Every pageant girl knows that one serious flub can make you go viral (anyone remember Miss Utah last year?), so it's important to stay on top of your game.
No one knows this better than Miss USA Nia Sanchez, who was awarded the highly coveted crown on Sunday at the Baton Rouge Civic Center in Louisiana.
The fourth degree black belt and all around stunner appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman on Wednesday, where she presented the top ten pageant mistakes.
As David Letterman explained, the slip-ups "don't necessarily apply to just Miss USA pageants but to pageants of all kinds"—and it's safe to say that any one of these snafus could cost a promising hopeful the crown.
So pageant hopefuls, pull out your notepads and let the expert do the talking. Here are the top ten "pageant mistakes," presented by the former Miss Nevada!
10. Pronouncing USA "OOSA"
9. Telling the judges you'll be late due to a gang-related commitment
8. You're the only one onstage eating ribs (side note: Letterman is totally cool with his obvious flub. "I don't consider that a mistake," he quipped. "You're eating ribs onstage you got my vote")
7. Blaming poor performance on a hoof injury
6. Forgetting which Dakota you represent (a definite no-no)
5. Devoting interview to pointing out your chigger bites
4. Blasting air horn to drown out the other contestants
3. Describing the tiara as "pawnable"
2. Lightening the mood with a Donald Trump joke
1. You keep shouting "Long live Vladimir Putin"
Got it, ladies?