Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

When you see a beauty pageant on TV, some would either watch to see the attractiveness of the overall event, or would just simply flip right past it. It is thought that pageants are just filled with naturally beautiful individuals who are people that do not have to work hard and are trying to use their attractiveness to their advantage. For some this may be true, but a lot more thought, technique, and nonverbal communication skills go into performing in a beauty pageant.

There are many different types of nonverbal communication that are used in such things as a beauty pageant because of the way that one portrays themselves to others. This ability can either help or hinder their cause. A model could be born with natural beauty and personality, but if they do not display good nonverbal communication skills to the judges then they will have no chance of winning. This shows the communicative power of kinesics, the study of body movement, gesture, and posturing (Adler, Rodman & Sevigny 186).

The article I focused on for this was the Miss World Canada Pageant, featuring McMaster’s very own Nicole Hemmer. What I found interesting about this pageant was that girls were not just judged on their appearance, but throughout the competition they were judged in a number of different situations, which required more natural skills then just being pretty. They were judged on how they reacted in an interview situation, which can be a situation where nonverbal communication skills can have an affect on an individual. Certain gestures become present when a person is put into a public situation. Fidgeting is discouraged from being performed in an atmosphere such as a Beauty Pageant, because it is usually something that is unattractive and “observers are likely to interpret as a signal of dishonesty” (Adler, Rodman & Sevigny 187). This is something that a contestant is not trying to portray to the judges.

Another nonverbal communication element that affects a contestant is visible through their posture, and also through their face. How an individual conveys themselves affects the way in which others see them. If all the models in the pageant are walking tall, confident and with perfect form and one model is slumped over and slowly walking, she is not likely to win at all. Posture communicates vulnerability in situations far more serious than mere social or business meetings (Adler, Rodman & Sevigny 186).

Also, the face is probably the most noticeable part of the body. Research shows that smiling restaurant servers earn larger tips than unsmiling ones (Adler, Rodman & Sevigny 187). This statistic can also be seen in Beauty Pageants. If a contestant is all smiles then they have a much larger chance of winning or scoring a higher score than someone who is frowning or has a serious face.

The elements of nonverbal communications are essential to succeeding in an atmosphere that is public, such as a Beauty Pageant. Contestants are continuously examined, and if they learn how to master the art of nonverbal communication then the sky is the limit.



Congratulations Nicole Hemmer, on the honour of representing your hometown of Grimsby and McMaster University in this competition.






http://www.soitbemaybe.com/2008-miss-world-canada-winner/#comment-265
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo6u2jb045M

Adler, Rodman and Alexandre Sevigny. Understanding Human Communication. Canadian
Edition: Oxford University Press (2008).