Yes, pageants are very exciting and fun; however, there are important logistics and details that need to be taken care of so you can fully enjoy the experience. Realistically, you can be the best planner and you will still encounter unforeseen things that are beyond your control. If you accept this fact upfront, you will save yourself a lot of stress,anxiety and remain cool when things get hot.

Here are the big 5 stressors I have found over the years and how you can prepare for them.

1. 
   

   Waiting until the last minute to do things is not the best plan of attack.

   Start writing out your packing list at least two weeks before and start the actual packing 7 days before you leave for your pageant. If you wait until the last minute to shop for a nude pair of closed-toe shoes or shop for earrings to go with your gown, you’re just setting yourself up for major stress. Have all of your purchases made and in your possession 30 days before you leave. Schedule your coaching, tanning, hair, nail and waxing appointments far in advance because your stylists get sick and take vacations too. Learning to manage your time is a key element in relieving your anxiety and stress.
   

2. Poorly fitted opening number outfits, bathing suits, and shoes.

   I’ve learned from my own personal experience, to plan for the worst when the pageant is “providing” part of your wardrobe. Out of necessity, I’ve taught myself how to sew and this skill has saved me and my daughters tons of stress and money over the years. Your outfit will be the wrong size, zippers will break, seams will pop, garments will be too low in the front or too short in length, fabrics will be too sheer and shoes will create blisters. Plan accordingly. Always bring a variety of nude colored bras (convertible straps, strapless, adhesive breast petals, and silicone pads), camis, dance trunks, and spanx. A pair of spanx can take you down a size if your outfit is too small and cover your bottom if the dress is too short.
3. 
   Needle, thread, safety pins, double-stick hem tape, clear band-aids, a variety of Dr. Scholl’s shoe pads, non slide pads for the bottom of your shoes, clear blister pads, clear packing tape, body glue, Hollywood tape and scissors should be in every pageant contestant’s emergency kit. Learn how to stitch things together.
4. 
   

   Know how to do your own hair and makeup.

   Hair and makeup people can run behind or ‘no show’ at a pageant. If you are solely dependent upon them, you’re in big trouble. All girls and women must learn how to do their own hair and makeup someday, so start practicing now while you’re at home. I mean let’s face it, very few people have the luxury of a personal stylist to tend to them. At most pageants, the stylists are not allowed backstage once the pageant begins. You will be responsible for yourself. Plus, you know your face and hair best. Sometimes the stylists do a great job, other times they miss the mark.

Your best plan is to learn how to do it yourself, and if you are using stylists at the pageant, have them do your hair and makeup for the optional competitions and parties. That will be their practice on you and you can give them feedback as to what to change when the judging counts.

1. 
   

   Print out and bring copies of all your pageant paperwork and receipts of payment.

   Print out your hotel confirmation number, bank statement showing cleared checks, credit card statement showing that the expenses posted to your account, and all the paperwork you sent to the pageant. Also, all the phone numbers, passwords, and email addresses to the directors, hotel, pageant friends, coaches and people at home that you would possibly need to contact for any reason. Cell phones don’t get reception, paperwork gets lost, and computer errors can create more stress than you can imagine. Be prepared and have all of your records with you in a three-ring binder as a backup plan, and don’t lose the binder. Also, have a couple hundred dollars in cash, a couple different credit cards and your checkbook with you. Again, stuff can happen and you don’t want to be left in an awkward financial pinch.
2. 
   

   Avoid getting overly tired, hungry or thirsty.

   If you or your daughter get overly tired, hungry, or thirsty, emotional mood swings are more likely to happen. Avoid this by bringing your own supply of snacks and drinks. If you are driving to the pageant, stock your car with cases of bottled water, food, and a small microwave oven or crock pot if you have one. The more self-sufficient you are at the pageant, the better experience you will have. If you are flying to the pageant, pack one big suitcase of just food. It will still be cheaper paying the baggage fee than the money you will spend for room service or having no food at all when you get to your room. Make friends with someone at the pageant who has a car and offer to pay them to drive you to the nearest Wal-Mart. If that doesn’t pan out, take a taxi or the hotel limo service. Remember, rehearsals run late, the lines in the host hotel restaurants get long, and the meals provided sometimes are not a healthy, energy generating source.
   
3. The pageant schedule is very tight and exhausting. You must rest during the down time. If you’ve stocked your room with food, go to the room and eat by yourself during the lunch breaks to rejuvenate. Set your boundaries for bedtime and stick to them. Just because someone knocks at the door or calls you on your cell phone, doesn’t mean you have to answer it. You need time away from the group to rest and keep things in perspective.
5. There will always be some logical problem at a pageant-always, so just plan on it. That way, you’re not caught off-guard when it happens and you can stop yourself before you start down the negative attitude spiral.
6. 
   Being aware of the conversation taking place within your head and controlling the words you speak are THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS you can do to avoid the negative drama at an event. If overwhelmed with negative emotion, take a deep breath, think about what’s really important, and focus on what is enjoyable about the experience. If you need to physically remove yourself from the environment for a moment, then do so.

