This week I decided to wear my judge’s hat and share with you important insight into the mind of a judge. Well, at least this judge :). I feel if the contestants had a better understanding of what the judges were looking for, it would help them prepare better for the pageant. As a general rule, judges are looking for a titleholder that is:

1. 1.  Unique, articulate, diplomatic, polite, respectful, friendly, intelligent, talented, well-rounded, photogenic, and beautiful.

2. Going to be the best public relations person and representative for the pageant system, city, state or country.

1. 3. Ready to compete and have the best chance of winning the next level of competition.

Most people don’t realize the importance of number three. The judges are looking for the lady who is ready to handle the responsibilities right now. There are many contestants that have lots of potential; but a qualified and experienced judge knows that after the state pageant, there is very little time to develop skills that are not fully mature to handle the responsibilities of a titleholder. Their decision must be made based on the “here and now” performance of the contestants.

Your physical condition and communication skills must be at their peak at the time of the pageant. After the crowning moment, there are media interviews, obligations to pageant sponsors, scheduled appearances, and preparations for the next level of competition in addition to any school, career, family and community obligations you may already have. Judges know that the titleholder will be speaking to business leaders, government officials, members of the media, and the general public on a regular basis. She will be interviewed on the radio, for television, and photographed frequently for the newspaper. There simply isn’t time for major growth to take place.

Judges score each category of competition separately. So ladies you have to be at your best at all times. Don’t make the assumption that just because you had a great interview that the judges will overlook the fact that you’re not as toned as you should be in your bathing suit, and vice versa. You are being watched on and OFF stage. Each category gives the judges an opportunity to evaluate different areas of the contestant’s personality. They are looking for the whole package.

The Interview: Up-close and Personal

This is when the judges get to see you up close so no huge hair or over the top makeup. Jewelry is to be kept to a minimum and tasteful. Your clothing needs to fit you perfectly (which means not to tight, not to big) and be an appropriate color and style for your age, body type and personality. Clothing choices need to bring attention to the person in the clothes, not the other way around, so avoid anything too ornate or flashy. Make sure your wardrobe fits the rules of the pageant system, as well.

The bulk of your interview score will come from the judge’s first impression of you when you walk through the door. The way you walk, the energy level surrounding you, your attitude, clothes, hair, makeup, and posture ALL create an instant snapshot of who you are. Most of the time, the public only gets a glimpse of a titleholder or has less than a minute of time with her. Your ability to make a positive connection with people quickly is critical. But looking the part isn’t enough. It just simply opens the door. Now comes the true test.

Your ability to share your thoughts, opinions, values and personality in an honest, concise and articulate way is what will earn high points in the interview. Key point here, THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION YOU ARE ASKED. When I judge, I ask questions to fish for high quality information from the contestant so I can quickly get to the heart of what is important to her. It’s not about what I think or my opinions. It’s all about the contestant. Because I have competed and judged for decades, I feel I have the inside track on helping my clients create judge’s bios that elicit high quality questions from the judges.

In the personal interview judges are looking for a winner that is in control of the situation, feel great about who she is and what she stands for, and uses humor appropriately. The vocal quality of your voice, along with your vocabulary, grammar and diction are essential elements. The interview is not the time for a standup comedy routine, nor do you want to be giggling the whole time. That demonstrates a lack of maturity; but, humor is very important. This is a balance that I work very closely to achieve with my clients.

On Stage: The Wow Factor

Every time you take the stage, you want the judges to say “Wow! There she is. That’s our winner.” The women that elicit that “wow” factor don’t try to be wow. They just are. There is an easy confidence about them that comes from the inside out as they walk on the stage and connect with the judges first, then the audience. Arrogance and cockiness turn people off. These two qualities are defense mechanism for very insecure people and that is not the image that businesses will eagerly endorse. When I’m judging, if I get the feeling that a contestant thinks she’s “all that and more”, that’s not my high point winner.

There is pressure and responsibilities that come with holding a title. When I judge, I will ask hard questions of contestants that I feel are title contenders to test them. My questions are always age appropriate; but I do this is to test the contestants ability to maintain her composure in the face of extreme stress. I want to discover what’s really inside and how much depth there is to the person in front of me.

