Pageant Platform Magazine Nov/Dec 2018 Issue pageant platform magazine novdec | Page 8

The second thing is their intrapersonal skills. Our internal dialogue should be just as positive as our external dialogue with others. Pageant day is when your internal dialogue is displayed. Your authenticity is to be illuminated on that stage. PPM: What is the most unique or odd thing about pageantry? RB: Having the innate ability to increase the confidence of other contestants, is truly a gift from God. As the old saying goes, “heavy is the head that wears the crown.” Pageantry is not for faint-hearted individuals. Participants are not required to be academic scholars, but their response to the interview component must sound scholarly. PPM: What are the top three things that you would like contestants to take away from this interview? RB: The first thing that I would like for them to take away from this interview is to never forget their purpose for participating in their pageant of choice. When things don’t look like their coming together, and you begin to doubt yourself, never forget your “Y”. Why are you doing this in the first place? The second thing I’d like to pass on which is something that my martial arts mother, Betty Watson, taught me is “always remain humble.” Lastly, be yourself. An original version of yourself is better than being the cheap copy of someone else. PPM: What characteristics do contestants need to develop in pageants? RB: I would have to say that contestants need to develop two things. The first one is their interpersonal skills. 8 Pageant Platform Magazine Nov/Dec 2018 Regine Bell is Little Haiti’s Lifetime Queen and founder of EMPAK. You can learn more about Regine here: