Pageant Weekend Tips
A couple of weeks ago, I was able to help out at the North
Dakota International Pageant Workshop day. The pageant workshop is a great tool
for contestants to utilize- it serves as a great icebreaker between the
contestants and allows the ladies to ask any questions they might have! The
ladies that attended the workshop had some great questions for the panel
consisting of Kathy, Allison, myself, and some of our wonderful state sponsors.
After talking about the pageant weekend and going through a
Q & A session, I also gave the girls some tips on walking and posing. This
may sound silly, as walking is something one does every day, but a “pageant
walk” must be polished, smooth, create stage presence, and work for your body!
It’s crazy to think that it is almost time to pass on my
crown- the time sure has flown by! I am excited to see all of the contestants
and can’t wait for another spectacular show!
Below I have written some pageant weekend tips that I have
learned over the years! I hope they help!
Stage:
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Practice. Practice. Practice. Each type of shoe
(sling back, pump, wedge, stiletto) is different to walk in! Make sure to walk
in ALL of your competition shoes, as well as any that you are going to wear
during pageant weekend! I have been asked many times during my reign where I
learned my stage walk, and it’s quite simple- I practiced it A LOT! While I did
receive tips from wonderful coaches like Cheri Kennedy and Brandi Schoenberg, I
still had to feel comfortable doing what they told me to do. Thus, I practiced
until I could run in my heels (which comes in handy backstage ladies ;)).
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The biggest component of your stage presence is
CONFIDENCE! So slap a smile on and work it!
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Make sure your smile is genuine. Everyone has a
cheesy fake smile that is easy to spot- don’t use it! If you are up on stage
enjoying yourself, it shouldn’t be a problem. That being said, you will be
smiling A TON throughout the weekend, and your cheeks will probably hurt. To
make sure my smile stayed big and genuine during the show, I always told my
family to cheer extra loud for me- it made me laugh and my real smile was
evident to the audience and most importantly, the judges.
Interview
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Writing great paperwork is key. Your paperwork
is all about yourself and your platform, so you should be able to do this
easily! When I competed at state last year, I had two judges tell me how great
my paperwork was! I was clear with describing my platform and laying out my
plan, yet left room for them to ask me questions! Don’t flood your paperwork
with every statistic and detail of your platform. Think about using bulleted
lists- they are easy to read! Wear a dress or outfit that makes you feel like
a million bucks! Once again, CONFIDENCE is key!
Other
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I always hear people say that even if you aren’t
confident in yourself, just fake it and make it look like you are. I personally
don’t think this is a great strategy. When I judged a pageant in the past, I
could tell when someone was truly confident and when she was pretending.
Instead, find your insecurities and overcome them! Being confident doesn’t mean
you don’t have any insecurities, it simply means you embrace them- everyone has
them!
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Wearing a sparse spandex outfit on stage will
scare anyone, and it’s true, the fitness outfits are not the most flattering.
To get your body in tiptop shape, you really need know your own body. For instance,
my body doesn’t respond well to cardio, and so prior to nationals, I was doing
a lot of weight lifting, body resistance exercises, and intervals. Paul Dyer,
the official trainer of the North Dakota International Pageants, helped me
reach my goal by customizing my diet and workout for ME!
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Be sure to drink plenty of water and eat during
the pageant weekend! The pageant staff is always great and keeping bottled
water and snacks handy. I also kept protein bars in my purse, just in
case!
Xoxo, Taylor
