Articulate and with a keen sense of
observation, Diahann Carroll (Vaz) D’Souza’s progression into a training career
was but a given. It just lent credence to her father’s urgings of ‘Find
something you love doing, and then get someone to pay you to do just that!’
Training not only brought the opportunity to achieve that, but in the process,
brought a treasure trove of experiences and stories that begged to be penned
down and shared.
“Training has always been an important part
of my career. It gave me a chance to interact with people on a daily basis.
Every day brought its own experiences in the field which I enjoyed sharing with
colleagues and peers. That’s when friends and family encouraged me to put them
down in a book. Since books and writing were always a passion of mine, it was a
dream come true,” reveals Diahann, who spent seven years conducting training in
knowledge, voice and accent, speech enhancement, communication skills, customer
service, behaviour, leadership and sales, in both India (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai
and Pune) and UAE (Dubai). Now based in
Dubai, this St Xavier College (Mapusa) alumnus also dabbles in poetry and has
an active blog.
“My book, ‘Training the Prism – My
Spectacular Journey’ is a collection of short stories that have played a
significant role in my training career which I have intertwined with all the
humour, sadness, curiosity, and sometimes that sense of ‘je ne sais quoi’ that
accompanied them,” explains Diahann of the book. which is interspersed with
several anecdotes and illustrations to bring levity to it.
On a different note, she is also keen to
equip aspiring trainers with a list of training tools which she has listed in a
‘survival guide’ attached to the book. “The intention of this book is not to
discourage anyone from venturing towards this choice of career, but the
opposite,” she clarifies.
Choosing the more popular e-route, Diahann
enlisted the help of her husband Lino D’souza and creative friends to stay on
track and publish the 80-page e-book which has been published by Nevaeh
Publishing, LLC (USA) on Smashwords.com.
The success of the first book is prompting
Diahann to explore a career in writing, on topics, like her first book, that have
not been ventured before.
