Thursday, April 26, 2007

How To Be A Beauty Pageant Winner

How To Be A Beauty Pageant Winner

From the first moment you set a foot on the stage you want to appear confident, composed, and energetic. Your attitude should say “look at me – I’m going to be the winner!”

The first impression you make on the judges will set the tone for the entire rest of the onstage portion of the pageant. Make sure you choose that first impression carefully and work to perfect it.

How do you make a great first impression? Like all the other secrets, the trick is to plan ahead.

Most pageants introduce contestants with some kind of “parade of contestants” during which the girls walk the stage wearing suits or evening gowns. Sometimes a more casual style of outfit is chosen. Whatever the parade format, choose an absolutely stunning outfit that makes you feel as if you look spectacular and is just slightly different from what the other entrants will be wearing.

For instance: if the designated first outfit is a suit; don’t choose a typical business suit like all the other contestants will be wearing. Choose something slightly dramatic like a velvet suit or something romantic like pale linen with a chiffon blouse and lots of ruffles.

Just remember, there is a fine line between unique and eccentric. You want to create a positive first impression with the judges. It’s an opportunity to catch their eye and stand out from the crowd.

Some pageants stage an opening production number with contestants dressed in costumes which represent their state, community or organization.

If you are participating in one of these kinds of pageants remember one important secret to standing out in a costume parade – you need to act the costume. Don’t let the costume wear you by walking around in it as if you were wearing jeans and a sweater. USE the costume and make it come to life. You need to present it in a way to get the most out of that costume and once again, stand out in the judges’ minds.

Whether you first appear onstage in a duck costume, an elegant evening gown or a refined business suit remember that from a judges’ point of view there are suddenly a lot of girls walking towards them and they must react quickly. Judges don’t have a lot of time to think during the initial parade and impressions are made quickly – make sure yours is an exceptional one!

As with other aspects of pageant preparation, make sure your image matches the image of the pageant and then strive to stand out. Look like you are the pageant winner from the very first moment you put a foot on the stage.


How can one build, or at least display, self-confidence in the midst of a huge, rowdy crowd? I don't normally get nervous in front of people, but when I'm in a pageant I totally freak out.

How do I calm my nerves before a pageant?


There are some secrets to controlling your nerves in a performance situation. One of the most important is called “SELF TALK.” If you go into the pageant telling yourself that you will be nervous, guess what will happen.

Henry Ford put it best. He said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.”

Before the pageant starts you need to begin working on how you talk to yourself inside your head. Think about what you will do to succeed, make a list of your strengths, where you know you are better than the other contestants, think about how well you have prepared.

If you feel yourself starting to get nervous recite that list. Tell yourself that you are unique, beautiful and have done the best you can to prepare for this moment. You will succeed.

A second trick is to give yourself something else to CONCENTRATE on instead of your nerves. Maybe it is eye contact with the judges and audience. Instead of standing there waiting to go on and feeding your nerves with thoughts of freaking out, review in your brain what it is you will do to
make eye contact. Concentrate on something else and let the nervous thoughts go. You have to make a genuine effort to do this – but it can be done.

The third thing you can do is BREATHE. When we get nervous our body reacts physically. You automatically start taking more rapid, shallow breaths. If you consciously force yourself to take deep, slow breaths you can actually turn around this physical response and that in turn can help to alleviate the feeling of nervousness.

Fill your lungs deeply and slowly and think about what you are going to concentrate on in your coming time onstage. It will help!


How do I walk properly?

This is one of the two most important things you can learn in order to do well in all aspects of the pageant. Whether you are walking in the parade of contestants, the evening gown competition or wearing your swimsuit, how you present yourself is all important.

The way you walk is one of the first and most important things the judges will observe about you. Carriage is especially important since they will be scoring based on how graceful, poised and composed you appear.

This is a skill that you can practice prior to actually doing it at the pageant. When you are competing and using what you have practiced you will find that it can help you actually feel poised and composed.

The first consideration is speed. SLOW DOWN. No matter how uncomfortable you are feeling the answer is not to walk quickly and get it over with. Take your time; it is impossible to look graceful if you are speeding down the runway.

How you move is the next important element. Try to GLIDE. It should look as though you are hovering about a half inch above the floor and skimming along the surface. No bouncy movement, no choppy steps. But be careful not to take steps that are too big. Smaller, smoother steps will give you the carriage you are looking for.

Next concentrate on your POSTURE. Think of a string that stretches from the small of your back, up through your spine and out the top of your head. Six feet above your head someone is pulling that string tight and your body alignment should follow the string up and up and out. Think taller.

Stretch your spine, neck and everything connected to them to reach up and out.

Finally, the secret to a winning walk and the second of the two most important things you can learn to do in order to do well in all aspects of the pageant is to SMILE. A beautiful radiant smile will make people look at your face not your feet. And that is what you want.


How do I get a genuine smile? I always feel so fake smiling at the Judges.

An attractive smile is one of the strongest statements you can make in any portion of the competition. Your smile is more than just attractive teeth and pretty lips. It comes not only from your mouth but from your eyes as well. If your eyes do not “sparkle”, if they do not share the smile with your lips, then turning up the corners of your mouth will look phony. And a pasted-on smile will surely lose you points with the judges.

You want to smile every time you are on stage – but you do not want to smile the same smile every time. After awhile it begins to look insincere.

Try on different kinds of smiles at home. Relax your mouth and use just your eyes to convey the warmth of an inner smile. Try smiling with your mouth but keep it relaxed with your lips parted just slightly. Be careful never to smile so big your gums show or to draw your lips in over your teeth when you smile.

If you find that nerves make your mouth look frozen or your lips quiver try this trick: touch the tip of your tongue to the back of your two upper front teeth and push gently. This action helps to control your mouth muscles and actually lifts the corners of your mouth.

The best way to make your smile look genuine is to really mean it.

Use positive self-talk to remind yourself how much fun the pageant is, how you have achieved your dream by being here and how being in this place at this time is special. Tell the audience how much you love them with your smile. Combine that with eye contact and you will certainly stand out onstage.


What's the best way to grab the judges’ attention when there's only the beauty walk? (No interview, swimwear, or sportswear.)

Take a look at the above section on “How to Walk.” Then add this last secret ingredient that nearly all new contestants fail to do – make EYE CONTACT with the Judges.

You want to look directly into the Judges’ eyes for a brief moment and SMILE warmly. Make each judge feel as if you have a special thought just for them, that they are the one most important person in the audience. They will respond by thinking that you are the one most important person on the runway!

If the concept of eye contact terrifies you use this secret that some professional speakers use. Instead of looking directly into the judges’ eyes look at a spot just above the eyes (on the forehead) or at the bridge of their nose. It will appear that you are looking directly into their eyes. Practice this with someone at home to make sure you are “acting” with your face and not delivering a blank stare. Smile!


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I took out this excerpt from "Insider Secrets To Winning The Beauty Pageant". Click here to get the whole course.