First Overnight Retreat

July 5th will always be remembered as the day of the first overnight FLO Chennai Chapter retreat! It was an action packed day of education, self discovery, unlimited fun and frolic-all rolled into one glossy capsule!

Early start neccesiated by the many programmes planned for the day, fortunately stared on time. All the enthusiatic participants boarded the bus at Park Sheraton Hotel and departed on time. After an hour and a half bus ride, the first stop was Great Lakes Institute of Management for a lecture on ” How to win an argument”. The topic was captivating. The institution, which has worldwide partnerships, is the brain-child of the US-based management guru Dr Bala V. Balachandran with an apt tagline: “Global mindset – Indian roots”. Packed with humour, cartoons, video clippings, Prof Veeravalli held the audience spell bound in an interactive session as he imparted the deeper learnings on the need to establish credibility and emotions and put the other person in a proper frame of mind before using logic. Pathos, Ethos and Logos were the key to winning. Dropping the NAB Emotions and using persuasions were some of the key takeaways.

After some brain stimulating exercise and a trip around campus, it was time for the next stop at Taj Fisherman’s Cove. After a delicious lunch and rest in the beach facing cottages, Tea beckoned with start of next session- Puja Gupta’s workshop on “Life by Design” a truly engaging programme that helped members to bond with each other, get to know the other in a personal way like never before. To appreciate themselves and their circumstances, in order to attract and achieve one’s goals in life. Each participant was given a personalised kit.

The Grand Finale of the evening was a Dress up Parade so lovingly and charmingly put together by Deepali Goyal. It was held at the private enclosure by the beach. Members had a hilarious time masquerading as a famous personality in their trademark dress, in a mock ramp walk.

Next morning found the members strolling on the beach or at the yoga session, a sumptuous buffet breakfast followed. Finally, it was time to bid adieu and the members headed home with a heavy heart but with a fervent hope of an encore every year !!!