Time and time again I hear from my clients that interview creates a tremendous amount of stress. First, they dread what the judges will ask during interview. Secondly, they freak out over how to answer the question perfectly. Below I cover one way to answer the most common question asked in the interview room- tell me about yourself.
The pageant interview is where you get to share your personality. It’s your opportunity to emotionally connect with the judges face to face. If you go into the interview room with the mindset that you’re going to share with the judges what really makes you YOU, that thought alone will help calm some of the jitters.
The other thing you can do, months before the pageant, is practice answering questions about everything and anything. There are fundamental interview questions that everyone needs to know how to answer. Because the power of the interview is in both what you say and how you say it, you need to allow enough time to practice answering questions out loud. Yes, not in your head, but out loud.
You don’t ever want your answers to sound memorized or fake; but, unfortunately, when contestants aren’t used to answering questions out loud, that’s how it may come across. It takes skill to be able to speak in an effortless and natural way. As an actress and public speaker, I know how much practice it takes. Some people may pick this skill up quicker than others; but, you can find your own voice and method of articulating exactly what you mean to say. How many times have you said something only to realize that the words you used didn’t convey what you meant to say. It happens to http://www.winningthroughpageantry.com/resources/.
People make their first impressions within the first few seconds of meeting you so you want to be very selective about the information you choose to share. For example, to break the ice, most judges will start the interview with some version of the “tell me about yourself” question. Your first response may be something like this: “My name is Rhonda Shappert. I’m 43 years old and live in Ohio with my husband and three daughters. I’m a personal development coach and enjoy traveling.”
Ok, that answers the question, but it’s not very memorable. Instead, a different choice could be “One of my favorite things to do is sing four part harmony with my husband and three daughters. We perform across the state of Ohio, enjoy eating Graeter’s ice cream and playing the board game Balderdash together.” Which answer is more picturesque and interesting? You only have a couple minutes to make a lasting impression on the judges and your interview is only 2-5 minutes in length.
Every word that comes from your mouth needs to count. As an experienced judge, I have heard some pretty amazing answers come from people, good and bad. A few people approach answering interview questions from the point of what the contestant thinks will impress the judges. A skilled judge will see right through that. And memorizing other contestants answers won’t work either. The reason that contestant’s answer was so amazing is because it came from a place of conviction from within her. You need to find what you are passionate about and speak from that place.
To help you prepare for your pageant interview, request my free document The Beginning 10 Questions at http://www.winningthroughpageantry.com/resources/.
September 30, 2009 18:20
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