I find that a person’s true character comes out when they are exposed to pressure. So if you have ever walked out of an interview feeling like you’ve just been grilled, take it as a compliment. As a contestant, once I understood this, I wanted to be asked the hard questions. I welcome the opportunity to share who I am at the core. Know that you will occasionally encounter a difficult judge that is simply that- difficult.

The fact is there are difficult people everywhere and as a titleholder you will come across not one but many people who will challenge you. Their behavior has no effect on you unless you allow it to. The more you understand who you are, what you believe in, and why that’s important to you, the less you will feel under attack when asked to explain your stance on an issue.

Remember, judges are looking for the lady who is ready right now. The more prepared you are, the greater your chances are of being offered the opportunity of a lifetime. My free special report and interview card are great tools to get you started. If you want to be totally prepared, contact me at Rhonda@WinningThroughPageantry.com and we can create an action plan that will put you on the path to winning.

Beyond The Pageant

My three children are all home educated. They are in the 9^th, 7^th, and 5^th grades. Science lab days can be really fun and very insightful for us. For example, take carbon material and add heat and pressure. Heat and pressure will naturally break down material. However, different materials start to form depending on the amount of heat, pressure and time added. Add a tremendous amount of heat and pressure, and you’ll get coal. Coal has a definite value to our life as most of our energy comes from coal. But add an extreme amount of heat and pressure and a diamond is produced, the ultimate mineral and most important gemstone of all.

Does the pressure in your life simply break you down, or do you allow time so the pressure can develop the coal, and eventually the diamond? The heat is your attitude, and your attitude will determine if you develop dust, coal or diamonds. The choice is yours.

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Rhonda Shappert is a pageant expert, personal development life coach, and owner of Winning Through Pageantry™, a business she created that not only helps her clients achieve winning results in pageants, but helps them Succeed From The Inside Out™ in their lives. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three who has been married 20 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

Packing for your pageant can be overwhelming and a major STRESS FEST if you wait until the last minute. Do yourself a huge favor and begin packing two weeks before you leave so you can focus your attention on bigger and better things. Following are some tips I use when getting ready to go to a pageant.

Organizing your paperwork for the pageant

Buy a brightly colored 9 1/2” x 12” folder with three metal clasps in the middle, and a package of clear plastic sheet protectors. You’ll want to have a dozen or so sheets to organize all your critical pageant paperwork and information.

Include the following information in the folder:

• A copy of your judge’s bio.

• Printouts of flight information, rental car details and directions to the hotel.

• Phone and confirmation numbers for the hotel.

• Phone numbers to the Pageant Directors or Staff.

• Pageant schedule.Important contact information of people at home.

• Add some blank paper for note taking and some extra protector sheets to hold receipts or any other paperwork you need to keep track of when you’re at the pageant.

The goal here is to have a lightweight, easy to carry folder that has all your pageant information at your fingertips. Its bold bright color will make is easy to distinguish it from the pageant clutter that will grow and multiple within your room.

Organizing Your Pageant Wardrobe

1. Start with one outfit at a time. Lay the outfit and everything associated with it on your bed and mentally get dressed in that outfit. Include undergarments, hose, shoes, jewelry, hair accessories, and any other props that you need to complete the outfit.

2. Now grab your clear Ziploc bags. Put your hose in one bag (pint sized), jewelry in another (snack sized), undergarments in another (quart) and any other small items in another bag.

3. Label each bag, for example, interview-jewelry. Put a hole just big enough to slip a hanger through in the corner about 2” down from the zip closure of a gallon sized bag and label the bag (interview). Now put all the smaller bags into the gallon bag. I like to put my shoes in a separate gallon bag.

4. Hang the outfit on a hanger. Slip the Ziploc bags over the hanger and cover the entire outfit with a heavy plastic garment bag (the kind of bag a man’s suit comes in from a nice clothing store).

5. Do this for each competition outfit you have. If you’re driving to your pageant, just lay the bags flat in your vehicle or hang them if you have room. If you’re flying, pack all the individual pieces in your luggage so you can assemble your bags at the hotel.

6.  

Organizing Your Beauty Items

I bought this makeup bag at Walgreens and love it. It has a number of sturdy clear zippered bags that can quickly and easily be removed providing fabulous flexibility for different situations. I have a separate bag for each of the following to save time, keep everything organized, and to keep things from “walking away” in the dressing room:

• Face- foundation, cover up, bronzer, powder and blush.

