Joanna Larson a past Miss UVU Queen stopped by out workshop last week to give everyone tips on how to prepare for the pageant. See below
Preparing
for each phase of competition car
Top Ten Things Judges
Remember
- Your smile.
- Your “theme.”
- Specific answers to interview
questions. Gimmicks.
- Your sincerity.
- Your eye contact.
- Your salesmanship.
- Your body.
- Your platform issue.
- The strength of your talent.
- Your picture and bio sheet.
- Your
smile.
You have to “BEAM.” Use teeth
whiteners. Use a lip liner!! Vaseline on
your teeth helps you smile when you are nervous and your mouth dries up. Flash
that smile as you turn around on stage, wink to a judge if you want. You ARE
captivating, and you have to…light up. A captivating and light laugh that accompanies
your smile—one that makes others smile, goes a very long way, too.
- Your
“theme.”
Be consistent. Look at yourself as a
total marketing effort. Does your talent match your bio, match your interview
style, match your wardrobe? The signs you have out around the building that the
judges may see as they walk by, or come in? You need to be selling yourself as
if you are a consistent BRAND. Books on marketing and branding may come in
handy to read over. Go to Barnes and Noble and spend an evening reading about
how to create a BRAND. The brand in this case is yourself. A great book for
personal marketing, also, is “Never Eat Alone.”
Even the colors of your gown and swimming suit, might match. As a
contestant one year I had a black and white talent dress, a black and white
suit and a white evening gown. I played the classical flute and was working on
my master’s degree; mine was an image of polish. What is the image you are
projecting? This consistency will help you be remembered BY the judges, and
also to build confidence inside you, yourself.
- Specific
answers to interview questions. Gimmicks.
You need to be prepared to answer
questions regarding anything on your resume. Also, include a few things on your
resume that are eye-catching, that the judges will want to ask you about, and
by which they will remember you. If you are a champion whistler, say so, and be
prepared to catch them off guard by confidently whistling a line of your talent
piece! If you have a unique ability to do something, include it. Gimmicks catch
attention and they work. Tell the judges something about you or your talent to
look out for that night of the competition. The interview is the first key to
success. This is where you will charm and impress the judges with your
intelligence, articulateness and cleverness.
- Your
sincerity.
Above all, you must be yourself. After
all of the preparation and “aiming” and acting “as if,” when it comes to the
moment of truth: you have either become it, or you have not. People feel
cognitive dissonance, they feel that something isn’t right, when you are not
truthful or if you are making things up. Never do it. Practice, as a principal
of your life, always being sincere and honest. Sincerity is easier when you
truly care about others. So think of reasons to truly be concerned, about the
judges, about the issues they are bringing up. Be picturing in your mind the
importance and effects of what they are telling you, and the sincerity will
come, by itself. There is no substitute for caring.
- Your
eye contact.
You must make it. With each one of the
judges. Hold each one’s gaze for three seconds during the interview, and also
occasionally while on stage. You will look to one side of the panel, then the
other, then back to the other side, etc, until you have looked and maintained
eye contact with everyone. If you are really nervous, you can actually stare
BETWEEN the judges, looking at eye level, and it will seem as if you are
looking and talking to them. Also, you may have heard that staring at people’s
foreheads works as well. If you must, do it. But practice to the point that you
begin to feel the satisfaction that comes from connecting with the judges
through their eyes. Their eyes will tell you if they are understanding what you
are saying. They will tell you whether to keep explaining something, or to
stop. Connection and eye contact is absolutely crucial. Speak WITH your
audience, not AT them. Watching their eyes and their responses with help you to
do this.
- Your
salesmanship.
You must be an entertainer. All that
you do, must sell YOU as the winning brand. You must exude confidence,
assurance, and not too much cockiness or arrogance. That is the careful balance
you must create. How do you do this? By connecting with your audience through
their eye contact while maintaining a natural enthusiasm. Enthusiasm and energy
SELL. A Los Angeles woman who is a
make-up artist for the stars and was one of Chanel’s top sales representatives,
explained it like this, “You need to act like it’s your wedding day!!!” Dale Carnegie’s book: “Ways to Win Friends
and Influence People” is also must read.
7.
Your body.
You must be in tip top shape. Second
to your smile and face, your figure matters the most. Is your behind high and
lifted, do you have tone and shape? Do the best you can with what you’ve got.
