"It does not matter if you have an accent at all."

I was watching the "Take the Lead" DVD last weekend. As a movie junkie, I went through all of the special features of the DVD. There's an interview of the dancing teacher (Between the Steps: Pierre Dulaine Profile), Pierre Dulaine (it's based on a true story, a professional dancing instructor who started a inner city school dancing program ).

So Dulaine went on explaining how dancing can teach the children about self-esteem and etiquette. Towards the end, Pierre Dulaine mentioned that when he was younger, whenever he needed to introduce himself to others and shake hands, he never looked into people's eyes because he thought he had a funny accent. But in the end, through dancing, he built up his confidence. And hence he wanted to impart gradually the self-confidence in his students through the dancing program.

(Based on the information from the interview, Pierre Dulaine was born in Palestine, spent his childhood in Jordan and Lebanon, then moved to UK for dancing and resided in US. He recalled he spoke with heavy accent, was shy and timid)

And this is what Dulaine said which strike a chord with me. He said,"whenever you greet people, you have to look into their eyes, give a firm handshake and tell your name in confidence. It does not matter if you have an accent at all."

Most of the times, we find worldly wisdoms in the least expected way (like watching a dancing movie). Though what Dulaine said may be a common sense to some people, it gave me an insight.