• Eyes- shadows, liners, mascara, eyelashes and glue

• Lips- liners, lipstick, sealer, gloss

• Sharp stuff- tweezers, small pair of scissors, small sewing kit, safety pins, nail file

• Applicators- sponges, brushes, Q-tips

• Body- medical tape (creating cleavage), butt glue, lotion, self tanner

• Hair- hairspray, teasing comb, brush, hairpieces, extension cord, hot rollers, hot iron, etc. This needs to be a bigger bag for obvious reasons.

I also put a wet washcloth from the hotel room into a baggie to take with me to the dressing room. As you get done with one bag, put it away. It’s never a good idea to leave your things laying out in the dressing room.

You can also use baggies to categorize your beauty items too. I also have a quick touch up bag put together that has some oil blotters, gloss, and cover up. Pack up all your personal care items, and use it for a couple days at home to discover what you’re missing and what grouping works for you. With all these details taken care of, you can avoid several panic attacks that myself and others have experienced over the years.

Beyond The Pageant

Learning how to organize and pack your personal belongings for trips is a skill that will pay you back over and over again. When I was 19, I traveled around the world for two years and lived out of two medium sized suitcases. I learned a lot from my European friends about what items are essential and what extra baggage will just weigh you down and make the trip miserable. As with all things in life, K.I.S.S.- Keep it simple sweetie! Less really is best.

Rhonda Shappert is a pageant expert, personal development life coach, and owner of Winning Through Pageantry™, a business she created that not only helps her clients achieve winning results in pageants, but helps them Succeed From The Inside Out™ in their lives. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three who has been married 20 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

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In my special report, 10 Insider Secrets To Winning, I share that the main reason some contestants do not experience the results they want or the full benefits of pageantry is because they do not start preparing soon enough. It takes time to properly develop BOTH the inner and outer skills necessary of a winner. Also, some pageants are more demanding than others.  The age of the contestant,also, plays into the preparations.   How much time should a person allow? Ideally, allow at least a year of preparation time. Whoa! Seriously? Yes, seriously and here are the reasons why.

1. Study The Pageant.

A year before you compete, it is wise to watch the exact pageant you’re entering from the audience. Even if you’ve watched the pageant two or three years before, things have a way of changing. You want to be current on what’s happening right now in the pageant system you are interested in.

Every pageant has its own style of doing things from the way you walk to the length and style of dress the contestants wear. Hair and makeup are, also, very important. Imagine the embarrassment you would feel if you’re expecting a natural pageant and show up to find it’s glitz, or vice versa.

I want to point out something very important here. Just because a pageant labels itself “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean no makeup; and casual wear does not mean jeans and a T-shirt. You need to see what the pageant’s “definitions” are by looking at the performance of the top 5 contestants. Make sure it’s the right pageant system for you before you invest hundreds of dollars.

2. Raise The Money.

It may take you up to a year to raise the money you need to compete. This amount will be several hundred to a couple thousand dollars. Trust me, it’s easier to have the money in the bank before you start the pageant so you can fully enjoy the process rather than to be stressed out and scrambling at the last minute to cover your expenses.

If you need to find sponsors, you’ll need a couple months to properly develop a marketing kit and professionally approach business people and organizations.

3. Develop Your Communication Skills.

In my opinion, this area can take the longest to hone for a number of reasons. In some cases, we are looking at teaching someone how to speak again. The physical parts such as body language; tone; pitch; rate at which you speak; articulation; pronunciation; removal of slang, fillers ( um, like, so, uh ) and quirky habits( talking with your hands, bobbing or tilting your head to one side); and neutralizing regional accents (yes, as charming as those accents can be, if the judges can’t understand you or it’s difficult to listen to, you’re going to lose points)are new habits that need months to become natural.

Some people are blessed with the physical mechanics but need help with the mental part of communication. The ability to quickly and clearly state your answer to any question asked of you takes a broad knowledge of self and the world around you. Learning how to guide the interview and stating your answer without sounding rehearsed or memorized is the secret ingredient to a successful interview.

Please, don’t make the mistake of thinking, “I won’t practice answering questions because I don’t want to sound fake or programmed. I’ll just go with the flow and that way I’ll be totally natural.” Once you understand the process, the ability of mentally knowing your answer and presenting it in a way that sounds totally spontaneous is a skill that takes daily practice and time to integrate into your being. This can not be learned 10 days prior to a pageant or hours before your interview.