Follow a strict exercise regime, let go of water weight before the event.
Evaluate yourself critically. Lift weights, do cardio, lengthen out and
stretch. It is better to be too small then not small enough. I am never an
advocate of unhealthy behaviors, and am in fact a hearty proponent that women
who restrict themselves too much in regards to food also end up restricting too
many other aspects of themselves. But this is a COMPETITION. Do it. Be as thin,
as fit, as you can. You will later look back and be proud of yourself for it.
- Your
platform issue.
Choose an issue that has personal
meaning for you and that shows connection to your life as best you can. Perhaps
it will match up with your education, your job, a family issue, or a personal
issue. Then go for it. Look at examples of previous pageant girls to see what
types of work they have done. What organization would you like to raise money
for and represent? How can you contribute? Do you want to start something of
your own, or do you want to volunteer for and promote a larger effort? Choose
something you feel most strongly about, for this can become the cause of your
lifetime. The more personal your choice, the more true it will ring to the
judges.
- The
strength of your talent.
There is no faking it. When it comes to the big stage, big talent wins out. A
flashy piece, a show stopper, presented with your best salesmanship, will help
you take the title hands down. And to develop true talent, it takes time. Build
on something you are already good or practiced at. If you have no entertaining
talent you have developed, decide what you would
like to be good at, contact an expert in that area, and start practicing. There
is no better time than today, and sometimes one piece worked on again and again
can become your show piece, as you continue to become more fluent at what you
do. You have to perform with boldness and confidence; you have to enjoy entertaining
the audience. Practice the hardest parts the most, until they become the
easiest. (In her book…) Sharlene Wells comments that the part on her harp solo
that was the most difficult, she practiced so thoroughly that she could look at
the audience during it and practically wink.
- Your
picture and bio sheet.
There is no substitute for having a
great picture. The judges will see it even when you are not physically in front
of their eyes. They will look at it in their hotel rooms before they meet the
contestants; they will look at it when they deciding who they think should be
the winner. It needs to look like YOU, but it needs to be a great YOU. Search
the internet for a pageant-picture taker in your area. Or, talk to a local
photographer from a college. There
are a few touch ups they can perform to make your eyes a little brighter and
your teeth seem even whiter. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, but you do
need a photographer who will let you practice many poses until you both figure
out your best angles and what works. Black and white prints can be very flattering.
Take lots of pictures, experiment, and include the best on high quality paper
with a white edging, for your bio. Make sure your bio sheet is free from
typographical errors. It needs to be clean and…perfect.
Insider Tips
**Study the bios of the judges. Do your
homework and you can include topics that they have experience with, in your
interview.
**Can you determine who the influencer
is, in the group? Often one or two judges will have sway over the others. It
isn’t supposed to be this way, but it is. Figure it out—who takes the lead, who
do the others watch? Make eye contact with this person when you walk.
**Do something memorable doing your
interview. Whistle a line from your talent piece. Make a funny face.
**Have an amazing bio. Enough said. Live
your life in preparation with awareness of what comes next.
**Your dresses and outfits need to be
organized perfectly so that when competition time comes you can be worrying
about other things.
**The production numbers don’t matter.
What does is if you smile and are authentic. You must look like you are having
fun
** After all of the preparation, relax,
let go, and appear as if it comes to you naturally. Effortless. As CZ Guest
would say, “Make it look easy and make it look good.”
Things you SHOULD do…
The
pageant system demands that girls figure out where they stand on difficult issues.
Even systems aside from the Miss America, where a platform issue must be
selected, will include an interview where you will be grilled on your opinions
and current events. Knowing who you are and being clear on where you stand is
critical. You also must be in tip top physical shape. Here are a few things you
SHOULD be doing, right now, to be prepared.
- Prepare 3x5 cards for each section
of the competition (later)
- Watch
interview tapes and talk shows
- Get
opinions from everyone but make up your own mind
- Flip
through magazines to determine what your own style is. Clip pictures of
designs, dresses, and ideas that you like
- Be
disciplined in the use of your time
- Learn
how to tell people no (establishing boundaries)
- Learn
how to be kind while telling people no
- Write
down your goals
- Follow
the twelve steps from
SUCCESS magazine
