Mrs. Hancock's Blog

Smile.

“Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.” -- Janet Lane

It never ceases to amaze me how the simple things that contribute to winning a title in a pageant competition seem to fall by the wayside when the critical judging time begins. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned veteran of the pageant world or a newcomer.

When you’re a contestant, your choreographers and directors keep telling you to smile. Smile! It is such a simple thing to do and yet so powerful. The last thing a judge wants to do is look at a girl who is not smiling or God forbid, frowning. It happens. Depending on the pageant, most judges are smiling AT YOU. Smile back. It goes a long way.

Okay – so now that you know to smile, let’s practice smiling. It sounds a little silly, but lets take a look at that smile in the mirror. As a judge, we’re looking for your ‘natural’ smile. Is your smile connected to your eyes? By that, I mean is there a twinkle in your eye or are your lips frozen in place in a mock smile? Fake smiles or those that just are plastered on your face without any thought or heart behind them can just as easily hurt your score as if you did not smile at all. This takes some practice – but not much. The thing to remember is to relax and have fun.

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