FWIW and perhaps this might help others.
Reviving an old thread. I'm likely a high-intermediate skier as this is my 2nd full season, with 14 days under my belt so far. As a former collegiate athlete, and having a former ski Olympian as a good friend, I have been lucky in picking up this sport quickly; however, IMO, I'm not progressing as fast as I would like and constantly asking questions about "why". People/instructor/friend would often say to me "finish your turn" or turn in the shape of "C" and "S", etc -- to which I'd always ask "how?" I get the concept theoretically, but what are the steps to help me execute such a movement?
Well, this morning, I had a 2-hour private lesson at Snowbasin. The instructor, Tyler, told me I skied pretty fast, but tend to "dump" speed at the end of each turn by skidding, which is the reason why I turn in more of a "Z" shape. He told me the usual answer of turning in "C" shape, and of course I asked him how. Then, he said, "you need to manage your speed by controlling your skis, don't let them control you." He asked me to control my speed at the beginning and throughout the turn, so I won't have to "dump" all that speed at the end of a turn -- just before another turn -- and thus be able to make the shaped turn much easier. I controlled my exit speed by keeping the pressure on the outside/downhill ski. I had always initiated a turn by pressuring the outside ski, but didn't stay with it and would let up the pressure a bit. Well, this worked for me. Toward the end of my lesson, I was able to smooth out my turns and make them look more like "C" and "S".
Tyler said anyone can go, or try to go, fast and thus mask all the technical deficiencies. I wanted control and be able to use a combination of techniques when encountering different conditions/terrains -- like today, powder on top of crust. Gotta keep on practicing and incorporate these tips.
Thanks for reading.