Request my free special report, 10 Insider Secrets to Winning, and receive  my free award winning newsletter weekly. Just click here or at the top of this page to GET YOUR FREE REPORT.Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

Pageant Season Is Here!

Now's The Time to Brush Up On Your Interview Skills

INTERVIEW CARD

The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill that everyone can benefit from. The more you practice, the better you will get. These handy interview cards are a great way to practice with a partner or use by yourself to get you thinking about the topic.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview situation. Then each month you will receive a new card in the mail with fresh questions.

Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to

provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, Mrs. Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.
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 home educates their children and has been married 22 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. For more information on Rhonda, visit  www.WinningThroughPageantry.com .

Before The Pageant:

• A smile and saying hi to the judges when you accidently meet them in the hallway, elevator, restaurant, parties or restroom is okay. The judges will be staying in the same hotel with you. You will meet each other at some point during the pageant. This is not the time to try to impress them or engage them in conversation. At the same token you don’t want to be rude and ignore them either. Treat them with the same respect and manners you would anyone else you pass in a public place. Please don’t stalk them or try to bump into them on purpose thinking the more they see you, the more you’ll be remembered. Drawing too much attention to yourself off stage can back fire on you.

During The Pageant:

• Over the top hoots, whistles, and shouts during the pageant could hurt you and not help your chances of winning the pageant. The only exception to this is if the pageant system is giving an award to the contestant whose fan club is the loudest. In this case, the judges are aware of the fact and can block out the excess noise. However, very few pageant systems offer such an award. After the initial applause of when a contestant’s number or name is announced, if one or more people continue to shout things and make a ruckus the whole time their contestant is on stage that becomes distracting. You do not want the judges distracted. 
  One time when I was judging, there was a contestant who had a family member who would shout her name every time it was quiet during the pageant. When she was on stage it was a constant stream of noise. We couldn’t hear what the emcee was saying over this group’s commotion. At that point, my attention was not on the contestant but instead on how disrespectful and rude the members of her family and friends were acting by disturbing the pageant environment. I certainly didn’t want the director to have to deal this group of people for a whole year, so it affected the scores I gave that contestant. There is a line between being supportive and being obnoxious.
  A couple seconds of cheers and applause is great. Then stop. You want the judges to be focused only on the contestant.

• Give the judges space. Don’t sit right behind them or get to close to the table during the pageant. And by all means, don’t stand or walk in front of them to take a picture or video tape your contestant. In some pageants, your contestant will be disqualified if you take photos or video tape the pageant. Seriously, don’t be tempted thinking, well no one will see me. Oh yes they will. If the announcement is made “no photography or videotaping allowed” they mean it.

After the Pageant:

• Never approach a judge face to face, send an email, call them or Face book them after the pageant for justification , feedback, or scores of the pageant results. This goes for your family and friends contacting the judges, too. It’s a small world and by doing so, you could be jeopardizing your chances at the next pageant. It is solely the discretion of the director as to if judges comments or scores are shared with you. Whatever comments and scores you receive; you should gratefully and humbly receive them. But remember, all judging is subjective and everyone has a different opinion.

Never make any assumptions because you could be putting yourself in a very awkward position. Let me briefly explain.

After I judged a pageant the newly crowned queen came up to me, thanked me for my vote, told me how excited she was about going to nationals, and went on and on about how hard she had worked and how she deserved this opportunity. I simply congratulated her and wished her the best for her upcoming year and let her experience the excitement and joy of the moment.

You see, the woman crowned was not my pick for the title. In fact, the second runner up was my favorite throughout the entire pageant and had my final vote. Rarely, is the judging panel unanimous in the final vote. You have no idea which contestant was each judges favorite. Sometimes even the judges are surprised at the end results when all the numbers are added. But the end results are the final decision.

Do you see how devastated she would have been if I had replied, “Oh, I didn’t vote for you because of this, that and the other thing.” Although she looked and moved the part, my reasons for not choosing her were I felt she lacked humility and a gracious spirit towards the people around her, which was exemplified by her actions after the pageant. This may or may not have been true, but it is how I perceived and interpreted her actions and the manner in which she spoke to people. But I was just one judge on the panel.

