a strong one.
US Model UN Conferences Guide
How US conferences differ, and what to expect before you register.
