Most people have no idea about what they are capable of, until they step onstage and present their first performance. Finding your voice and talent is a beautiful feeling, which boosts confidence. It can also be a great stress buster.

Talent stays latent until it gets an opportunity to bloom. Talent shows have often been the trigger that's required by inherent creative tendencies to bloom and reach their full stature.

Talent shows give you that opportunity. Many renowned artists of today were first discovered at talent shows organized in schools or other competitions. So it's important that initiative be taken to organize such events and participate in them with gusto.

Here are some talent show ideas, ranging from the offbeat to popular ones.

Picture this. A lush green park with a lot of blank canvases spread out, each well-stocked with colors and brushes. A beautiful Mozart symphony playing in the background. That's a perfect setting for a painting talent show, ain't it? Who doesn't love to play with colors on the canvas? All you need to arrange for is color supplies and canvases, depending on the expected participation number. You may choose a theme for the competition or just let people give free rein to their imagination.

Miming is a performing art where a person narrates a story, a scene, or a situation through body language and facial expressions. It is a great creative challenge, for any group of budding actors and makes for a great talent show idea. All you need is a makeshift stage, lighting for a theatrical effect if need be, with a makeup artist in the wings to aid those who would like to perform with the traditional white mime face. It's bound to be a very enjoyable show!

The soul-stirring saxophone, violin pulling at your heart strings, the rebellious drum beat and the glorious guitar - you can have all of them and more at an instrumental music talent show. Not only would it be a treat for music lovers, but also a great opportunity for budding musicians. An auditorium with good acoustic qualities or an open air stage with a microphone and speaker system is all you need for the show.

This one's a popular attraction for kids and adults alike. The basic idea is this - you paint a face creatively and the best one wins a prize. As an organizer you will have to provide the paint and the brushes. Make sure that you use skin-friendly paint, which can be washed off easily. You can have multiple themes like 'Best scary face', 'Best funny face' and 'Most creative face'. Enjoy.

The art of creating gastronomic delights is always a great idea for a talent show. Not only does cooking brings forth excellence in the most ancient and vital skill, but it can also revive an art that is largely losing practitioners in the age of packaged food. You can have a theme-based contest devoted to particular cuisines or focus on healthy yet delicious food variety. This one will need a lot of setup including the cooking supplies, a stove and tables for the chefs to work their magic on.

Nothing tests your guts like a good old-fashioned oratory talent show. Most great leaders have had an ability to inspire their followers with words. Being able to wield the word is a powerful skill to possess. Be it school, your workplace or community, an oratory competition can be a great idea to spot leadership material. This one is highly recommended for academic setups.

Nothing liberates the urge to paint and express yourself like a spray paint can and a blank wall! Humans seem to have a primal urge to paint walls. Pre-historic caves are testimony to this. If you can have a wall to spare, a live graffiti painting show is a great idea. All you will have to provide are spray paint bottles and the wall. You can decide on a theme and by the end of the day, you will have a painted wall with depictions related to its various aspects.

Humor in general is very serious business and to write and deliver a good comic standup isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, if you can get your act together, nothing can be more entertaining and engaging. A stand-up comedy talent show will draw a good crowd and will test the comic timing and narration skills of your participants. It's a whole lot of fun and that's why, you should definitely try organizing it.

If you happen to plan a talent show for a community related to geeks or computer science students, a hacker showdown is the perfect idea. All participants will be challenged by a sufficiently complex computing problem, for which they must code a solution, in the form of a program, which runs efficiently. The entire coding could be done in any programming language of the participant's choice, in a fixed period of time. Announce the winners as they complete the problems.

There is no better way to bring out genuine crooning talent, than a singing talent show. Be it classical, R