After a pageant emotions are very high. Everyone but the queen, to some degree, is feeling disappointed. Act like ladies, be respectful towards the people around you, and wait until you’re alone to release your emotions. And ideally, I mean totally alone, in the bathroom with the door locked where your mother, your husband, family and friends cannot hear or see you. Here’s why.

You need to release and process whatever feelings you have at that moment just to get them out of your body and mind. Sometimes that’s all you need is a couple minutes by yourself to just let it go and you’re good. Or if your coach is with you, release to him or her.

If you do this in front of those who love you, they could possibly get even more upset than you are and say or do something that will make the situation worse. No one likes to see someone they love cry or hurt. They immediately want to try to fix it. So before you know it, they are on a quest to find the judges and the directors to get some answers as to why their contestant didn’t win.

Immediately after the pageant is not the time. The director hasn’t had a chance to talk with the judges nor see the scores and can’t help you at that time. Disappointment is part of life and learning how to deal with it in a healthy and sportsmanlike conduct is vitally important.

Now, it is an entirely different story if a judge seeks you out afterwards and chooses to talk with you. That is their choice. But whether you win the crown or not, do not initiate talking to the judges. 

At this point, you might be thinking, “well how am I to know what to do to get better results if I can’t talk to the judges?” After 7-10 days, reach out to the director to see if she can share any scores and comments with you. If your coach was in the audience, ask her. Judge a pageant yourself. You’ll be amazed at the insight you will receive being on the other side of the table. And in some cases, experience is the best teacher.

After a lifetime of being in and around pageants, I’ve learned a lot. A key question I ask myself and of my clients is this, “If you knew for sure you wouldn’t win the crown, would you still do the pageant?”

You see, in a fair pageant, no one can guarantee the end result. If your only focus is on winning the crown, you’re setting yourself up for a lot of hurt feelings. No one wins the crown every time. Instead, the contestants who focus on the benefits of the process are usually the ones who have a positive and rewarding pageant experience.

Request my free special report, 10 Insider Secrets to Winning, and receive  my free award winning newsletter weekly. Just click here or at the top of this page to GET YOUR FREE REPORT.Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

Pageant Season Is Here!

Now's The Time to Brush Up On Your Interview Skills

INTERVIEW CARD

The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill that everyone can benefit from. The more you practice, the better you will get. These handy interview cards are a great way to practice with a partner or use by yourself to get you thinking about the topic.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview situation. Then each month you will receive a new card in the mail with fresh questions.

Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, Mrs. Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.
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 home educates their children and has been married 22 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. For more information on Rhonda, visit  www.WinningThroughPageantry.com .

Perhaps it would be helpful to explain the purpose of having optional competition categories at pageants.They are to provide more opportunities for contestants to go home with recognition.

Only one person will go home as the Queen, but if a contestant is recognized for the other positive qualities she possesses, then she goes home feeling good about herself even if she doesn’t win the crown.

Optional competitions are another way for the pageant system to make money. There are many expenses involved in producing a pageant. If the directors don’t make enough money to cover the bills, the pageant will fold.

What’s important to understand is that optionals have no influence on the main pageant results. The only time optional competitions would factor into the crown is if a “high point” winner were to be crowned. To become a high point queen, contestants receive points for entering and competing in the different categories of competition and the judges’ scores are all totaled together. The contestant with the highest accumulative point total is the high point winner. This is usually done in glitz and semi glitz pageants. But for pageants such as National American Miss and Coed, optionals are judged by a completely different set of judges and the optional competitions do not hurt or help contestants’ chances of winning the overall title.

Now let’s address the topic as to if you should enter them. You will want to take into consideration your pageant budget, your physical stamina level, and how strong your skills are in the area you want to enter.

Please know that all the optional competitions take place either before the main pageant begins, or in between main pageant events. This means there is less time to rest, eat and get your hair and makeup ready for the main pageant. It can be very stressful trying to balance competing in multiple optional competitions along with the main pageant.

If this is your first year competing, I would suggest only doing the main pageant and watching the optional competitions you are interested in. You will get a better idea of what to expect without the added expense or stress. Then add one optional the next year. What you don’t want to happen is for you to get so tired from the optional competitions that you have no energy for the main event.

 
On the other hand, if money is no object and you’re the energizer bunny, go for it! But don’t enter the optionals for the purpose of thinking it’s going to strengthen your chances of winning the title because it won’t. They are completely separated.

The same thing goes for buying excessive program ad pages. Advertising pages are to raise money for the pageant system. Buying the most pages in the program book will not guarantee you the overall title. As a matter of fact, most of the time judges are not given a program book until after the pageant.

It all depends on how much stress you want to carry during the pageant. If you want a more carefree and relaxed experience, then I would say don’t do the optionals. If you want a chance at being recognized for other areas that you are strong in, then do the optionals. It all comes down to how much your wallet and nerves can handle.

