
The first Question a beauty queen should ask herself is, do I have what the judges are looking for? In some Pageants they look for something different each year, but for most of them the Scoring System remains the same!
We all know they want a confident young girl, making a difference and who can really be a role model in her community. But how do you ensure the judges see that you have all those qualities? How do you look confident but don't come across as a Know-it-all, because those girls will never win! How do you show the judges that you are the full package?
It's simple, practice, practice, and practice! With my Modeling Academy I have seen it over and over again for the last 7years, if you perfect your technique and the "secret recipe" I teach my models, you are bound to end up on a winning streak, taking title after title! It will also happen that you move to a bigger age category and you have to work very hard to become the top model in the group again.... But hey that keeps a model humble, it helps you to keep working hard and grow as a person!
So you are all wondering what the secret recipe is..... I would usually say, Join my modeling school and find out, but the truth is, The recipe is open for anyone to know, it's your choice if you will add the right amount of dedication, perseverance and ambition to the bowl, how long you stir all your ingredients together is what will ultimately determine whether you win or not. I will share the Secret recipe with you, but ultimately practicing it constantly is the final step on the recipe and at Limpopo Beauty Modeling Academy we do that with 1h weekly classes, becoming a "full package" Beauty Queen is a lifestyle, it takes effort and lots of trial and error! But it's totally doable, I have transformed hundreds of young girls into confident models who has won many Titles!
In Pageantry it's important to understand that you never loose, f you don't win the crown, you win the experience, the platform to grow, the work you put into this pageant pushes you to the next level regardless of the outcome, you grow as a model, your stage presence become better, your ability to perform under stress, your confidence is what you win! Many people would give up after not winning, and that my girl is exactly why you won't ever win! You see... the secret to getting ahead, is getting started, and continuing on your journey until you reach your goals. Giving up shouldn't be an option, and with that mindset you are already half way to winning the crown!
The secret recipe to winning a pageant is consistency, working hard and doing anything and everything to help you become a better model, a better person, a better role model in your community.
It's all of these things added together and a firm Modeling foundation that we teach at Limpopo Beauty Modeling that will help you succeed! Small things can also help get your mind in pageant mode, read motivational quotes daily, try new make-up trends, change up your style, practice your mic technique do everything you can to make yourself feel prepared and ready for the pageant, it will boost your confidence and calm your nerves on pageant day! You can never be over prepared! Always remember that you can never beat the person who never gives up! Are you that girl? What will you do to become that girl?
Things the Judges look for:
Smile:
Are you smiling naturally? do you look happy and excited to be there? When your lip shivers from nerves, press your tongue against your gums and smile bigger, this will stretch the muscle that is shivering making it easier to smile when stressed, but this goes away, remember part of the secret recipe is to try and try and try again, you will get better with every public appearance on stage!
Eye contact: If you constantly look down, or up when you answer questions, you look shy and insecure and scared or maybe even bored, these are not things they look for in a winner, always have good steady eye contact, smile with your eyes show them you are excited and confident!
Ramp Skills: We teach a variety of turns and ramp skills at Limpopo Beauty Modeling, doing a good walk is really important to winning a pageant, but remember less is more, strutting like a horse is not an elegant pageant walk, don't confuse fashion TV with Pageantry!
Personality: Are you showing off who you are, are you feminine and humble? can the judges see that? are you bubbly? talking about what matters to you and why you want to win this pageant? Practice interview questions and quotes to help you answer questions fluently and with confidence
Confidence:
There is a difference between looking and walking confidently and looking arrogant and full of yourself, be careful to not mix the two! You have to look confident in your own skin while still looking humble and friendly and easy to talk to
Outfit: Read our blog post on outfits, it's important to dress like the winner, look sophisticated and classy all the time!
Photo's:
Always enter with the correct photo's, make sure it's professional, usually all first impressions start with your entry photos! Usually a head and shoulder and Full length photo is required! Don't enter with low quality cellphone photo's, invest in a professional studio shoot. We offer photo shoots for our Models with award winning photographers from Gauteng. As the winners are often used on the marketing campaigns of the next event, photo's will always count marks!
Elegance and Poise:
Are you elegant, do you look like a winner who can handle all situations with grace? This is almost the most important part of pageant judging, your body language, outfit and interview can tell the judges if you are elegant! This helps you win pageants, practice sitting like a lady, talking confidently but don't be loud, the manners and etiquette we teach at Limpopo Beauty Modeling will help you master this technique!
Introduction and on-stage Question:
We teach our models how to answer questions intelligently, without practicing answers, just use key words and practice some universal quotes it will go a long way to help you sound intelligent! Remember to speak about yourself, what makes you different? Say things that will help the judges remember you! Be careful to not sound desperate, no one wants the girl who will make a scene if she doesn't win, to wear the crown! Stay humble and be true to who you are!
Talk with good voice projection, make sure you pronounce words clearly, practice your introduction well it's very important in any pageant judging to be a good public speaker! Choose a unique motto, this is your chance to inspire people!
The Judging list continues, but this will help you work on some things you know the judges are looking at, but even if you know you should smile, it's not always easy to smile the whole time, as I said it becomes a lifestyle, there is no faking it in proper and professional pageants, the judges will see right through it, be yourself, work on all the qualities a winner should have! Visualise Miss World and what she represents, the elegance she portrays and Practice to get yourself on that level!
We will publish some more tips on answering interview questions the right way, mic technique etc so keep an eye on our social media pages or on our blog to see what Free tips we post next!
Good luck wth your next pageant! Remember you are in charge of following the recipe! Be sure to smile and do all the things you know will help you gain points, you have to go for gold in every single aspect of the pageant!
Lots of love xoxo
Katryn Barwise
CEO Limpopo Beauty Modeling Academy
Since 2009