Beauty pageants might seem as easy as a catwalk, but they are more challenging than it seems at first glance. A ton of preparation goes into preparing for a pageant, and looking good is the least of them. While good looks matter in a pageant, the contestants have to go through several rounds of interviews before they are even shortlisted.
The contestants are groomed in various ways, and lastly, the final rounds of interviews before an esteemed panel of judges determines the final winner. It is a long road, and the contestants must focus on various aspects to shine.
Hence, preparing well for a pageant interview is paramount to success. As a contestant, whether you are male or female, you should focus on developing a holistic attitude that will help you build a strong personality. It would help if you prepared to answer some of the most unexpected questions.
Being well-read helps in this regard. You should also know what’s happening around you well, especially if you represent a country in a pageant. Here is how you can prepare for it.
The Importance of Tonal Quality And Body Language During Pageant Interview
Before answering a pageant question, you must know how to answer it. Your best answers will fail to resonate with the audience and the judges if you cannot emote and your body language is not in sync with what you are trying to express.
For example, you answer that you want to promote world peace if you win but look disinterested or lost while answering the question. How you carry yourself during an interview and modulate your voice is equally important in helping you answer the question correctly.
While preparing for your interview, be mindful about holding your posture and controlling your emotions. It is essential not to appear flabbergasted when faced with an unusual question, nor should you let your voice quiver if you genuinely get emotional while responding.
Most beauty pageants have efficient coaches and experts who train the contestants. While you will receive all the help you need from them, in the end, you must master yourself to land in the top three of any pageant.
How to Prepare For Your Pageant Interview?
While doing well in a pageant interview depends a lot on your knowledge and charisma, there are some ways in which you can prepare better. Here are some tips:
1. Find a Good Posture
While the final rounds of interviews see the pageant contestants lining up on stage to respond to questions, in the initial phases of the interviews- which mostly take place behind the scenes- you have to sit across from the interviewer.
Practice both, Holding your posture while sitting and standing will make you feel confident, and you can answer better.
2. Read Voraciously
Read anything that comes your way. Be it books, magazines, self-help articles, biographies, travel stories- read everything. Nothing is as enriching, and no amount of internet can give you that kind of knowledge.
Reading helps in improving your vocabulary and makes your diction polished. These are crucial when appearing for a pageant interview, as you could become a global brand ambassador.
3. Feel Good From Within
Self-confidence is crucial to do well in a pageant interview, and you must feel good from within. You must be confident to be able to answer even known questions correctly.
Refrain from fumbling in questions where you may have to take a stand on an issue or talk about your perspective on an issue of global importance. Working on your self-confidence can help you put your views forward with greater clarity.
4. Be Gracious
It’s important to be gracious while answering questions. Avoid being bossy or opinionated while answering sensitive questions, yet be able to say what you feel. Bringing humor to your answers also helps, but your response should still have substance.
Have a gracious demeanor and positive outlook while preparing for your interviews.
5. Keep Yourself Updated
Keep yourself updated about everything around you as much as possible, especially about what is happening on the global stage and key incidents happening in certain parts of the world.
It will give you the confidence to answer questions about things happening worldwide.
6. Be Confident About Your Niche
Everyone has their favorite niche, and you should find your own. It could be related to your area of study, your profession, or a hobby or cause you are passionate about.
Try to know all about it so you can confidently answer when questioned about your niche.
10 Interview Questions That You Should Be Prepared to Answer During a Pageant
Experts recommend preparing yourself on various topics to succeed in a pageant. There are some commonly asked questions. However, you may also be asked a variation of those questions.
Just because these questions are common does not mean they are less critical. In fact, the judges will try to see what else you can bring to the table when answering these questions.
Here are some of them, along with how to answer them in the best possible way:
1. Why do You Want to Win The Pageant?
It’s a question that most judges will ask you, and there may also be variations to the question.
Since this is a staple in many pageants, you should carefully consider your response.
Your answer should be something personal and yet should denote a higher goal. A blend of both would be best suited because it will seem like you are not in the pageant for your gains only. On the other hand, only talking about humanitarian causes could seem too staged, depending on how you are saying it.
So it would help if you tried saying something like you want to win the pageant because the scholarship money would help you. At the same time, it will give you a platform to work on a cause you have always been passionate about.
2. Tell us Something About Yourself
Although talking about oneself should seem easy, this is often the most challenging question that many struggle to answer. While answering this question, say something about yourself you have not already mentioned in the application.
It will add an element of surprise, and everyone will discover a whole new side of you.
So although your resume said you were a science major, say how you went on to develop a model for a gadget as a part of your college project, which you later perfected to benefit your community. Or you could talk about a passion you have never pursued professionally, which sustains you when you are down.
That will enhance your appeal and will make for a fitting reply.
3. Which Modern Invention Do You Think is Overrated And Why?
You need to be updated about what is happening around you. It does not necessarily mean that you have to be a science geek. However, you should be knowledgeable about the things you see around you, the hype around it, and whether you feel that is worthwhile.
4. If You Had to Send Your Co-Contestants Home, Who Would it be And Why?
It’s a tricky question; sometimes, judges ask you this to see your competitiveness. It is best not to name any particular contestant unless you have an excellent reason for doing so and you are sure you can respond without sounding malicious.
The best approach would be to say that all your co-contestants are wonderful and they deserve to be on the stage as much as you do. You are here to compete healthily and not to judge, and you want to focus on getting ahead rather than think about who deserves to be left out.
5. Are There Any Segments in The Competition That You Would Like to Change, And Why?
You can give an unbiased answer, especially if you genuinely think some segments are unnecessary. However, you should also have good reason to back up your answer.
You might say a segment to judge the capability of the contestants better could be removed or modified and give a good enough reason for it.
6. Who is Your Favorite Pageant Queen?
While answering this question, it would be better to return a little back in time. If you name someone very recently, it may look like you have only started following the pageant recently because you wanted to participate.
If you name a recent winner, then ensure you picked someone who made an impact on you.
7. Will Your Political Affiliations Make it Easier or More Challenging For You to Connect to People?
It can be a tricky question to answer. Ideally, you should say that your political affiliations will not come in the way of serving people if you ever get a chance.
But you can be upfront and say that if your affiliations allow you to avail any benefits you can use for your cause, you would be willing to accept it. Ensure you word it correctly and use a polite yet confident tone while answering.
8. Do You Ever Feel Bad About Any of Your Past Actions?
It’s a question that you can answer honestly. You can speak of an incident about which you do not feel proud. However, you can also say that you did not know better and you did not have the information necessary to behave differently.
You can also add how you have grown since that incident and what led to your positive changes. Talk about an important lesson you learned from it.
9. Which is Your Favorite Sport And Why?
It might seem like an easy question, but only to those who play the sport. For others, it could be a little tricky. It would be best to answer how the sport has helped develop your personality and what inspired you to indulge in it.
Even if you do not play it professionally, engaging in any sport could mean you are particular about staying active and love being a team member.
10. What do You Plan to do if You Win The Title?
Winning the title could be vital for you, but try to look at the larger picture. Instead of just answering about what you would do after winning the title, talk about how you see benefitting from it even five or ten years later.
Please talk about the opportunities that it will bring to you and how you intend to put it to good use for your cause and your personal growth.
Conclusion
Pageant winners stand apart from others because of their beauty, confidence, and knowledge. Many promising candidates enter the contest but fall behind after the question-answer round.
On the other hand, many candidates fail to get past the initial interview phases to get to the main stage. Whether you are participating in a regional pageant or whether you want to represent your country on a global stage like Miss or Mr. Universe, successfully getting through the interview round will increase your chances of winning to a great extent.