Request my free special report, 10 Insider Secrets to Winning, and receive  my free award winning newsletter weekly. Just click here or at the top of this page to GET YOUR FREE REPORT.Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

Pageant Season Is Here!

Now's The Time to Brush Up On Your Interview Skills

INTERVIEW CARD

The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill that everyone can benefit from. The more you practice, the better you will get. These handy interview cards are a great way to practice with a partner or use by yourself to get you thinking about the topic.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview situation. Then each month you will receive a new card in the mail with fresh questions.

Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, Mrs. Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.
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 home educate s their children and has been married 22 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. For more information on Rhonda, visit  www.WinningThroughPageantry.com .

I love it when I have the opportunity to judge a pageant where there are over 200 contestants and this past weekend I did just that. It’s amazing how many of the same mistakes are made over and over again. I wish the contestants and their mothers knew this information before the pageant so they could increase their chances of winning the honors they seek. So here is my list of top mistakes that cost contestants points and possibly the title.

• Showing up late for your interview or when it is your turn to be on stage. 

• Hair is in your face. In all beauty pageants, beauty of face is always one of the line items we score. Your hair must be sprayed back from your eyes and face so the judges can see your features. Bangs cannot hang in your eyes.

• Clothes that do not fit perfectly. You must have a good seamstress who can alter every piece of your pageant wardrobe to fit your body perfectly. No exceptions. Your clothing should be tight enough to see the outline of your curves; but not so tight we see every line from your undergarments or bulge of your body. Sleeves must hit right at or slightly below your wrist bone. Dress hems must be an appropriate length. A dress too long is just as unflattering as one that is too short. Remember, the judges are lower than the stage in most cases. We see everything. No midriffs should be seen. Cleavage should be proper secured and supported with the aid of sewn in pads and proper undergarments, which we should never see. Little boys need to wear belts to keep their pants up and shirts need to be kept tucked in. Either attach his shirt to his underwear by sewing on snaps, or have a custom shirt/bodysuit (like the male ball room dancers wear) made for him. Then there’s my favorite. The messy lacings of the corset tops. If you have a corset top, make sure you have the fabric insert that going behind the laces and the lacing job must look great.

• Holding the skirt of your full length dress up while you walk so you don’t step on it. Hem the dress in the shoes you are going to wear. Judges should not see your shoes when you are stopped or walking. You need to practice walking in your dress before the pageant.

• Not having your contestant number in clear, plain view. I have to be honest with you; there were a couple contestants this weekend I wondered if I gave them the right scores because I couldn’t see their badge number. So I had to guess at their number. The judges need to know who you are.

• Not using your full time on stage, or taking too much time. Again, it’s just as bad to race on and off the stage as it is to watch a contestant walk at a turtle’s pace when they are modeling. You need to practice your walk so you keep the same pace the entire time you are onstage.

• Not making solid eye contact with the judges.

• Talent outfits must match the style of your talent. If you’re doing a hip hop dance, don’t wear a lyrical outfit. Don’t wear a dance outfit if you are a vocalist. Your clothing must be age appropriate, stay securely in place, cover all important body parts, and work with your talent number.

• Singers must sing with a professionally recorded backing track. It is the kiss of death to sing a cappella. And please, whatever you do, don’t sing along with the original recording of the artist. The only voice the judges should hear is yours. Try http://musicalcreations.com/ to see if they have the song you’re looking for. I use them all the time and they are great!

• Special notes for the parents with toddlers and babies. Carry your child facing out so the judges can see their face. Don’t force your child to walk. It is better to carry them and keep them happy than for them to have a tantrum on stage. Moms, don’t wear spaghetti strapped tops or low necklines. Child’s hands grab and move at the speed of light and you don’t want that kind of exposure, if you know what I mean.

These are the big mistakes that I see on a regular basis. Of course this list isn’t complete. I could write a whole book on blunders and bloopers I see on the stage when I’m judging. To receive your highest score, eliminate these common mistakes.

Request my free special report, 10 Insider Secrets to Winning, and receive  my free award winning newsletter weekly. Just click here or at the top of this page to GET YOUR FREE REPORT.Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

Pageant Season Is Here!

Now's The Time to Brush Up On Your Interview Skills

INTERVIEW CARD

The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill that everyone can benefit from. The more you practice, the better you will get. These handy interview cards are a great way to practice with a partner or use by yourself to get you thinking about the topic.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview situation. Then each month you will receive a new card in the mail with fresh questions.

Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, Mrs. Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.
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 home educates their children and has been married 22 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. For more information on Rhonda, visit  www.WinningThroughPageantry.com .