Speaking Skill
Since away congresses are competitive, we want to take people who are good speakers (for more information on how to make a good speech, click here). The more speeches you give, the better you will get.
Activity and Commitment
Possibly even more important than how good a speaker you are is how active and engaged in the club you are. We're looking to take people who attend meetings regularly and participate. You can participate by giving a lot of speeches and asking questions. We also want people who participate in our special events (e.g., Buddy Tournament, Team Tournament). Finall, it should be noted that negative participation (e.g., being disruptive or uncooperative at meetings) counts against you.
Knowledge
Finally, it's hard to add much to a debate if you don't know much about what's being discussed. We want to select people who are knowledgeable about current events, our government's structure, and our nation's history. In addition, we want people who are familiar with the rules of procedure. To determine level of knowledge, we give a quiz as part of the away congress application.