4. Refine Your Physical Appearance.

• Fitness- Health care professionals state that an average weight loss of 2 pounds a week is a healthy goal to taking off the weight and keeping it off. You need time to see how your body reacts to weight training and the different types of aerobic exercise available to you. Certain types of activity build muscles that are not favored in beauty pageants.

• Walking Style – Walking comfortably in an evening gown and swimsuit wearing 4 inch heels takes lots of practice to look and feel confident. Don’t take a pair of shoes you’ve never worn before to a pageant.

• Hair- Length, color and style need to be determined and practiced months before the actual pageant. A maintenance program should be in place the last 6 weeks prior to the event. This is extremely important if you are planning on having hair extensions. You’ll need practice learning how to style and care for them so you’re hair looks fabulous and natural.

• Makeup- Same as hair. Never try anything new at the pageant. Months before the pageant, practice putting on the eyelashes, makeup for interview and onstage. Hire people to help you if needed.

• Wardrobe- Enjoy trying on all the styles, cuts and colors of fashion. Find the perfect styles that make your figure look proportional and emphasize your assets. You’ll want to buy clothes that fit you at the time you’re shopping. If you lose weight, have a professional seamstress alter your garments a couple weeks before the pageant so they fit you perfectly.

• Skin- Months before the pageant, experiment with your different tanning options. You don’t want to look too dark or orange. It’ll will take lots of trial and error to find the right self tanner, air brush cocktail, or bronzer to give you that natural glow.

5. Create Your Talent & Community Service.

Whether it is an optional category or a scored event in your pageant, your talent must be entertaining and emotionally engaging for the judges and audience. Plus, the level of expertise must be high enough where people actually acknowledge it as talent. After your talent number, you want the audience to feel and say “Wow!” not looking at each other and saying “Was that for real? What was that?”

You can’t fake talent. It takes time to find the right song that showcases your strengths, the perfect costume to fit the number, and the routine must be completely memorized to the point where you can do it in your sleep. If there is a note or a step coming up that you’re anxious about, you’re not ready yet. Keep practicing.

Same thing goes for community service. Passing out flyers at an event or bringing canned goods from your pantry to a communal collection is not the quality involvement judges are looking for.

The expectation of titleholders is to be well-rounded individuals with the ability to relate to a broad range of people. In order to do this, a contestant must demonstrate a balance between church, family, friends, education, career, recreation, health, and community service. Of these eight areas, which ones need some attention to bring you in balance?

As I stated at the beginning, it takes time to develop all these skills. Your first year in pageantry will take the most preparation; but you will quickly learn what does and does not work for you. Keep what works and hire people to help you work through the other opportunities:).

Beyond The Pageant:

Having the balance between church, family, friends, education, career, recreation, health, and community service is what gives our lives purpose and meaning. If you desire personal growth we can work together to develop these eight areas of your life beyond the pageant. Give me a call and we can talk about options on how you can start living the life you want and how you can succeed from the inside out.

About Rhonda

Rhonda Shappert is a pageant expert, personal development life coach, and owner of Winning Through Pageantry™, a business she created that not only helps her clients achieve winning results in pageants, but helps them Succeed From The Inside Out™ in their lives. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three who has been married 20 years to her husband Stephen, home educates their children, is the former mayor of her community, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

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• Do I need a pageant coach?

• What can a pageant coach do for me?

• When is the best time for me to start working with a pageant coach?

• How do I find and choose a pageant coach?

Had I known the answers to these four questions before I entered my first professional beauty pageant, I would have saved precious time and money. Because I had been experiencing all the success I wanted in local and festival pageants, imagine the shock I received when I made the jump into the big time pageant scene using only the skills I had developed on my own for the lower levels of pageantry. It’s a pretty hard pill to swallow going from winning every pageant you enter to not making the top ten.

I vividly remember the numb feeling I had walking off the stage after the top ten had been announced and I wasn’t one of them. What did I do wrong? What could I have changed? I did everything I knew right. It didn’t make sense to me. Moments after the pageant, I received valuable insight that helped answer the questions that were running through my mind.

