Remarkable—You leave an indelible mark on everyone you meet whether you intend to or not. Make a conscious effort to leave people a better disposition than you found them.
Earlier this year I coordinated an annual meeting for the DE-MD-DC Division of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. During the planning meetings, I picked up a habit of calling the women I worked on the planning committee with cute names of endearment like Pumpkin, Pookie, Honey and Sugar. When the meeting officially started, one of my responsibilities was to welcome everyone to the meeting give a few housekeeping rules. Well, in front of about 120 of my peers, I used a few if not all of those cute names. I didn’t do it for show, they rolled off my tongue as easy as my name. But what it did was take me off of the superficial pedestal that meeting coordinators can be placed on. (What do you mean you don’t know? You are the meeting coordinator, you should know everything!) Throughout the entire meeting, I continued to do the same thing. I couldn’t remember everybody’s name but I knew faces so rather than insult someone by calling them by the wrong name, when called across the room I responded with “Yes, darling.” After the meeting was over, I received this email from a first time attendee:
“Thanks you so much, Pumpkin poo!
Just to let you know that you will definitely be remembered. You were such an inspiration to me and Pam, as new comers to IAAP. The organization is great, and with a little more support from our job, we will be attending many more events. Your spirit was awesome and definitely helpful…keep up the great work!”
The email was completely unexpected and it spoke to how you can leave an impression on someone without knowing it. Had I let the intermittent frustrations I felt change my disposition, her experience could have been totally different.
I’m not saying that you should walk around with a smile plastered to your face when you would rather be curled up in bed having a good cry. I’m suggesting that you make a conscience effort to be responsible for the energy that you bring in a room and present to people you interact with on a daily basis. I am fortunate to have remarkable friends. And I can tell you from personal experience, there hasn’t been a time when even after the most casual of conversations that they have not left me in a better mood.
Adapted from “Work Your Package—A Guide to Being the Total Package” by Ayanna Castro
Website: www.ayannacastro.com | Twitter: @WorkYourPackage | Facebook: Work Your Package
Copyright © 2014 Ayanna Castro. All Rights Reserved.