I love writing about the fearless, fabulous, and first lady of pageantry Queen Esther in my new book, “Rhinestones on my Flip-Flops.” It was a blast reminiscing about pageants and the many hours I spent working on my interview and communication skills while laughing at myself through the mishaps.
Communication Skills and Mishaps
I consider “pageant world’ life on steroids. Preparing for the Miss America Pageant was a great teacher for the rest of my life since communication is a key element for success. Unlike the other phases of competition, this is one aspect that won’t develop wrinkles or sag with age. Our communication skills improve as time passes. Call it whatever, interview is where I learned the fine art of expression. There are two kinds of skills: dumb and smart. Here is dumb.
At the Coastal Carolina Fair, I was a contestant vying for the title of the Coastal Carolina Fair Queen. The semi-finalists were announced, and all seven of us stood together, holding hands, waiting for the slaughter. The first on-stage question went to a cute, little blonde Barbie. She was scared to death.
The emcee simply asked, “How do you feel about the rate of crime?” Poor thing was totally confused and asked to hear the question again. After a very pregnant pause, she replied, “I am sorry, I don’t know anything about meat.” It’s hard to clap when somebody says something that stupid. She thought the question was “How do you feel about the rate of prime?”
I love interview, but there have been many times I have thought, Girl, where is your brain? Sitting in the interview a few years ago, a girl was asked, “How do you feel about euthanasia?” To which she replied, “I feel so sorry for them young people in Asia.” Try sitting for the next eight minutes with a straight face after hearing that answer.
Another classic interview faux pas was when I asked a contestant if she had any special skills. “Yes!” she answered enthusiastically, “I can write with my left and right hand. I am amphibious.”At one pageant, a friend of mine asked, “What kind of person do you enjoy associating with?” The contestant’s answer was this: “People who have had hardships in life. I have a friend who is paralyzed from the waist down. He is a paraphernalia.”
Share these funny communication mishaps to brighten another person’s day.
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