My roommate won the title that year. When I congratulated her, she hugged me and told me I needed to work with her pageant coach for next year’s pageant. Pageant coach? What on earth is a pageant coach? No one had told me there were people who helped get you ready for a pageant. Why would I even need someone like that anyway, after all, it’s a pageant. How hard could it be?

Well, apparently I was missing some information because there I stood, having spent all this money and didn’t even make the first cut after I had already won four titles before this pageant. A month after that pageant, I started working with Willa, my pageant coach. For me, it was the key that unlocked the door to all the opportunities and benefits possible in pageantry. 

To answer do I need a pageant coach, I would ask, are you getting the results you want?

If you’re completely happy with the results and experience you’re having in pageantry, no you don’t need help. But if you’re not getting what you want from the process, then a qualified professional may be able to help you reach your goals. Sometimes tweaking just one or two things can have dramatic results. Don’t get hung up on the label “pageant coach”. Everyone has help and support from people to learn skills that will help them succeed. You just need to figure out what you want and how to find the right people to help you.

What can a pageant coach do for me?

A great pageant coach can partner with you to help clarify the results you want, identify what makes you unique, create and implement detailed steps on how to reach your goals, hold you accountable to your action plan, help you break through blocks that are standing in your way, and support you in an objective, nonjudgmental way that brings out your best qualities. The result is a pageant experience that is less stressful, more enjoyable and you walk away from the event with no regrets. Areas that a coach can help you refine are wardrobe selection, hair, makeup, walking, posing, paperwork prep, onstage introductions, interview, budgeting, planning, checklists, mental preparation and more.

At this point, I need to share a very important piece of information with you. Everyone has an opinion and all kinds of advice on what you “should “do. Some people will offer it even when they’re not asked. Be selective about whom to listen to. Ultimately, the only opinion that matters is yours. After talking and working with different people, you need to trust your inner feelings and do what is best for you. If you allow yourself to be talked into wearing, saying or doing something that doesn’t feel right to you, you won’t feel confident and that will be evident to everyone.

When is the best time to start working with a pageant coach?

Ideally, six months to a year before your first pageant. After that, three to six months is a good rule of thumb. Why? It may take you a year to raise the money necessary to do the pageant. Plus, certain skills take longer to develop. Great communication and interview skills cannot be mastered a few days before the pageant. The same thing goes for learning how to walk and pose in 4” heels. If there is swimsuit competition, time is on your side in getting fit. Simply put, transforming your body and mind takes time.

How do I find and choose a pageant coach?

You can find pageant coaches through referrals or on the internet. There are many people who call themselves pageant coaches so take your time to ask questions and do your research. Some specialize in just hair, makeup and wardrobe while others are runway modeling experts. Talk with them. Find out how diversified their abilities and experiences are within the pageant world. Trust your feelings and ask yourself if they are a good fit for what you want.

How much time or help each person needs is different. Typically, children up to the age of 10 or so will spend most of their time learning how to walk, speak and model. Although interview time is kept to a minimum, the foundation is being laid at this age. Using proper and respectful language should be encouraged by the parents in the child’s day to day life.

Feeling completely safe and comfortable at all times with your coach is a necessity. The secret is in finding the right fit.

Beyond The Pageant

One of my favorite parts of pageantry was working with my coach. The self discovery and personal growth I experienced in getting ready for the pageant was exhilarating. I was in my best physical shape, intellectually stimulated and spiritually aware of my inner purpose. I was not dependent on my coach or her “advice”. As a matter of fact, she never gave me advice. Instead, it was a partnership in which I felt safe to explore and discover what truly made me special and different from everyone else. That was my experience, and that is the environment I have created as well for those I choose to work with. The pageant is just the beginning, not the end, of the journey.

I received my life coach training through iPEC because I wanted to be able to coach people in a way that would enable them to have lasting results in their lives long after the pageant. After all, to discover who we are and how we can apply our talents to every aspect of our life is a wonderful blessing.

About Rhonda

Rhonda Shappert is a pageant expert, personal development life coach, and owner of Winning Through Pageantry™, a business she created that not only helps her clients achieve winning results in pageants, but helps them Succeed From The Inside Out™ in their lives. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three who has been married 20 years to her husband Stephen, home educates their children, is the former mayor of her community, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

Have every article I write delivered directly to your email. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Just click the GET YOUR FREE REPORT button at the top of this page. Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.